Business is business. In the afternoon, when I am
in a restaurant, at the club, or in a lady's boudoir, I am merely
the viscount and the grand seigneur. All money questions sicken
me. I am careless, liberal, and obliging to a fault. But in the
morning I am simply Coralth, a man of the middle classes who
doesn't pay his bills without examining them, and who watches his
money, because he doesn't wish to be ruined and end his brilliant
career as a common soldier in some foreign legion."
M. Wilkie did not allow him to continue. He believed, and his joy
was wild--delirious. "Enough, enough!" he interrupted. "A
difficulty between us! Never! I am yours without reserve! Do you
understand me? How much must you have? Do you wish for it all?"
But the viscount was unmoved. "It is not fitting that I should
fix upon the indemnity which is due to me. I will consult a man
of business; and I will decide upon this point on the day after
to-morrow, when I shall explain everything to you."
"On the day after to-morrow! You won't leave me in suspense for
forty-eight hours?"
"It is unavoidable. I have still some important information to
procure. I lost no time in coming to you, so that I might put you
on your guard. If any scoundrel comes to you with proposals, be
extremely careful. Some agents, when they obtain a hold on an
estate, leave nothing for the rightful owner.
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