‘I see no reason why he should be robbed of his birthright.’
‘Would you make him the heir of Charles Edward?’
‘He is so.’
‘King of England, too?’
‘If legitimacy mean anything, he is that also.’
‘Arnulph tells us, that when a delusion gets hold of a strong intellect, it grows there like an oak that has its roots in a rock: its progress slow, its development difficult, but its tenacity ineradicable.’
‘Your Eminence’s logic would be excellent in its application, but that you have assumed the whole question at issue! Are you so perfectly sure that this is a delusion?’
‘Let us talk like men of the world, Père Massoni,’ said Carafla bluntly. ‘If this tale be all true, what interest has it for you or me?’
‘Its truth, your Eminence,’ said the Père, with a gesture of deep humility, as though by a show of respect to cover the bold rebuke of his words.
‘So far, of course, it claims our sympathy and our support,’ said Carafla, reddening; ‘but my question was addressed rather to what would carry a more worldly signification. I meant, in short, to what object could it contribute for which we are interested?’