III.—THE FERMIER-GENERAL.
The Visconte ate his supper in solemn silence, which Lucille dared not interrupt, so that the meal was far from cheerful. Shortly after its conclusion, however, the old man announced in a few brief sentences, as much of the letter he had just received as in any wise concerned her to know.
"See you and Marguerite to the preparations; let everything, at least, be neat. He knows, as all the world does, that I am miserably poor; and we can't make this place look less beggarly than it is; but we must make the best of it. What can one do with a pension of eight hundred francs—bah!"
The latter part of this speech was muttered in bitter abstraction.
"The pension is too small, sir."
He looked at her with something like a sneer.
"It is too small, sir, and ought to be increased."
"Who says so?"
"Marguerite has often said so, sir, and I believe it. If you will petition the king, he will give you something worthy of your rank."