“Well?”
“He has sold them, but he has gone off with the money.”
“Gone off?”
“Yes, he has disappeared; it is impossible to find out anything about him.”
Edouard was thunderstruck. He threw himself into a chair in despair.
“I am ruined! I have lost everything!”
“Ruined! what nonsense! when a man has credit and acquaintances! Come, be yourself; I give you my word that I will repair this disaster. Trust to my zeal, my friend; I made the mistake through my over-confidence; I propose to get you out of the scrape.”
“But how?”
“There are a thousand ways.”
“Remember that I haven’t a sou, and that I need money every moment, especially with Madame de Géran, from whom I desire to conceal this disaster.”