Cesar had similar thoughts, but they quickly gave way to anticipation of his upcoming rendezvous with Demetria. Whatever resentment he had felt over the perception that Cecile had abandoned him was dulled by the notion that he had a replacement for her. Whether Cecile herself had guided her to him was merely a detail.
On Monday evening as Cecile returned from Paris in a carriage with Auguste next to her, she thought of the coming Saturday. It would be three weeks then since she last saw Cesar. She felt guilt remembering how he had been there for her just before her repeated absences. She hoped that he would be understanding when she explained herself and that she would find a way to make it up to him.