“And why not pray! Must I not defend myself––and what other weapons are at hand? Do I owe him kindness; or tender consideration? The man married me as he would buy a slave.”
“You may be justified,” he admitted regretfully. “Yet how is this to be done?”
I arose to my feet, and stood before him, my face uplifted, and, with one hand, thrust aside the shade of my hat.
“Monsieur, deem you that impossible?”
His lips parted in a quick smile, revealing the white teeth, and he bowed low, flinging his hat to the ground, and standing bareheaded.
“Mon Dieu! No! Monsieur Cassion is to be congratulated. Yet it was my thought you said yonder that you despised the man.”
“I do; what reason have I to feel otherwise? Yet there lies my strength in this battle. He laughs at women, plays with them, breaks their hearts. It is his pride and boast, and his success in the past has ministered to his self conceit. He thought me of the same kind, but has already had his lesson. Do you 151 not know what that means to a man like him? More than ever he will desire my favor. A week back, he cared nothing; I was but a plaything, awaiting his pleasure; his wife to be treated as he pleased. He knows better now, and already his eyes follow me as though he were my dog.”
“And that then is why you send for me––that I may play my part in the game?”
I shrugged my shoulders, yet there was doubt in my eyes as I faced him.
“Is there harm in such play, Monsieur,” I asked innocently, “with so important an end in view? ’Tis not that I seek amusement, but I must find out where this King’s pardon is hidden, who concealed it, and obtain proof of the fraud which compelled my marriage. My only hope of release lies in compelling Francois Cassion to confess all he knows of this foul conspiracy. I must possess the facts before we return to Quebec.”