“Your eminence commanded me to cast up an account.”
“You did it, did you not?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“To verify the amount of which his majesty, at this moment, stands in need. Did I not tell you so? Be frank, my friend.”
“Your eminence said so.”
“Well, what sum did I say I wanted?”
“Forty-five millions, I think.”
“And what sum could we find, after collecting all our resources?”
“Thirty-nine millions two hundred and sixty thousand.”
“That is correct, Bernouin; that is all I wanted to know. Leave us now,” said the cardinal, fixing his brilliant eye upon the young king, who sat mute with stupefaction.