Nothing could have been more innocent than the appearance of this great mansion, most of whose apartments seemed to have been long unoccupied, and Bonnoeil stated that his mother had gone a fortnight ago to Lower Normandy, where she went every year about this time to collect her rents and visit her property near Falaise.  When the servants were interrogated they were all unanimous in declaring that with the exception of Soyer and Mlle. Querey, they had seen the Marquise start for Falaise, and did not know of her return.  The commandant returned to Gaillon with his men, little suspecting that the woman he was looking for was calmly playing cards with one of her accomplices a few steps away, while they were searching her house.

She lived with her guest for eight days in this house with the false bottom, so to speak, never appearing outside, wandering through the unfurnished rooms during the day, and returning to her hiding-place at night.

They did not return to Tournebut till August 4th.  The same day Soyer received a letter from Mme. Acquet, on the envelope of which she had written, “For Mama.”  It was an answer to the letter sent to Croissanville by Lefebre.  Mme. Acquet said that her mother’s departure did her a great wrong, but that all danger was over and Lefebre could return to Falaise without fear.  As for herself, she had found refuge with a reliable person; the Abbe Moraud, vicar of Guibray, would take charge of her correspondence.  Of the proposal which had been made her to take refuge at Tournebut, not a word.  Evidently Mme. Acquet preferred the retreat she had chosen for herself—­where, she did not say.  Mme. de Combray, either hurt at this unjustifiable defiance, or afraid that she would prove herself an accomplice in the theft if she did not separate herself entirely from Mme. Acquet, made her maid reply that it was “too late for her to come now, that she was very ill and could receive no one.”  And thus the feeling that divided these two women was clearly defined.

Lefebre undertook to give the letter to Abbe Moraud; he was in a great hurry to return to Falaise, where he felt much safer than at Tournebut.  He left the same day, after having chosen a yellow horse from the stables of the chateau.  He put on top-boots and an overcoat belonging to Bonnoeil, and left by a little door in the wall of the park.  Soyer led him as far as the Moulin des Quatre-Vents on the highroad.  Lefebre took the Neubourg road so as to avoid Evreux and Louviers.  Two days after, he breakfasted at Glatigny with Lanoe, leaving there his boots, overcoat, and the yellow horse, and started gaily for Falaise, where he arrived in the evening.  He saw Mme. Acquet on the 7th, and found her completely at her ease.