And so she had proposed this obvious deception; and Aline had
consented to be a passive party to it. They had made the mistake
of not fully forewarning and persuading M. de La Tour d'Azyr. They
had trusted entirely to his anxiety to escape from Paris to keep
him rigidly within the part imposed upon him. They had reckoned
without the queer sense of honour that moved such men as M. le
Marquis, nurtured upon a code of shams.
Andre-Louis, turning to scan that muffled figure, advanced from
the dark depths of the salon. As the light beat on his white,
lean face the pseudo-footman started. The next moment he too
stepped forward into the light, and swept his broad-brimmed hat
from his brow. As he did so Andre-Louis observed that his hand
was fine and white and that a jewel flashed from one of the
fingers. Then he caught his breath, and stiffened in every line
as he recognized the face revealed to him.
"Monsieur," that stern, proud man was saying, "I cannot take
advantage of your ignorance. If these ladies can persuade you to
save me, at least it is due to you that you shall know whom you
are saving.
Pages:
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643