"Bah! the protection of the king is useless, if the cabinet hate me. Besides, I have had the misfortune to anger Madame de Foucheres, and since then everything has gone wrong."
"The king cannot have forgotten what you did for him," said Simon.
"A few weeks ago I was driven to the wall by my creditors, and I went to the king and stated my case to him. Do you know what his answer was? 'Monsieur,' he said, earnestly, 'a Fougereuse should not demean himself by begging,' and with that he gave me a draft for eighty thousand francs! What are eighty thousand francs for a man in my position? A drop of water on a hot stove."
Simon nodded.
"But the vicomte," he observed; "his majesty showers favors upon him—"
"I am much obliged for the favors! Yes, my son is spoken of, but in what a way! The vicomte gambles, the vicomte is always in a scrape, the vicomte is the hero of the worst adventures—and kind friends never fail to tell me all about it! I hope his marriage will put a stop to all this business. Have you heard anything further of the De Salves ladies?"
"Not much, but enough. The estate of the young heiress is the largest for miles about, and she herself is a beauty of the first class."
"So much the better. Think of it, four millions! Oh, if this should be lost to us!"
"That will hardly be the case, Monsieur le Marquis; the marriage has been decided upon."
"Certainly, certainly, but then—if the old countess should find out about our pecuniary embarrassments all would be lost. But no, I will not despair; Pierre Labarre must talk, and then—"