Villette

M. Paul does not speak to Lucy for several days, causing her great distress. She notices a change in his demeanor, and he goes to great lengths to avoid conversation with her. M. Paul skips their weekly lesson, choosing instead to work in the garden in the rain. Lucy finds he has left her another gift inside her desk but is disappointed to find it is a religious tract from the priest attempting to convert her to Catholicism. Lucy reads the tract, which neither angers nor intrigues her.

That evening, M. Paul finally speaks to her to ask if she enjoyed the reading, and she confesses that it bored her. M. Paul tells Lucy that Père Silas gave him the tract during confession and warned M. Paul about friendship with a Protestant. Lucy defends her faith, saying that Protestants and Catholics have more in common than not: Both are united by sin. Lucy makes it clear she has no intention of converting, as she does not enjoy the pomp and circumstance of Catholic rituals. M. Paul is pleased with her answer and agrees that they can be friends.