The day arrived and Pedro had to leave for the University. Madame de Corriero had a long, last talk with the boy who had wanted to become her lover, and whom she wanted to be her son. She talked to him about his future, warned him against the dangers of excess and told him not to return till he had his degree.
Pedro protested, but he knew that the tiny body of his Mama hid a will of iron. As soon as she had said, “I want it,” he knew that he could only obey.
Three years went by, and Pedro left the University with his doctorate. Marame de Corriero was at La Bidouze, and he counted the hours as the train crawled through the countryside. When he arrived late that night, leaping up the stairs, she did not answer his knocking, and the door to her bedroom was securely bolted. The next morning Julia explained to him, as tenderly as possible that the things which then were a necessity, would today have been positively nasty.
“Youth belongs to youth, my boy,” she said. “I hope that you will always remember your Mama with love and tenderness. I have punished a little brat with the rod, I have made a man out of an adolescent. And that is the end of my role. I hope that you will save your love for one whose heart will beat your rhythm. The future, happiness and love… my dear son, there goes the very embodiment…” and she pointed at Claire who slowly walked toward them.
Pedro's protestations were very feeble indeed. Claire, who looked like a brilliant spring morning, made the beautiful image he held of Julia in his mind fade quickly.
And so it happened that Julia's wish came true. Her two foster children fell in love, and they needed no help from her. It did Julia's heart incredible good when she saw the tender love bloom between these two beautiful young people.
Before she left La Bidouze, she was happy to see Pedro and Claire get married. She settled a large tract of land in their names, which included a marble quarry. With his mining degree Pedro would undoubtedly know how to extract the riches out of his mountains.
“I believe that I have made two people very happy,” Madame de Corriero said to herself when she returned to Paris.