Not wishing to trouble him by their presence, and thus imposing on him the necessity of saying farewells which might perhaps be painful to him, they had left him alone and ascended to Granite House.
Ne voulant pas le gêner en lui imposant par leur présence des adieux qui lui auraient peut-être coûté, ils l'avaient laissé seul et ils étaient remontés à Granite-House.