It was further known that he had on Rue Vivienne, a magnificent apartment, and that he had successively honored with his liberal protection Mlle. Sidney of the Varieties, and Mme. Jenny Fancy, a lady of a certain age already, but so situated as to return to her lovers in notoriety what they gave her in good money. So much did Maxence learn without difficulty. As to any more precise details, it was impossible to obtain them. To his pressing questions upon M. Costeclar’s antecedents,
“He is a perfectly honest man,” answered some.
“He is simply a speculator,” affirmed others.
But all agreed that he was a sharp one; who would surely make his fortune, and without passing through the police-courts, either.
“How can our father and such a man be so intimately connected?” wondered Maxence and his sister.
And they were lost in conjectures, when suddenly, at an hour when he never set his foot in the house, M. Favoral appeared.
Throwing a letter upon his daughter’s lap,
“See what I have just received from Costeclar,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Read.”
She read, “Allow me, dear friend, to release you from your engagement. Owing to circumstances absolutely beyond my control, I find myself compelled to give up the honor of becoming a member of your family.”
What could have happened?