VAL. (Drawing his sword). And may he take me if I do not this very moment reward you for it.
MASC. Ha, sir! what now? Don't surprise me.
VAL. Is this the fidelity you promised me? If I had not deceived you, you would never have owned the trick which I rightly suspected you played me. You rascal! your tongue, too ready to wag, has provoked my father's wrath against me, and utterly ruined me. You shall die without saying another word.
MASC. Gently; my soul is not in a fit condition to die. I entreat you, be kind enough to await the result of this affair. I had very good reasons for revealing a marriage which you yourself could hardly conceal. It was a masterpiece of policy; you will not find your rage justified by the issue. Why should you get angry if, through me, you get all you desire, and are freed from the constraint you at present lie under?
VAL. And what if all this talk is nothing but moonshine?
MASC. Why, then, it will be time enough to kill me; but my schemes may perchance succeed. Heaven will assist his own servants; you will be satisfied in the end, and thank me for my extraordinary management.
VAL. Well, we shall see. But Lucile…
MASC. Hold, here comes her father
SCENE VIII.—ALBERT, VALÈRE, MASCARILLE.
ALB. (Not seeing Valère). The more I recover from the confusion into which I fell at first, the more I am astonished at the strange things Polydore told me, and which my fear made me interpret in so different a manner to what he intended. Lucile maintains that it is all nonsense, and spoke to me in such a manner as leaves no room for suspicion… Ha! sir, it is you whose unheard-of impudence sports with my honour, and invents this base story?