"
"It is I who paid them!"
"Very good," said Hulot; "I am glad for Count Steinbock's sake; he may
some day repay the money. But he is loved, much loved, and often--"
"Loved!" cried Crevel, whose face showed his utter bewilderment. "It
is cowardly, and dirty, and mean, and cheap, to calumniate a woman!
--When a man says such things, monsieur, he must bring proof."
"I will bring proof."
"I shall expect it."
"By the day after to-morrow, my dear Monsieur Crevel, I shall be able
to tell you the day, the hour, the very minute when I can expose the
horrible depravity of your future wife."
"Very well; I shall be delighted," said Crevel, who had recovered
himself.
"Good-bye, my children, for the present; good-bye, Lisbeth."
"See him out, Lisbeth," said Celestine in an undertone.
"And is this the way you take yourself off?" cried Lisbeth to Crevel.
"Ah, ha!" said Crevel, "my son-in-law is too clever by half; he is
getting on. The Courts and the Chamber, judicial trickery and
political dodges, are making a man of him with a vengeance!--So he
knows I am to be married on Wednesday, and on a Sunday my gentleman
proposes to fix the hour, within three days, when he can prove that my
wife is unworthy of me.
Pages:
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586