one o'clock
Sarah 's only reply was an indignant rising from her seat , and hasty removal from the vicinage of the annoying Duke de Lucenay . All this had passed with the rapidity of thought . Sarah had experienced considerable difficulty in restraining her inclination to indulge in a hearty fit of laughter at the absurd question put by the Duke de Lucenay to the commandant ; but Madame d'Harville had painfully sympathised with the feelings of a man so ridiculously interrogated in the presence of the woman he loved . Then , horror-struck as the probable consequences of the duke 's jest rose to her mind , led away by her dread of the duel which might arise out of it , and still further instigated by a feeling of deep pity for one who seemed to her misled imagination as marked out for every venomed shaft of envy , malice , and revenge , Clémence rose abruptly from her seat , took the arm of Sarah , overtook M. Charles Robert , who was boiling over with rage , and whispered to him , as she passed : `` To-morrow , at one o'clock , I will be there . '' Then , regaining the gallery with the countess , she immediately quitted the ball . Rodolph , in appearing at this fête , besides fulfilling a duty imposed on him by his exalted rank and place in society , was further influenced by the earnest desire to ascertain how far his suspicions , as regarded Madame d'Harville , were well founded , and if she were , indeed , the heroine of Madame Pipelet 's account . After quitting the winter garden with the Countess de -- , he had , in vain , traversed the various salons in the hopes of meeting Madame d'Harville alone .