delusion, I saw as well as you did that he remained quite calm, but, in
spite of myself, this terrible dream haunts me . . . .There, do not
listen to me, do not let me talk about it; it only makes me blush for
myself."

Whilst Derues remained at Buisson-Souef, Monsieur de Lamotte received
several letters from his wife, some from Paris, some from Versailles. She
remarked that her son and herself were perfectly well.... The writing
was so well imitated that no one could doubt their genuineness. However,
Monsieur de Lamotte's suspicions continually increased and he ended by
making the cure share his fears. He also refused to go with Derues to
Paris, in spite of the latter's entreaties. Derues, alarmed at the
coldness shown him, left Buisson-Souef, saying that he intended to take
possession about the middle of spring.

Monsieur de Lamotte was, in spite of himself, still detained by
ill-health. But a new and inexplicable circumstance made him resolve to
go to Paris and endeavour to clear up the mystery which appeared to
surround his wife and son. He received an unsigned letter in unknown
handwriting, and in which Madame de Lamotte's reputation was attacked
with a kind of would-be reticence, which hinted that she was an
unfaithful wife and that in this lay the cause of her long absence. Her
husband did not believe this anonymous denunciation, but the fate of the
two beings dearest to him seemed shrouded in so much obscurity that he
could delay no longer, and started for Paris.

His resolution not to accompany Derues had saved his life. The latter
could not carry out his culminating crime at Buisson-Souef; it was only
in Paris that his victims would disappear without his being called to
account. Obliged to leave hold of his prey, he endeavoured to bewilder