"He drinks?"
"Only as a gentleman might; neither does he gamble."
"Ah!"
The governor drew figures on the dusty bottle at the side of his plate.
"If he does none of these things," said the marquis, "why can not he live in peace here?"
"His … unfortunate history has followed him here."
"What?" The marquis's glass crashed upon the table and the wine crept among the plates, soaking the marquis's sleeves and crimsoning his elegant wristbands.
"What did you say?"
"Why," began the governor, startled and confused, "the history of his birth is known." He looked at the walls, at the wine running about, at the floor, at everything save the flashing eyes opposite.
"So the fool has told it here?" harshly. "Bah! let him rot here, then; fool!"