Disclaimers of intention would have been as tactless as his
presence was practically gross; and the narrowest escape they
either of them had was his lucky escape, in the event, from making
any. Nothing of the sort, so far as surface and sound were
involved, was even in question; surface and sound all made for
their common ridiculous good fortune, for the general
invraisemblance of the occasion, for the charming chance that they
had, the others, in passing, ordered some food to be ready, the
charming chance that he had himself not eaten, the charming chance,
even more, that their little plans, their hours, their train, in
short, from la-bas, would all match for their return together to
Paris. The chance that was most charming of all, the chance that
drew from Madame de Vionnet her clearest, gayest "Comme cela se
trouve!" was the announcement made to Strether after they were
seated at table, the word given him by their hostess in respect to
his carriage for the station, on which he might now count. It
settled the matter for his friends as well; the conveyance--
it WAS all too lucky!--would serve for them; and nothing was more
delightful than his being in a position to make the train so definite.
It might have been, for themselves--to hear Madame de Vionnet--
almost unnaturally vague, a detail left to be fixed; though Strether
indeed was afterwards to remember that Chad had promptly enough
intervened to forestall this appearance, laughing at his companion's
flightiness and making the point that he had after all, in spite of
the bedazzlement of a day out with her, known what he was about.
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