“Hermione, what is it?”
Emile was there beside her. And he, too, looked anxious, almost alarmed.
“I only wanted to let you know I had come back,” said Hermione, crushing down her excitement and forcing herself to smile.
“But why did you call like that?”
Vere spoke.
“Like what? What do you mean, figlia mia?”
“It sounded—”
She stopped and looked at Artois.
“It frightened me. And you, Monsieur Emile?”
“I, too, was afraid for a moment that something unpleasant had happened.”