“I do not see why he should take my advances badly, for in either of the two possible eventualities, that is, whether Lerne’s promises to initiate me into his enterprise are made in good faith or not, the situation to-day has only two issues—either my departure, with its threat of revelation, or my connivance.
“Now, Emma and the mystery tie me to the château, so I shall not go; there remains, therefore, a pretended complicity which would, moreover, have the advantage of allowing me to solve the puzzle—and who except Lerne could reveal it to my eyes, since Emma knows nothing about it, and since each solved problem, if I investigated it by myself, would only leave another one to follow?
“A sage diplomacy might certainly persuade my uncle to make speedy revelations; that is what he wants to do, but how to bring him to do it?
“What I must do is to insinuate that his secrets, however criminal they may be, do not terrify me, so that I shall have to pose as a man of resolution, who does not shrink from contact with crimes, and would not think of denouncing them, because, if need were, he would commit them himself. Yes, that’s it!
“But how to hit on a crime which Lerne might perpetrate, and which I might say is natural and harmless, and one which I would commit on the first occasion myself?
“Good heavens, Nicolas! Yes, his own wicked deeds! Tell him that you know one of the worst things he has done, and that you not only approve of it, but of others of the same sort, and that you are ready to help him in the matter. Then, after such a declaration, he will unbosom himself, and you will learn everything, with the intention of using this confidence, dictated by mere self-interest for your own ends. But let me be cunning. I shall only speak to my uncle when he is in a pleasant humor, and provided the evidence of the old shoe is not too damning.”
So I reasoned, as I took Lerne back to Fonval, but after my stormy afternoon, my ideas were not very brilliant.
Under the influence of my environment, I brooded over Lerne’s unproven crimes and I imagined them to be detestable and innumerable. I forgot that his work, carried on with such secrecy, and secure from risk of imitation, might well have an industrial aim. In my impatience to satisfy my curiosity and by reason of my exhaustion, this strategy seemed to me a brilliant idea.
I underrated the enormity of the fictitious avowal I should have to make before getting anything in exchange.
Further reflection would have indicated the danger to me, but adverse fortune would have it that my uncle, satisfied by my answer, and seeing me take things so well, affected the most surprising joviality. Never would an opportunity more suitable to my designs present itself, so I thoughtlessly seized it.