Norbert gazed round; the only other exit from the room was by means of a window some forty feet from the ground.  The young man, however, imagined that some one would surely come to make up his bed for the night; that would give him two sheets; these he could knot together and thus secure a means of escape.  He might not be able to see Diana at once, but he could easily send her a message by Daumon, warning her of what had taken place.  Having arranged his plans, he threw himself into an armchair with a more easy mind than he had experienced for many months past.  The decisive step had been taken, and the relations between his father and himself clearly defined, and thus he naturally considered great progress had been made, and the task before him seemed as nothing to what he had already performed.

“My father,” thought he, “must be half mad with passion.”

And Norbert was not wrong in his opinion.  When the Duke, as usual, took his place at the table, at which the farm laborers ate their meals, not one of them had the courage to make a single observation.  Every one knew what a serious altercation had taken place between father and son, and each one was devoured by the pangs of ungratified curiosity.

As soon as the meal was concluded, the Duke called an old and trustworthy servant, who had been in his employment for over thirty years.

“Jean,” said he, “your young master is locked in the yellow room.  Here is the key.  Take him something to eat.”

“Very good, your Grace.”

“Wait a little.  You will spend the night in his room and keep a strict watch upon him.  He may design to make his escape.  If he attempts it, restrain him, if necessary, by physical force.  Should he prove too strong for you, call to me; I shall be near, and will come to your aid.”

This unexpected precaution upon the Duke’s part upset all Norbert’s plans of escape.  He endeavored to persuade Jean to allow him to go out for a couple of hours, giving his word of honor that he would return at the expiration of that time.  Prayers and menaces, however, had no effect.  Had the young man gazed from the window, he would have seen his father striding moodily up and down the courtyard, with the thought gnawing at his heart that perhaps after all these many years of waiting his plans might yet be frustrated.

“There is a woman at the bottom of all this,” said he to himself.  “It is only woman’s wiles that in this brief space of time would effect so complete a change in a young man’s disposition.  Besides, he would not have so obstinately declined to listen to the proposal I made him had not his affections been engaged elsewhere.  Who can she be? and by what means shall I find her out?”

It would be absurd to question Norbert, and the Duke was excessively unwilling to institute any regular inquiry into the matter.  He passed the whole night in gloomy indecision, but towards morning an inspiration came to him which he looked upon as a special interposition of Providence.