'Yes,' rejoined Frances, 'and why does that circumstance excite your
surprise?' Emily did not appear to notice this question, but remained thoughtful,
for a few moments, and then said, 'It was about that same period that
the Marchioness de Villeroi expired.' 'That is an odd remark,' said Frances. Emily, recalled from her reverie, smiled, and gave the conversation
another turn, but it soon came back to the subject of the unhappy nun,
and Emily remained in the cell of sister Frances, till the mid-night
bell aroused her; when, apologizing for having interrupted the sister's
repose, till this late hour, they quitted the cell together. Emily
returned to her chamber, and the nun, bearing a glimmering taper, went
to her devotion in the chapel.
Several days followed, during which Emily saw neither the Count, or any
of his family; and, when, at length, he appeared, she remarked, with
concern, that his air was unusually disturbed.
'My spirits are harassed,' said he, in answer to her anxious enquiries,
'and I mean to change my residence, for a little while, an experiment,
which, I hope, will restore my mind to its usual tranquillity. My
daughter and myself will accompany the Baron St. Foix to his chateau. It
lies in a valley of the Pyrenees, that opens towards Gascony, and I have
been thinking, Emily, that, when you set out for La Vallee, we may go
part of the way together; it would be a satisfaction to me to guard you
towards your home.'
She thanked the Count for his friendly consideration, and lamented, that
the necessity for her going first to Tholouse would render this plan
impracticable. 'But, when you are at the Baron's residence,' she added,
'you will be only a short journey from La Vallee, and I think, sir, you
will not leave the country without visiting me; it is unnecessary to say
with what pleasure I should receive you and the Lady Blanche.'
'I do not doubt it,' replied the Count, 'and I will not deny myself and
Blanche the pleasure of visiting you, if your affairs should allow you
to be at La Vallee, about the time when we can meet you there.'
When Emily said that she should hope to see the Countess also, she was
not sorry to learn that this lady was going, accompanied by Mademoiselle
Bearn, to pay a visit, for a few weeks, to a family in lower Languedoc.
The Count, after some further conversation on his intended journey and
on the arrangement of Emily's, took leave; and many days did not succeed
this visit, before a second letter from M. Quesnel informed her, that he
was then at Tholouse, that La Vallee was at liberty, and that he wished
her to set off for the former place, where he awaited her arrival, with
all possible dispatch, since his own affairs pressed him to return
to Gascony. Emily did not hesitate to obey him, and, having taken an
affecting leave of the Count's family, in which M. Du Pont was still
included, and of her friends at the convent, she set out for Tholouse,
attended by the unhappy Annette, and guarded by a steady servant of the
Count.