“No exaggeration! I am not infallible, as you know, since Trémont escaped me. Still, I will do everything a human being can do to succeed. Have confidence, and keep calm, that is all I ask.”
A rolling of wheels was heard under the carriage gate, and a trampling of horses’ hoofs announced the return of Mademoiselle Lichtenbach.
“It is my daughter returning,” said the banker.
“Then she is at home for the present?”
“She wished to assist at the funeral of the General de Trémont, whose daughter is a friend of hers.”
A smile flitted across the lips of the Baroness.
“Chance or precaution?”
“Chance,” said Lichtenbach, coldly. “They are both at the Sacre-Coeur. They found themselves thrown together, and a mutual attachment sprang up.”
“And now that you know of it, you encourage this intimacy?”
“I never oppose my daughter.”