About three o'clock in the afternoon
The nun thought that in the evening she would begin her homeward journey toward her beloved convent . Helene thought that it was now too late to act , even if Gaston should speak . Gaston thought that he was about to lose forever the woman whom he loved . About three o'clock in the afternoon they all alighted to walk up a steep hill , from the summit of which they could see before them a steeple and a number of houses . It was Rambouillet ; they did not know it , but they felt that it was . Gaston was the first to break the silence . `` There , '' said he , `` our paths separate .