Charles shrugged his shoulders. “Occasionally. Why else should I have been there?”
“Oh, precisely! Why else!” repeated his questioner, deprecatingly. “And doubtless, Monsieur de Cadanet, as a man of the world, took an interest in your fortune at the tables!” Lemaire, suspecting a trap, replied that they were not in the habit of talking over it.
“Ah! Only of Monsieur de Beaudrillart’s!”
“Nor of Monsieur de Beaudrillart’s.”
“No! I gathered that the fact of his large gambling losses displeased Monsieur de Cadanet!”
“Possibly.”
“But they were not learned from you!”
“Not in the first place. When he asked questions I could only tell the truth.”
“Unquestionably. Truth is an inestimable virtue. You were not the first to speak of them. Who, then? The concierge has given evidence that the count received no visitors.”
“It is impossible to say. Rumour filters everywhere. Possibly the servants talked.”