Part 8 (2/2)
”If you wish,” he said curtly
”You are a gentleman of refined, not to say luxurious tastes, who finds hiratify them Is that so?”
He nodded
”You have a wife and a father-in-lahilst lavishi+ng costly treasures upon you, leave you in a huain he nodded approvingly
”Hu what it is, you pine after what you do not possess--naood food and wine, are nothing to you beside that earnest desire for money that you can call your own, and which, if only you had it, you could spend at your pleasure”
”To the point, man, to the point!” he broke in impatiently
”One moment, M le Marquis, and I have done But first of all, with your permission, shall we also review the assets in your life which ill have to use in order to arrive at the gratification of your earnest wish?”
”assets? What do you mean?”
”The et it for you”
”I begin to understand,” he said, and drew his chair another inch or two closer to me
”Firstly, M le Marquis,” I resumed, and now my voice had become earnest and incisive, ”firstly you have a wife, then you have a father-in-lahose wealth is beyond the dreareat passion in life is the social position of the daughter whom he worshi+ps Now,” I added, and with the tip of er I touched the sleeve of my aristocratic client, ”here at once is your first asset Get at thethe social position of his daughter”
Whereupon entleman jumped to his feet and swore and abused me for a mudlark and a muckworm and I don't knohat He seized his malacca cane and threatened me with it, and asked me how the devil I dared thus to speak of Mme la Marquise de Firmin-Latour He cursed, and he stors and ofin fact except walk out of the rooo on quite quietly It was part of his prograave eways I rejoined quietly:
”We are not going to hurt Madame la Marquise, Monsieur; and if you do not want the money, let us say no more about it”
Whereupon he calain, this time with his cane between his knees and its ivory knob between his teeth
”Go on,” he said curtly
Nor did he interrupt ain whilst I expoundedthe night, knoell that I should receive his visit during the day; and I flatterof a parsimonious usurer was ever devised by any man
If it succeeded--and there was no reason why it should not--M de Firmin-Latour would pocket a cool half-million, whilst I, sir, the brain that had devised the whole scheme, pronounced myself satisfied with the paltry emolument of one hundred thousand francs, out of which, reive Theodore a considerable sum
We talked it all over, M le Marquis and I, the whole afternoon I hted with the plan, and then and there gave re purse for an work
I had begged M le Marquis to find theme a few scraps of the late M le Comte de Naquet's--Mada This, fortunately, he was able to do They were a few valueless notes penned at different tientleht it worth while to keep under lock and key
I think I told you before, did I not? what a raphy, and soon I had a letter ready which was to represent the first fire in the exciting hich ere about to wage against an obstinate lady and a parsimonious usurer
My identity securely hidden under the disguise of a commissionnaire, I took that letter to Mme la Marquise de Firmin-Latour's sumptuous abode in the Rue de Grammont
M le Marquis, you understand, had in the hly priht it best for the moment to dispense with his aid