Two peaceful years passed. Among other friends and visitors, Wilhelmine met the Baron de Naarboveck, a foreign diplomat. Then Lady Beltham went to France, and one sad day the orphan girl learned that her mother by adoption had died there![6]
[Footnote 6: See _The Exploits of Juve_: vol. ii, Fantômas Series.]
Six dreary, anxious months followed. Then the baron, the only person in the whole world who seemed to care whether she lived or died, came to find her. He took her to Paris. There he decided to pass her off as his daughter, declaring he had very grave reasons for doing so.
Though making her the centre of a mystery, for undeclared reasons of his own, de Naarboveck was very good to her, helped her to unravel her financial affairs, and informed her that she was the owner of a large fortune. He told her that some day she would have to go to a foreign country to take possession of this fortune--the baron did not say where.
Wilhelmine stopped her narrative, jumped up, pointing to a shadow moving across an altar.
"I think I did," answered Henri de Loubersac. "It is the shadow of some passer-by thrown into relief on the light background."
"Of whom are you afraid?" asked de Loubersac.
Wilhelmine--or Thérèse Auvernois, as she had confessed herself to be--glanced about her. There was not a soul within hearing! Now she would speak her mind to Henri--her dear Henri--and tell him all.
"You want to know, dear one, why my existence has been surrounded with so many mysterious precautions of late years! You wish to know why the baron is so determined that my real identity should remain hidden! You are right; for I have long asked myself the same question. When I spoke to the baron about this for the first time--it was only a few weeks ago, and told him that I wished to appear as what I really am, Thérèse Auvernois, my father by adoption--I may call him that, seeing how good, how kind he has been to me--began by telling me it was impossible--that the most terrible misfortunes would result from such a revelation.... I insisted. I wanted to know what these dreadful misfortunes would be, and why they would follow as a matter of course, were it made known that I am Thérèse Auvernois. Thereupon the baron told me astonishing things.