Still he suffered
none the less on that account, as was shown by the fact that the
following month was spent in hurried journeys from one Italian
city to another.
"It was the end of May before M. de Chalusse would consent to
return to France; and then we went direct to Lyons. We had spent
a couple of days there, when the count informed me that prudence
required us to separate for a time--that our safety demanded this
sacrifice. And without giving me time to say a word, he began to
explain the advantages that would accrue from such an arrangement.
I was extremely ignorant, and he wished me to profit by our
temporary separation to raise my knowledge to a level with my new
social position. He had, accordingly, made arrangements for me to
enter the convent of Sainte-Marthe, an educational establishment
which is as celebrated in the department of the Rhone as the
Convent des Oiseaux is in Paris. He added that it would not be
prudent for him to visit me; and he made me solemnly promise that
I would never mention his name to any of my schoolmates. I was to
send any letters I might write to an address which he would give
me, and he would sign his answers with a fictitious name. He also
told me that the lady superior of Sainte-Marthe knew his secret,
and that I could confide in her. He was so restless and so
miserably unhappy on the day when he acquainted me with these
plans, that I really believed him insane.
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