"I cannot reply to that."
"Why not?"
"Because M. Vulfran has forbidden me to speak of this letter."
"You know very well that M. Vulfran and I are as one. All of his orders pass by me; all favors that he bestows are also passed by me. I have to know all that concerns him."
"Even his personal affairs?"
"Does that letter relate to personal affairs then?" asked Talouel.
She realized that she had let herself be caught.
"I did not say that," she said. "I said that in case it was a personal letter, ought I to let you know the contents?"
"I certainly should know," said Talouel, "if it relates to personal affairs. Do you know that he is ill from worrying over matters which might kill him? If he now received some news that might cause him great sorrow or great joy, it might prove fatal to him. He must not be told anything suddenly. That is why I ought to know beforehand anything that concerns him, so as to prepare him. I could not do that if you read your translation straight off to him."
He said this in a suave, insinuating voice, very different from his ordinary rough tones.