had not yet sufficient greatness of soul to renounce my rights, I had at
least developed enough honour not to refer to them; and I found myself
on exactly the same terms with her as at the time when I had fallen ill.
M. de la Marche was in Paris; but according to her he had been summoned
thither by his military duties and ought to return at the end of the
winter on which we were entering. Nothing that the chevalier or the abbe
said tended to show that there had been a quarrel between Edmee and him.
They rarely spoke of the lieutenant-general, but when they had to speak
of him they did so naturally and without any signs of repugnance. I
was again filled with my old doubts, and could find no remedy for them
except in the kingdom of my own will. "I will force her to prefer me," I
would say to myself as I raised my eyes from my book and watched Edmee's
great, inscrutable eyes calmly fixed on the letters which her father
occasionally received from M. de la Marche, and which he would hand to
her as soon as he had read them. I buried myself in my work again. For
a long time I suffered from frightful pains in the head, but I overcame
them stoically. Edmee again began the course of studies which she had
indirectly laid down for my winter evenings. Once more I astonished the
abbe by my aptitude and the rapidity of my conquests. The kindness he
had shown me during my illness had disarmed me; and although I was still
unable to feel any genuine affection for him, knowing well that he was
of little service to me with my cousin, I gave him proof of much more
confidence and respect than in the past. His talks were as useful to me
as my reading. I was allowed to accompany him in his walks in the park
and in his philosophical visits to Patience's snow-covered hut. This
gave me an opportunity of seeing Edmee more frequently and for longer
periods. My behaviour was such that all her mistrust vanished, and she
no longer feared to be alone with me. On such occasions, however, I
had but little scope for displaying my heroism; for the abbe, whose
vigilance nothing could lull to sleep, was always at our heels. This