It's been some time since Athos had anyone to care for him the way Madame Bonacieux seems compelled to do. He isn't sure whether he can even trust Anne's love for him, for he'll always wonder how much of their marriage had been an act for her to achieve what she'd wanted. Caught off guard by the care of a stranger, Athos finds himself somewhat stunned to the point that he doesn't have the words to immediately reply to her.

"Perhaps it's a better sense of Paris I require," he admits. "Maps," he suggests. "Or a better internal sense of direction. Have you lived here long?"