certainly have it ready for you.”
The marquis seemed to be trying to read his agent’s very soul. “Are you in earnest?” he asked. “Show your hand. If you don’t intend to help me out of my embarrassment, say so.”
“Ah, Monsieur le Marquis, am I not as much interested in your success as you yourself can be? Have you not received abundant proofs of my devotion?”
“Then I can rely upon you.”
“Absolutely.” And seeing a lingering doubt in his client’s eyes, M. Fortunat added, “You have my word of honor!”
The clock struck three. The marquis took his hat and started toward the door. But M. Fortunat, in whose heart the word scoundrel was still rankling, stopped him. “Are you going to that lady’s house now? What is she called? I’ve forgotten her name. Ah, yes, I remember now. Madame d’Argeles, isn’t she called? It’s at her place, I believe, that the reputation of Mademoiselle Marguerite’s favored lover is to be ruined.”
The marquis turned angrily. “What do you take me for, Master Twenty-per-cent?” he rudely asked. “That is one of those things no well-bred gentleman will do himself. But in Paris people can be found to do any kind of dirty work, if you are willing to pay them for it.”
“Then how will you know the result?”
“Why, twenty minutes after the affair is over, M. de Coralth will be at my house. He is there even now, perhaps.” And as this subject was anything but pleasant, he hastened away, exclaiming, “Get to bed, my dear extortioner. Au revoir. And, above all, remember your promise.”
“My respects, Monsieur le Marquis.”
But when the door closed, M. Fortunat’s expression immediately changed. “Ah! you insult me!” he muttered sullenly. “You rob me, and you call me a scoundrel into the bargain. You shall pay dearly for it, my fine fellow, no matter what may happen!”
IV.
It is in vain that the law has endeavored to shield private life from prying eyes. The scribes who pander to Parisian curiosity surmount all
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