"No, don't come to fetch me," she said, "I shall not go back to the Grotto this afternoon--it would be useless.

But you will come for me this evening at nine o'clock, won't you, Pierre?
It is agreed, you have given me your word." He repeated that he would endeavour to secure the requisite permission, and that, if necessary, he would apply to Father Fourcade in person.
"Then, till this evening, darling," said M.de Guersaint, kissing his daughter.

And he and Pierre went off together, leaving her lying on her bed, with an absorbed expression on her features, as her large, smiling eyes wandered away into space.
It was barely half-past ten when they got back to the Hotel of the Apparitions; but M.de Guersaint, whom the fine weather delighted, talked of having _dejeuner_ at once, so that he might the sooner start upon a ramble through Lourdes.

First of all, however, he wished to go up to his room, and Pierre following him, they encountered quite a drama on their way.

The door of the room occupied by the Vignerons was wide open, and little Gustave could be seen lying on the sofa which served as his bed.
He was livid; a moment previously he had suddenly fainted, and this had made the father and mother imagine that the end had come.