"Confess before imploring absolution," said Marcel; "what has happened? what have you done? Tell us!"
"What has happened? this is what has happened, Mordi! chance helped me to vent my bile. The dowager Madame d'Estrelle sent to beg a favor of me. Two or three days before her husband's death, they sent to ask me to come to her house. I had known her a long while, because she once sold me some land, none too dear. She wasn't so shrewd in business then as she is to-day. She said to me: 'My husband won't last long; I inherit his property; but I don't pay his son's debts unless the countess turns over her dower to me; and to force her to do it I propose to buy up the claims. Lend me the money and you shall have part of the plunder. I will pay you well for obliging me.'—'Excuse me, madame,' I said, 'I want to make that lady feel that I have her in my power; but I want to be able to forgive her if it suits me.'—At that it was: 'Aha! what have you got against her?'—And to that I answered; 'I have what I have!'—'Indeed!'—'No.'—'Tell us,' etc., etc. In short from one thing to another, from one word to another, I unbosomed myself, I told her that I tried to be your friend and that you treated me like a pirate, and all because you had let yourself be drawn into the intrigues of Madame André Thierry, who wanted to marry her son to a great lady from vanity, and to have somebody else do as she did, like the wolf in the fable who had his tail cut off, so they say. And the marchioness was very glad to learn of the adventure, and made me say more than I meant to perhaps, although I took pleasure in telling it to her. At last, to wind up, she said: 'Monsieur Thierry, you must let this fine marriage go on, it suits me!'—'But it don't suit me!' said I.—'Bah! you are in love with her at your age!—Spite, jealousy, can you think of such things?'—'No, madame, I am not in love at my age; but at any age it makes a man angry to be fooled, and I have been fooled. I am not a bad man, but I am powerful, and I propose that they shall find it out. It isn't proper for me to persecute her myself, but when you have worried her well, since it amuses you, I propose to pardon her, if she asks me to.'—'Very well! very well!' said the marchioness. 'I swear to deal fairly with you as a good friend. Lend me the money. Here's my note, and you have my word.'—The lady sent for me again after the marquis was buried. I knew some fine stories about the goings-on here, and I told her everything, and it relieved us both to slaughter the countess. Then the dowager said to me: 'Revenge yourself. I am going to hunt her down to the last ditch.'—And I still said: 'All right, but let me know. I intend to redeem, if she mends her ways.'—Now, the excellent dowager deceived me; but I arrived in time. Everything's at an end between us; she's a crafty woman, she shall pay me for it; that's all I say!"
"You don't tell us everything, uncle. There was something else between you. You said to her just now: 'It depends on you whether everything is settled!'"
"That's my affair, it doesn't concern you."
"Pardon me; she answered never with such evident temper——"
"She's an old fool!"
"But what question did that answer?"
"Oh! go to the devil! why do you put your nose in?"
"Come, admit that the affair is complicated by another scheme——"
"No, I tell you!"