The
man on guard would have opened the door, but when I went to
enter, a major-domo who was standing by, muttering with two or
three of his kind, hastened forward and stopped me.
'Your business, Monsieur, if you please?' he said inquisitively;
while I wondered why he and the others looked at me so strangely.
'I am M. de Berault,' I answered sharply. 'I have the entree.'
He bowed politely enough.
'Yes, M. de Berault, I have the honour to know your face,' he
said. 'But--pardon me. Have you business with his Eminence?'
'I have the common business,' I answered sharply. 'By which many
of us live, sirrah! To wait on him.'
'But--by appointment, Monsieur?'
'No,' I said, astonished. 'It is the usual hour. For the matter
of that, however, I have business with him.'
The man still looked at me for a moment in seeming embarrassment.
Then he stood aside and signed to the door-keeper to open the
door. I passed in, uncovering; with an assured face and
steadfast mien, ready to meet all eyes. In a moment, on the
threshold, the mystery was explained.
The room was empty.
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