midday
Julien accepted readily ; but not without being surprised that the young girl should be the first to suggest a tete-a-tete in the obscurity of a remote hut . Although more than ever fascinated by the unusual beauty of Mademoiselle Vincart , he was astonished , and occasionally shocked , by the audacity and openness of her action toward him . Once more the spirit of doubt took possession of him , and he questioned whether this freedom of manners was to be attributed to innocence or effrontery . After the pleasant friendliness of the midday repast , and the enlivening effect of the dance round the furnace , he was both glad and troubled to find himself alone with Reine . He longed to let her know what tender admiration she excited in his mind ; but he did not know how to set about it , nor in what style to address a girl of so strange and unusual a disposition . So he contented himself with fixing an enamored gaze upon her , while she stood leaning against one of the inner posts , and twisted mechanically between her fingers a branch of wild honeysuckle . Annoyed at his taciturnity , she at last broke the silence : `` You are not saying anything , Monsieur de Buxieres ; do you regret having come to this fete ? ''