one o’clock in the morning
And Mme. la Comtesse Sixte du Chatelet , preparing Lucien 's triumph so patiently , sat like a player enraptured with the sound of his instrument ; she gave him opportunities for a reply ; she looked round the circle for applause so openly , that not a few of the women began to think that their return together was something more than a coincidence , and that Lucien and Louise , loving with all their hearts , had been separated by a double treason . Pique , very likely , had brought about this ill-starred match with Chatelet . And a reaction set in against the prefect . Before the Countess rose to go at one o'clock in the morning , she turned to Lucien and said in a low voice , `` Do me the pleasure of coming punctually to-morrow evening . '' Then , with the friendliest little nod , she went , saying a few words to Chatelet , who was looking for his hat . `` If Mme. du Chatelet has given me a correct idea of the state of affairs , count on me , my dear Lucien , '' said the prefect , preparing to hurry after his wife . She was going away without him , after the Paris fashion .