Part 46 (1/2)
”You think that?”
”Oh, I know it! You arrive in a bad rained, poor s are all so strange to him He wearies hie, and the truth is that in his ely blames you for what has happened--for the necessity, or at least, the wisdo too unsafe The chateau of La Tour d'Azyr, ao At any iven a fresh excitement, it may be the turn of Gavrillac And for this and his present discomfort he blames you and your friends But he will come round presently He will be sorry that he sent you away like this--for I know that he loves you, Andre, in spite of all I shall reason with him when the time comes And then we shall want to knohere to find you”
”At number 13, Rue du Hasard The number is unlucky, the name of the street appropriate Therefore both are easy to reates” And side by side now they proceeded at a leisurely pace down the long avenue in the June sunshi+ne dappled by the shadows of the bordering trees ”You are looking well, Andre; and do you know that you have changed a deal? I a the subject before he had time to answer her, she came to the matter uppermost in her mind
”I have so wanted to see you in all these months, Andre You were the only one who could help ry with you for never having written to say where you were to be found”
”Of course you encouraged me to do so when last we met in Nantes”
”What? Still resentful?”
”I am never resentful You should know that” He expressed one of his vanities He loved to think himself a Stoic ”But I still bear the scar of a wound that would be the better for the balm of your retraction”
”Why, then, I retract, Andre And now tell ive hed quite pleasantly ”Well, well; command me”
”Tell me, Andre” She paused, as if in soround: ”Tell me--the truth of that event at the Feydau”
The request fetched a frown to his brow He suspected at once the thought that proave her his version of the affair
She listened very attentively When he had done she sighed; her face was very thoughtful
”That is much what I was told,” she said ”But it was added that M
de La Tour d'Azyr had gone to the theatre expressly for the purpose of breaking finally with La Binet Do you know if that was so?”
”I don't; nor of any reason why it should be so La Binet provided him the sort of a”
”Oh, there was a reason,” she interrupted him ”I was the reason
I spoke to Mme de Sautron I told her that I would not continue to receive one who came to me contaminated in that fashi+on” She spoke of it with obvious difficulty, her colour rising as he watched her half-averted face
”Had you listened to ain she interrupted him
”M de Sautron conveyed my decision to him, and afterwards represented hiive proofs--any proofs--of his sincerity and devotion to me He told me that M de La Tour d'Azyr had sworn to him that he would cut short that affair, that he would see La Binet noall but lost his life in that riot at the theatre He had gone straight froht from those protestations of future wisdonant I pronounced myself finally I stated definitely that I would not in any circuain! And then they pressed this explanation upontime I would not believe it”
”So that you believe it now,” said Andre quickly ”Why?”
”I have not said that I believe it now But but neither can I disbelieve Since we came to Meudon M de La Tour d'Azyr has been here, and himself he has sworn to me that it was so”
”Oh, if M de La Tour d'Azyr has sworn” Andre-Louis was laughing on a bitter note of sarcasm
”Have you ever known him lie?” she cut in sharply That checked him
”M de La Tour d'Azyr is, after all, a man of honour, and men of honour never deal in falsehood Have you ever known him do so, that you should sneer as you have done?”