You
remember, perhaps, a little incident that occurred after your
return. On perceiving that you had forgotten your letter, you
turned pale and glanced at me. 'Have you read it, and do you
understand it?' your eyes asked; while mine replied: 'Yes, but I
shall be silent.'"
"And I shall be silent too," said Madame d'Argeles.
M. de Coralth took her hand and raised it to his lips. "I knew we
should understand each other," he remarked, gravely. "I am not
bad at heart, believe me; and if I had possessed money of my own,
or a mother like you----"
She averted her face, fearing perhaps that M. de Coralth might
read her opinion of him in her eyes; but after a short pause she
exclaimed beseechingly: "Now that I am your accomplice, let me
entreat you to do all you possibly can to prevent last night's
affair from being noised abroad."
"Impossible."
"If not for M. Ferailleur's sake, for the sake of his poor widowed
mother."
"Pascal must be put out of the way!"
"Why do you say that? Do you hate him so much then? What has he
done to you?"
"To me, personally? Nothing--I even feel actual sympathy for him."
Madame d'Argeles was confounded. "What!" she stammered; "it
wasn't on your own account that you did this?"
"Why, no."
She sprang to her feet, and quivering with scorn and indignation,
cried: "Ah! then the deed is even more infamous--even more
cowardly!" But alarmed by the threatening gleam in M.
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