Aubert
somewhat disturbed, and perplexed, by the loss of her daughter's
picture. As they drew near the house, they observed an unusual
bustle about it; the sound of voices was distinctly heard, servants
and horses were seen passing between the trees, and, at length, the
wheels of a carriage rolled along. Having come within view of the
front of the chateau, a landau, with smoking horses, appeared on the
little lawn before it. St. Aubert perceived the liveries of his
brother-in-law, and in the parlour he found Monsieur and Madame
Quesnel already entered. They had left Paris some days before, and
were on the way to their estate, only ten leagues distant from La
Vallee, and which Monsieur Quesnel had purchased several years before
of St. Aubert. This gentleman was the only brother of Madame St.
Aubert; but the ties of relationship having never been strengthened
by congeniality of character, the intercourse between them had not
been frequent. M. Quesnel had lived altogether in the world; his aim
had been consequence; splendour was the object of his taste; and his
address and knowledge of character had carried him forward to the
attainment of almost all that he had courted.
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