M. Fortunat left the restaurant, almost on the run, for he feared that he might be pursued and overtaken by M. Casimir. But after he had gone a couple of hundred paces, he paused, not so much to take breath, as to collect his scattered wits; and though the weather was cold, he seated himself on a bench to reflect.
Never in all his changeful life had he known such intense anxiety and torturing suspense as he had just experienced in that little room in the restaurant. He had longed for positive information and he had obtained it; but it had upset all his plans and annihilated all his hopes. Imagining that the count's heirs had been lost sight of, he had determined to find them and make a bargain with them, before they learned that they were worth their millions. But on the contrary, these heirs were close at hand, watching M. de Chalusse, and knowing their rights so well that they were ready to fight for them. "For it was certainly the count's sister who wrote the letter which I have in my pocket," he murmured. "Not wishing to receive him at her own home, she prudently appointed a meeting at a hotel. But what about this name of Huntley? Is it really hers, or is it only assumed for the occasion? Is it the name of the man who enticed her from home, or is it the name given to the son from whom she has separated herself?"
But after all what was the use of all these conjectures? There was but one certain and positive thing, and this was that the money he had counted upon had escaped him; and he experienced as acute a pang as if he had lost forty thousand francs a second time. Perhaps, at that moment, he was sorry that he had severed his connection with the marquis. Still, he was not the man to despond, however desperate his plight might appear, without an attempt to better his situation. He knew how many surprising and sudden changes in fortune have been brought about by some apparently trivial action. "I must discover this sister," he said to himself--" I must ascertain her position and her plans. If she has no one to advise her, I will offer my services; and who knows----"
A cab was passing; M. Fortunat hailed it, and ordered the Jehu to drive him to the Rue du Helder, No. 43, Hotel de Homburg.
Was it by chance or premeditation that this establishment had received the name of one of the gambling dens of Europe? Perhaps the following information may serve to answer the question. The Hotel de Homburg was one of those flash hostelries frequented by adventurers of distinction, who are attracted to Paris by the millions that are annually squandered there. Spurious counts and questionable Russian princesses were sure to find a cordial welcome there with princely luxury, moderate prices, and--but very little confidence. Each person was called by the title which it pleased him to give on his arrival--Excellency or Prince, according to his fancy. He could also find numerous servants carefully drilled to play the part of old family retainers, and carriages upon which the most elaborate coat-of-arms could be painted at an hour's notice. Nor was there any difficulty whatever in immediately procuring all the accessories of a life of grandeur -all that is needful to dazzle the unsuspecting, to throw dust in people's eyes, and to dupe one's chance acquaintances. All these things were provided without delay, by the month, by the day or by the hour, just as the applicant pleased. But there was no such thing as credit there. Bills were presented every evening, to those lodgers who did not pay in advance: and he who could not, or would not, settle the score, even if he were Excellency or Prince, was requested to depart at once, and his trunks were held as security.
When M. Fortunat entered the office of the hotel, a woman, with a crafty looking face, was holding a conference with an elderly gentleman, who had a black velvet skullcap on his head, and a magnifying glass in his hand. They applied their eyes to the glass in turn, and were engaged in examining some very handsome diamonds, which had no doubt been offered in lieu of money by some noble but impecunious foreigner. On hearing M. Fortunat enter, the woman looked up.
"What do you desire, monsieur?" she inquired, politely.
"I wish to see Madame Lucy Huntley."
The woman did not reply at first, but raised her eyes to the ceiling, as if she were reading there the list of all the foreigners of distinction who honored the Hotel de Homburg by their presence at that moment. "Lucy Huntley!" she repeated. "I don't recollect that name! I don't think there's such a person in the house--Lucy Huntley! What kind of a person is she?"
For many reasons M. Fortunat could not answer. First of all, he did not know. But he was not in the least disconcerted, and he avoided the question without the slightest embarrassment, at the same time trying to quicken the woman's faulty memory. "The person I wished to see was here on Friday, between three and six in the afternoon; and she was waiting for a visitor with an anxiety which could not possibly have escaped your notice."
