This misfortune rendered us gayer than ever; we laughed heartily
at our giddiness in having forgotten that our clothes and shoes
would wear out, or trusting to renew them by the play of our fountain.
We continued our journey as merrily as we had begun it, only drawing
faster towards that termination where our drained purses made it
necessary for us to arrive.
At Chambery I became pensive; not for the folly I had committed, for
never did any one think less of the past, but on account of the
reception I should meet with from Madam de Warrens; for I looked on
her house as my paternal home. I had written her an account of my
reception at the Count de Gauvon's; she knew my expectancies, and,
in congratulating me on my good fortune, had added some wise lessons
on the return I ought to make for the kindness with which they treated
me. She looked on my fortune as already made, if not destroyed by my
own negligence; what then would she say on my arrival? for it never
entered my mind that she might shut the door against me, but I dreaded
the uneasiness I might give her; I dreaded her reproaches, to me
more wounding than want; I resolved to bear all in silence, and, if
possible, to appease her. I now saw nothing but Madam de Warrens in
the whole universe, and to live in disgrace with her was impossible.
I was most concerned about my companion, whom I did not wish to
offend, and feared I should not easily get rid of. I prefaced this
separation by an affected coldness during the last day's journey.
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