Josephine quaked. Camille was devoured with secret rage: he lashed the
horse and away they went.
It was a silent party. The doctor seemed in a reverie. The others did
not know what to think, much less to say. Aubertin sat by Camille's
side; so the latter could hold no secret communication with either lady.
Now it was not the doctor's habit to rise at this time of the morning:
yet there he was, going with them to Frejus uninvited.
Josephine was in agony; had their intention transpired through some
imprudence of Camille?
Camille was terribly uneasy. He concluded the secret had transpired
through female indiscretion. Then they all tortured themselves as to the
old man's intention. But what seemed most likely was, that he was with
them to prevent a clandestine marriage by his bare presence, without
making a scene and shocking Josephine's pride: and if so, was he there
by his own impulse? No, it was rather to be feared that all this was
done by order of the baroness. There was a finesse about it that smacked
of a feminine origin, and the baroness was very capable of adopting such
a means as this, to spare her own pride and her favorite daughter's.
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