“That is the right style of way to talk in,” remarked Tantaine cheerfully.
“Then,” continued the Count, with a ray of hope gleaming in his face, “why should I give my daughter to De Croisenois at all?—surely this is utterly unnecessary. What you want is simply six hundred thousand francs; well, you can have them, and leave me Sabine.”
He paused and waited for the reply, believing that the day was his; but he was wrong.
“That would not be the same thing at all,” answered Tantaine. “We should not gain our ends by such means.”
“I can do more,” said the Count. “Give me six months, and I will add a million to the sum I have already offered.”
Tantaine did not appear impressed by the magnitude of this offer. “I think,” remarked he, “that it will be better to close this interview, which, I confess, is becoming a little annoying. You agreed to accept the conditions. Are you still in that mind?”
The Count bowed. He could not trust himself to speak.
“Then,” went on Tantaine, “I will take my leave. Remember, that as you fulfil your engagement, so we will keep to ours.”
He had laid his hand on the handle of the door, when the Count said,—
“Another word, if you please. I can answer for myself and Madame de Mussidan, but how about my daughter?”