teor_, she had been unable to suppress a convulsive sneeze--asked
her but few inconvenient questions. Pretty fine-ladies will get into
little difficulties of this nature. He had listened to very much the
same story not infrequently before, and took the position amiably,
almost humorously, for granted. It was very wicked, a deadly sin, but
the flesh--specially such delicately bred, delicately fed, feminine
flesh--is admittedly weak, and the wiles of Satan are many. Is it not
an historic fact that our first mother did not escape?--Was Helen's
repentance sincere, that was the point? And of that Helen could
honestly assure him there was no smallest doubt. Indeed, at this
moment, she abhorred, not only her sin, but her co-sinner, in the
liveliest and most comprehensive manner. Return to him? Sooner the dog
return to its vomit! She recognised the iniquity, the shame, the
detestable folly, of her late proceedings far too clearly. Temptation
in that direction had ceased to be possible.

Then followed the mysterious and merciful words of absolution. And
Helen rose from her knees and slipped out from beneath the frayed and
greasy curtain a free woman, the guilt of her adultery wiped off by
those awful words, as, with a wet cloth, one would wipe writing off a
slate leaving the surface of it clean in every part. Precisely how far
she literally believed in the efficacy of that most solemn rite she
would not have found it easy to declare. Scepticism warred with
expediency. But that appeared to her beside the mark. It was really
none of her business. Let her teachers look to all that. To her it was
sufficient that she could regard it from the practical standpoint of an
insurance against possible accident--the accident of sin proving
actually sinful and actually punishable by a narrow-minded deity, the
accident of the veritable existence of heaven and hell, and of Holy
Church veritably having the keys of both these in her keeping, the
accident--more immediately probable and consequently worth guarding
against--that, during wakeful hours, some night, the half-forgotten
lessons of the convent school would come back on her, and, as did
sometimes happen, would prove too much for her usually victorious
audacity.

But, it should be added that another and more creditable instinct did
much to dictate Madame de Vallorbes' action at this juncture. As the
days went by the attraction exercised over her by Richard Calmady
suffered increase rather