“But you are sure you are not mistaken.”
“Very sure.”
“It really was I whom your excellency expected at seven o’clock this evening?”
“I will prove it to you beyond a doubt.”
“Oh, no, never mind that,” said the Italian; “it is not worth the trouble.”
“Yes, yes,” said Monte Cristo. His visitor appeared slightly uneasy. “Let me see,” said the count; “are you not the Marquis Bartolomeo Cavalcanti?”
“Bartolomeo Cavalcanti,” joyfully replied the Italian; “yes, I am really he.”
“Ex-major in the Austrian service?”
“Was I a major?” timidly asked the old soldier.
“Yes,” said Monte Cristo “you were a major; that is the title the French give to the post which you filled in Italy.”