It went too far, too; her taste was offended by it; she grew
frightened. But the train of dissipation went on without her, like
a string of carriages which bore him along with it while she was
shaken off. Her eyes followed the cloud of dust far away, and the
roll of the wheels echoed back to her.
Helene--how about Helene? Was she too out in the cold? Far from
it. Rafael was as certain that she was with him as that his gold
watch was next his heart. The very first day that he arrived he
wrote a letter to her. It was not long, he had not time for that,
but it was thoroughly characteristic. He received an answer at
once; the hostess of the pension brought it to him herself. He was
so immensely delighted that the lady, who was related to the Dean
and who had noticed the post mark, divined the whole affair--a
thing which amused him greatly.
But Helene's letter was evasive; she evidently knew him too little
to dare to speak out.
He never found time to draw the hostess into conversation on the
subject, however. He came home late, he got up late, and then
there were always friends waiting for him; so that he was not seen
in the pension again until he returned to dress for dinner, during
which time the carriage waited at the door, for he never got home
till the last moment.
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