“Even more than usual,” replied Fouquet.
“You know how to support losses?”
“Sometimes.”
“What, Monsieur Fouquet a bad player!”
“There is play and play, Monsieur d’Herblay.”
“How much have you lost?” inquired Aramis, with a slight uneasiness.
Fouquet collected himself a moment, and then, without the slightest emotion, said, “The evening has cost me four millions,” and a bitter laugh drowned the last vibration of these words.
Aramis, who did not expect such an amount, dropped his pen. “Four millions,” he said; “you have lost four millions,—impossible!”
“Monsieur Colbert held my cards for me,” replied the superintendent, with a similar bitter laugh.
“Ah, now I understand; so, so, a new application for funds?”