“Did you know this Mme. Despriol, Adèle?”
“That I did, at Mme. de la Vaudraye’s, when they lived here.... She was a very nice lady, so cheerful and pleasant; good-looking, too, but, worse luck, so weak with her husband that he did as he liked with her.”
“Mme. de la Vaudraye told me something about some jewels....”
“Oh, that was quite true! There’s no denying it: a thief she was ... and Mme. de la Vaudraye has good reason not to love her. And how she does detest her! And then she was jealous of M. de la Vaudraye, who ventured to flirt just the least bit with Mme. Despriol. You can imagine how mad Mme. de la Vaudraye was! She turns pale to this day, if you mention Henriette Despriol’s name....”
A few days later, Gilberte received another letter from Maître Dufornéril:
“Mademoiselle,
“We are making headway with our enquiries and I hope soon to send you the news of our success. This Renaudeau who took over M. Dumas’ business in Berlin is, as we thought, at Hamburg. He has seen the consul and declares that he knew your father for many years, going back to the date when he was still living in France. He refuses, for the present, to reveal M. Dumas’ real name and antecedents; but I have no doubt that this Renaudeau, who is in a state of the greatest poverty, will yield to certain arguments.
“I think I may safely say, therefore, that my next letter will inform you of the name of your parents and the place at which you were born....”