At first I
took you for the gentleman. But the plague take me if I
understand the matter now.'
'Why not?' I said coldly.
'Because--well, the question is in a nutshell!' he answered
impetuously. 'Are you here on behalf of Madame de Cocheforet, to
shield her husband? Or are you here to arrest him? That is what
I do not understand, M. de Berault.'
'If you mean, am I the Cardinal's agent--I am!' I answered
sternly.
'To arrest M. de Cocheforet?'
'To arrest M. de Cocheforet.'
'Well--you surprise me,' he said.
Only that; but he spoke so drily that I felt the blood rush to my
face.
'Take care, Monsieur,' I said severely. 'Do not presume too far
on the inconvenience to which your death might put me.'
He shrugged his shoulders.
'No offence,' he said. 'But you do not seem, M. de Berault, to
comprehend the difficulty. If we do not settle things now, we
shall be bickering twenty times a day.'
'Well, what do you want?' I asked impatiently,
'Simply to know how you are going to proceed. So that our plans
may not clash.'
'But surely, M. le Capitaine, that is my affair,' I said.
Pages:
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195