Villette

John Graham and Count de Bassompierre return home in a snowstorm. The party enjoys wassail and conversation, and Paulina performs a Celtic dance. The group sings “Auld Lane Syne” and reminisces about England. De Bassompierre used to be “Mr. Home” and is of Scottish ancestry. John gives Paulina sips of wassail from his cup and seems enamored of her.

Everyone stays the night, and the snowstorm continues into the following day. At breakfast, the count explains that he wishes for Paulina to return to school. Mrs. Bretton reveals that Lucy is a teacher and could inquire about Paulina attending Rue Fossette. Paulina expresses displeasure with this idea, saying that her father would have to attend with her; he could not go a day without seeing her the last time she was away at school. Paulina pities Lucy for being a teacher, but the count sees her profession as an indication of her good character. Lucy notices John taking an interest in Paulina. He leaves for work, and Lucy and Paulina sit together sewing but in silence. The count also leaves in the storm, and Paulina spends her day reading all John’s old books, keeping herself busy until her father returns.

Madame Beck allows Lucy to make regular trips outside the convent, heartily approving of Lucy’s connections to the Brettons and de Bassompierres. Lucy discovers Madame has read her letters. She is not angry but wonders what Madame thinks of John’s words. Lucy asks Madame not to read her letters anymore, and from that day forward Madame ceases to search Lucy’s belongings. However, Lucy determines the letters mean too much to her and decides she must dispose of them. When she goes to retrieve the letters, she finds they have been disturbed again. She assumes it was M. Paul working in tandem with Madame Beck and bemoans her lack of privacy: “Where could a key be a safeguard, or a padlock a barrier?” (381). Lucy decides to bury the letters. She travels to a shop in town, where she has them sealed in a glass bottle. Lucy then buries the letters under the pear tree in the garden where it is rumored the nun was interred. As she places a cement covering over the spot, the apparition of the nun appears again. Lucy speaks to it, but it does not respond. Lucy tells no one of the encounter.

Paulina wishes for Lucy to be her companion, but Lucy refuses despite being offered a generous salary by the Count. Lucy would rather be a housemaid than a governess: She appreciates the freedom and liberty that Madame Beck allows her. Lucy does regularly visit Paulina, and they begin German lessons together. Their teacher, Fräulein Anna Braun, finds some of their English ways peculiar. Paulina is intelligent and masters the language easily. Her father, however, notes that her language changes when she is around John Graham, a slight childhood speech impediment resurfacing.

While reading German together one evening, Paulina tells Lucy she is nervous to speak to John because of Ginevra’s assertions about his character, which Paulina believes to be false. Lucy proposes they invite Ginevra to dinner to find out the truth.