"The plot was all mine. It was I who bribed Corbut. It was I who killed him.
"John brought him to our flat. I sent my husband away, and when he returned a few minutes later, Corbut was dead. John had no guilty hand in either crime.
"He fainted at the sight of Corbut's body. When he came to himself, the body was no longer to be seen. I had put it into the trunks. It was I who afterward sent them to Gaspard.
"These crimes I committed for love of this man. I had been his wife for five years, and for three of them I did not know he had another.
"And when I found it out, I did not do as this woman did. I simply loved him more.
"I love him still, and because I love him I tell the truth to save him. Yes, more, because I love him, I will shed more blood. He shall not see me imprisoned or condemned to death. I will spare him that pain."
As she spoke, she drew a little ornamental dagger from her dress. It was a mere toy. Nobody would have supposed it to be a deadly weapon.
However, Nick sprang forward to prevent her from doing herself an injury.
He was too late. She plunged the dagger into her brain.
So firm and true was her hand that the slender blade pierced the thin bone of her right temple, and was driven in until the hilt made an impression on her white skin like a seal upon wax.