And she ended with a formula that, in spite of the ambiguous way in which she uttered it, was none the less clear, and put us plainly in the wrong: "The fact is…" We did not insist, for fear of bringing upon ourselves another, far more serious: "It's a matter .!" So that it amounted to this, that we could no longer have any hot water because Françoise had become a friend of the man who would have to heat it.