ch from the very first embittered her
against the new arrival. Acquet, for his part, feted his protege, and
welcoming him cordially put him on his guard against the machinations of
the Marquise, whom he represented as an inveterate enemy of the
conciliatory government to which France owed the Concordat. The Abbe
Clerisse, who, from the construction of the house was obliged to use the
rooms in common with Mme. de Combray, was not long in noticing the
mysterious behaviour of the occupants. There were conferences conducted
in whispers, visitors who arrived at night and left at dawn, secret
comings and goings, in short, all the strange doings of a houseful of
conspirators, so that the good cure one day took Lanoe aside and
recommended him to be prudent, "predicting that he would get himself
into serious difficulties if he did not quit the service of the Marquise
as soon as possible." Mme. de Combray, in her exasperation, called the
Abbe "Concordataire," an epithet which, from her, was equivalent to
renegade. She had the imprudence to add that the reign of the "usurper
would not last forever, and that the princes would soon return at the
head of an English army and restore everything." In her wrath she left
the parsonage, making a great commotion, and went to beg shelter from
her farmer Hebert, who lived in a cottage used as a public house, called
La Bijude, where the road from Harcourt met that from Cesny. Acquet was
triumphant. The astonished Abbe remained passive; and as ill luck would
have it, fell ill and died a few days afterwards. A report was
circulated, emanating from the chateau, that he had died of grief caused
by Mme. de Combray. Then people began to talk in whispers about a
certain basket of white wine with which she had presented the poor
priest. A week later all those who sided with Acquet were convinced that
the Marquise had poisoned the Abbe Clerisse, "after having been
imprudent enough to take him into her confidence." Feeling ran high in
the village. Acquet affected consternation. The authorities, no doubt
informed by him, began making investigations when a nephew of the
Marquise, M. de Saint Leonard, Mayor of Falaise, who was on very good
terms with the Court, came down to hush up the affair and impose silence
on the mischief-makers.

This first bout between Acquet de Ferolles and the family de Combray
resulted in d'Ache's being forbidden the house of his old friend.
Feeling herself in the clutches of an