"He must not be a Catholic," said the duchess; "at least, not outwardly. He may think as he likes, of course; no one can hinder that."
"Is that the toleration of England, may it please your grace?" said Madame de Meglior, banteringly.
"It is. Why should he be allowed to destroy the political influence of the family, to mar the marriage of my sister, to bring a slur on a respectable name?"
"I had not thought of that," answered madame; and for the first time she pondered whether it was really an evil that Euphrasie should be a Catholic.
After this conversation, slight as it was, Euphrasie became more and more resolved; till then, though scarcely to be called intimate, she had been at least friendly with Eugene Godfrey. Now she avoided him when she could do so without positive rudeness. The Countess de Meglior, who began to watch her closely, could only perceive that her passion for solitude was ever on the increase, but her obedience to herself never faltered. Madame de Meglior, though but little given to reflection, now discovered that this was a very convenient disposition for her step-daughter to cherish; for, had she wished to be brought forward in the great world of fashion, like other girls of her age, madame's pride would have been wounded at not being able to do this in the proper form for her, as the daughter of a French nobleman. She felt glad, then, that, considering how matters stood, the girl had not forgotten her convent education, and resolved for the present to let her pray and meditate unmolested, feeling sure that, when their estates were restored to them, Euphrasie would become like the rest of the world among whom they moved. As for Eugene, she had penetration enough to discover that Euphrasie's bashfulness rather tended to fan his flame than to extinguish it.
M. Bertolot, who was also watching the young people with much interest, did his best, on the contrary, to induce Euphrasie to open her mind to Eugene; but in this he experienced so much difficulty at first, that he began to think he must abandon the design, when accident came most unexpectedly to his aid.
The period drew near when their visit was to conclude, and on the day previous to the one fixed for their departure, the duchess, who had recovered her good humor, proposed a pleasant party to a ruined monastery some few miles distant. There were many Young people of the party, and they dispersed themselves in groups about the grounds. M. Bertolot gave his arm to Euphrasie, and began to explore the ruins after a methodical fashion. The walls were of great extends, many of the rooms remained entire, and much of the plan could be trace; they made out the site of the community room, the chapel, refectory, bakehouse and so forth, and were descanting on the probable locality of other apartments when Eugene joined them. "This must have been a magnificent place," said he.
"History says it was large and well endowed," said his friend. "What say you Euphrasie," he continued, "shall we rebuild it for your friends?"
"It is too large," said Euphrasie.