“What can that be?” said the duchesse, pretending to be surprised and terrified.
“You will learn; indeed, you must know it already, that having once been an affiliated member of the order, it is not easy to leave it; for the secrets that any particular member may have acquired are unwholesome, and carry with them the germs of misfortune for whosoever may reveal them.”
The duchesse paused and reflected for a moment, and then said, “That is more serious: I will think it over.”
And notwithstanding the profound obscurity, Aramis seemed to feel a basilisk glance, like a white-hot iron, escape from his friend’s eyes, and plunge into his heart.
“Let us recapitulate,” said Aramis, determined to keep himself on his guard, and gliding his hand into his breast where he had a dagger concealed.
“Exactly, let us recapitulate; short accounts make long friends.”
“The suppression of your pension—”
“Forty-eight thousand francs, and that of Laicques’s twelve, make together sixty thousand francs; that is what you mean, I suppose?”
“Precisely; and I was trying to find out what would be your equivalent for that.”
“Five hundred thousand francs, which I shall get from the queen.”