At last, Omar and Carmen were alone in a small salon.
"Will you tell me who you are?" asked Carmen once again.
"I am Coucon—devoted to Monsieur Goutran and to Esperance, the son of Monte-Cristo."
"And you disguised yourself to see me?"
"Yes, for I had a note to bring from Monsieur Goutran."
"Give it to me!" Carmen cried.
When at last Coucon succeeded in finding it among the folds of his bournous, she snatched it from him.
This is what she read:
"Carmen, my friend and my ally, you have promised your assistance. Gladly do I claim it. My friends are in great peril. Jane Zeld has vanished in the most mysterious manner, as has Esperance. There must be in the Hôtel de Monte-Cristo some secret issue which our enemies do not know. The infamous L—— must possess this secret. Do your best to discover it. You see that I place my reliance on you, for I love you.
"Goutran."
Carmen uttered a joyous exclamation. Goutran loved her! Coucon turned toward her.