She declared it an
act of imprudence, which would surely set her husband upon the
track, sooner or later. And when the count announced his
intention of legally adopting the child, in spite of her protests,
she declared that, rather than allow it, she would confess
everything to her husband."
"The count was a patient man," sneered the baron.
"Not so patient as you may suppose. His submission was due to
some secret cause which he never confided to me. There must have
been some great crime under all this. In any case, the poor count
found it impossible to escape this terrible woman. He took refuge
at Cannes; but she followed him. He travelled through Italy, for
I don't know how many months under an assumed name, but all in
vain. He was at last compelled to conceal his daughter in some
provincial convent. During the last few months of his life he
obtained peace--that is to say, he bought it. This lady's husband
must either be very poor or exceedingly stingy; and as she was
exceedingly fond of luxury, M. de Chalusse effected a compromise
by giving her a large sum monthly, and also by paying her dress-
maker's bills."
The baron sprang to his feet with a passionate exclamation. "The
vile wretch!" he said.
But he quickly reseated himself, and the exclamation astonished M.
de Valorsay so little that he quietly concluded by saying: "And
this is the reason, baron, why my beloved Marguerite, the future
Marquise de Valorsay, has no dowry.
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