CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE CRISIS.
"At last!" cried the Marquis, when the news of Fanfar's death reached him. He sent for Magdalena.
"Madame!" he said, "rejoice with me. Let us forget our mutual wrongs, for a new horizon stretches before us. All our anxieties are over. The man who stood between us and the possession of a fortune is dead!"
"Of whom do you speak?"
"Of this Fanfar, who, after making an attempt on the life of our king, was struck dead in the court-room during his trial."
"And this Fanfar was the son of Simon de Fongereues?"
"Yes, Madame, of my brother. And our father, who hated us, as you know, left the larger part of his fortune in the care of a fanatical body-servant of his, who held it as in trust for Simon's son whenever he should find him. He refused to relinquish this trust until he had proof of the death of the youth. Now he must be made to speak, for the only heir of the Fongereues fortune is myself, and I shall appeal to the law."