"
Mademoiselle Marguerite hastily interrupted him. "But I have not
doubted him for a second!" she exclaimed. "Doubt Pascal! I doubt
Pascal! I would sooner doubt myself. I might commit a
dishonorable act; I am only a poor, weak, ignorant girl, while he--
he---- You don't know, then, that he was my conscience? Before
undertaking anything, before deciding upon anything, if ever I
felt any doubt, I asked myself, 'What would he do? ' And the mere
thought of him is sufficient to banish any unworthy idea from my
heart." Her tone and manner betokened complete and unwavering
confidence; and her faith imparted an almost sublime expression to
her face. "If I was overcome, monsieur," she continued, "it was
only because I was appalled by the audacity of the accusation.
How was it possible to make Pascal even SEEM to be guilty of a
dishonorable act? This is beyond my powers of comprehension. I am
only certain of one thing--that he is innocent. If the whole
world rose to testify against him, it would not shake my faith in
him, and even if he confessed that he was guilty I should be more
likely to believe that he was crazed than culpable!"
A bitter smile curved her lips, she was beginning to judge the
situation more correctly, and in a calmer tone she resumed:
"Moreover, what does circumstantial evidence prove? Did you not
this morning hear all our servants declaring that I was
accountable for M. de Chalusse's millions? Who knows what might
have happened if it had not been for your intervention? Perhaps,
by this time, I should have been in prison.
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