[284]


FOILED    BY    THE    SAVAGES

But  Jean  Cavelier  had  not  forgotten  his  hu-
miliation. Anne  represented  the  only  object
whom,  during  his  whole  life,  he  had  even  thought
he  loved ;  and  when  the  veil  was  torn  aside  so
suddenly,  and  he  saw  the  disgust  and  loathing
with  which  the  girl  regarded  him,  his  heart  re-
ceived a  blow  for  the  first  time.  This  height-
ened the  resentment  Jean  felt  toward  Anne
because  of  his  injured  pride  and  self-esteem  ;
and  he  pondered  long  over  the  next  step  to  be
taken.  Robert  had  passed  beyond  his  reach,
and  he  therefore  had  a  double  revenge  to  visit
upon  the  head  of  the  unsuspecting  girl.  His
Jesuit  companions  were  quite  content  that  their
antagonist  had  removed  himself  from  their  path ;
but  Jean  would  have  been  better  pleased  to  be
the  instrument  of  his  misfortunes,  and  to  witness
his  suffering  while  enduring  the  torture.
The  bearing  of  Father  Cavelier,  however,  dur-
ing this  trying  interval  was  perfection  itself ;  and
even  Anne  was  deceived.  They  met,  sometimes
daily,  always  as  priest  and  nun,  —  he  labouring
with  the  penitent  for  his  soul,  she  with  the  pa-
tient for  his  life.  Jean  could  but  admire  the
self-control  and  unselfishness  of  the  girl  as  he
met  her  thus  ;  Anne,  however,  could  not  recon-
cile Jean's  apparent  sincerity  in  his  religious
work  with  the  episode  in  the  garden  of  the
Hotel  Dieu,  which  she  could  not  efface  from
[285]


ROBERT    CAVELIER

her  memory,  try  as  she  would.  It  was  a  strange
little  drama  being  enacted,  day  by  day,  but  the
man  still  held  the  leading  role.  In  spite  of  her
experiences,  Anne  could  only  believe  that  Jean's
outburst  was  due  to  momentary  impulsiveness,
and  that  he  himself  probably  deeply  regretted  it.
