‘It were as well to die as live what he now is!’ said the Père solemnly.
‘Have the doctors seen him?—has Fabrichette been with him?’
‘No, sir. It is no case for their assistance, my own poor skill can teach me so much. His is the malady of the wounded spirit and the injured mind.’
‘Is his reason affected?’ asked Caraffa quickly.
‘I trust not; but it is a case where time and care can be the only physicians.’
‘And so, therefore, falls to the ground the grand edifice you have so long been rearing. The great foundation itself is rotten.’
‘He may recover, sir,’ said Massoni slowly.
‘To what end, I ask you, to what end?’
‘At least to claim a princely heritage,’ said Massoni boldly.
‘Who says so?—of what heritage do you speak? You are surely too wise to put faith in the idle stories men repeat of this or that legacy left by the late Prince.’