"Geneviève, Geneviève," he said, fondly. "Geneviève . . . the vow which I made to the dying mother is being fulfilled as well. . . . Geneviève a grand-duchess! . . . And I, in the shade, watching over her happiness . . . and pursuing the great schemes of Arsène Lupin!"
He burst out laughing, sprang behind a cluster of trees that stood to the left of the avenue and slipped along the thick shrubberies. In this way, he reached the castle without the possibility of his being seen from the windows of the drawing-room or the principal bedrooms.
He wanted to see Dolores before she saw him and pronounced her name several times, as he had pronounced Geneviève's, but with an emotion that surprised himself:
"Dolores. . . . Dolores. . . ."
He stole along the passages and reached the dining-room. From this room, through a glass panel, he could see half the drawing-room.
He drew nearer.
Dolores was lying on a couch; and Pierre Leduc, on his knees before her, was gazing at her with eyes of ecstasy. . . .
CHAPTER XV
THE MAP OF EUROPE
Pierre Leduc loved Dolores!