With this object in view, M. de
Valorsay applied to his notary; but the latter utterly refused to
mix himself up in any such affair, and declared that the marquis's
suggestion was almost an insult. Then touched, perhaps, by his
client's apparent despair, he said, "But I can mention a person
who might be of service to you. Go to M. Isidore Fortunat, No. 27
Place de la Bourse. If you succeed in interesting him in your
marriage, it is an accomplished fact."
It was under these circumstances that the marquis became
acquainted with M. Fortunat. M. de Valorsay was a man of no
little penetration, and on his first visit he carefully weighed
his new acquaintance. He found him to be the very counsellor he
desired--prudent, and at the same time courageous; fertile in
expedients; a thorough master of the art of evading the law, and
not at all troubled by scruples. With such an adviser, it would
be mere child's play to conceal his financial embarrassments and
deceive the most suspicious father-in-law. So M. de Valorsay did
not hesitate a moment. He frankly disclosed his pecuniary
condition and his matrimonial hopes, and concluded by promising M.
Fortunat a certain percentage on the bride's dowry, to be paid on
the day following the marriage.
After a prolonged conference, the agreement was drawn up and
signed, and that very day M. Fortunat took the nobleman's
interests in hand. How heartily, and with what confidence in his
success, is shown by the fact that he had advanced forty thousand
francs for his client's use, out of his own private purse.
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