Vincent got up quietly, and so did she.

They stood with their arms about each other, as if they meant never to forget the sense of that contact; and then without any protest they went down-stairs together.
In the hall he had shaken hands with Mr.Lanley and had kissed Mathilde, who, do what she would, couldn't help choking a little.

All this time Adelaide stood on the stairs, very erect, with one hand on the stair-rail and one on the wall, not only her eyes, but her whole face, radiating an uplifted peace.

So angelic and majestic did she seem that Mathilde, looking up at her, would hardly have been surprised if she had floated out into space from her vantage-ground on the staircase.
Then Farron lit a last cigar, gave a quick, steady glance at his wife, and went out.

The front door ended the incident as sharply as a shot would have done.
It was then that Mathilde expected to see her mother break down.