name, that nearly killed him. At that moment
his hatred was strongest against Adrian. Why
had such an upstart as that, a puny, miserable creature,
come between him and the only thing that he had ever
seen in the guise of a woman that could touch his
heart? He turned round with his back to the table
and his face to the stove, and said nothing.
But he was able, when he no longer saw her, when her
voice was not sounding in his ear, to swear that the
thunderbolt should be hurled all the same. His
journey to Granpere should not be made for nothing.
’I must go now,’ she said presently.
’I shall see you at supper, shall I not, George,
when Uncle will be with us? Uncle Michel will
be so delighted to find you. And you will tell
us of the new doings at the hotel. Good-bye
for the present, George.’ Then she was
gone before he had spoken another word.
He eat his dinner, and smoked a cigar about the yard,
and then said that he would go out and meet his father.
He did go out, but did not take the road by which
he knew that his father was to be found. He strolled
off to the ravine, and came back only when it was dark.
The meeting between him and his father was kindly;
but there was no special word spoken, and thus they
all sat down to supper.
It became necessary as George Voss sat at supper with
his father and Madame Voss that he should fix the
time of his return to Colmar, and he did so for the
early morning of the next day but one. He had
told Madame Faragon that he expected to stay at Granpere
but one night. He felt, however, after his arrival
that it might be difficult for him to get away on
the following day, and therefore he told them that
he would sleep two nights at the Lion d’Or, and
then start early, so as to reach the Colmar inn by
mid-day.
‘I suppose you find the old lady rather fidgety,
George?’ said Michel Voss in high good humour.
George found it easier to talk about Madame Faragon
and the hotel at Colmar than he did of things at Granpere,
and therefore became communicative as to his own affairs.
Michel too preferred the subject of the new doings
at the house on the other side of the Vosges.
His wife had given him a slight hint, doing her best,
like a good wife and discreet manager, to prevent
ill-humour and hard words.
’He feels a little sore, you know. I was
always sure there was something. But it was
wise of him to come and see her, and it will go off
in this way.’
Michel swore that George had no right to be sore,
and that if his son did not take pride in such a family
arrangement as this, he should no longer be son of
his. But he allowed himself to be counselled
by his wife, and soon talked himself into a pleasant
mood, discussing Madame Faragon, and the horses belonging
to the Hotel de la Poste, and Colmar affairs in general.
There was a certain important ground for satisfaction
between them. Everybody agreed that George Voss
had shown himself to be a steady man of business in
the affairs of the inn at Colmar.