This detail quickened the memory of the man with the magnifying glass--none other than the woman's husband and landlord of the hotel. "Ah! the gentleman is speaking of the lady of No. 2--you remember--the same who insisted upon having the large private room."
"To be sure," replied the wife; "where could my wits have been!" And turning to M. Fortunat: "Excuse my forgetfulness," she added. "The lady is no longer in the house; she only remained here for a few hours."
This reply did not surprise M. Fortunat--he had expected it; and yet he assumed an air of the utmost consternation. "Only a few hours!" he repeated, like a despairing echo.
"Yes, monsieur. She arrived here about eleven o'clock in the morning, with only a large valise by way of luggage, and she left that same evening at eight o'clock."
"Alas! and where was she going?"
"She didn't tell me."
You might have sworn that M. Fortunat was about to burst into tears. "Poor Lucy!" said he, in a tragical tone; "it was for me, madame, that she was waiting. But it was only this morning that I received her letter appointing a meeting here. She must have been in despair. The post can't be depended on!"
The husband and wife simultaneously shrugged their shoulders, and the expression of their faces unmistakably implied: "What can we do about it? It is no business of ours. Don't trouble us."
But M. Fortunat was not the man to be dismayed by such a trifle.
"She was taken to the railway station, no doubt," he insisted.
"Really, I know nothing about it."
"You told me just now that she had a large valise, so she could not have left your hotel on foot. She must have asked for a vehicle. Who was sent to fetch it? One of your boys? If I could find the driver I should, perhaps, be able to obtain some valuable information from him."
The husband and wife exchanged a whole volume of suspicions in a single glance. M. Isidore Fortunat's appearance was incontestably respectable, but they were well aware that those strange men styled detectives are perfectly conversant with the art of dressing to perfection. So the hotelkeeper quickly decided on his course. "Your idea is an excellent one," he said to M. Fortunat. "This lady must certainly have taken a vehicle on leaving; and what is more, it must have been a vehicle belonging to the hotel. If you will follow me, we will make some inquiries on the subject."
And rising with a willingness that augured well for their success, he led the agent into the courtyard, where five or six vehicles were stationed, while the drivers lounged on a bench, chatting and smoking their pipes "Which of you was employed by a lady yesterday evening at about eight o'clock?"
"What sort of a person was she?"
"She was a handsome woman, between thirty and forty years' old, very fair, rather stout, and dressed in black. She had a large Russia-leather travelling-bag."
"I took her," answered one of the drivers promptly. M. Fortunat advanced toward the man with open arms, and with such eagerness that it might have been supposed he meant to embrace him. "Ah, my worthy fellow!" he exclaimed, "you can save my life!" The driver looked exceedingly pleased. He was thinking that this gentleman would certainly requite his salvation by a magnificent gratuity. "What do you want of me?" he asked.
"Tell me where you drove this lady?"
"I took her to the Rue de Berry."
"To what number?"
"Ah, I can't tell. I've forgotten it."
But M. Fortunat no longer felt any anxiety. "Very good," said he. "You've forgotten it-that's not at all strange. But you would know the house again, wouldn't you?"
"Undoubtedly I should."
"Will you take me there?"
"Certainly, sir. This is my vehicle."
The hunter of missing heirs at once climbed inside; but it was not until the carriage had left the courtyard that the landlord returned to his office. "That man must be a detective," he remarked to his wife.
"So I fancy."
"It's strange we're not acquainted with him. He must be a new member of the force."
But M. Fortunat was quite indifferent as to what impression he had left behind him at the Hotel de Homburg, for he never expected to set foot there again. The one essential thing was that he had obtained the information he wished for, and even a description of the lady, and he felt that he was now really on the track. The vehicle soon reached the Rue de Berry, and drew up in front of a charming little private house. "Here we are, monsieur," said the driver, bowing at the door.
M. Fortunat sprang nimbly on to the pavement, and handed five francs to the coachman, who went off growling and swearing, for he thought the reward a contemptibly small one, coming as it did from a man whose life had been saved, according to his own confession. However, the person the Jehu anathematized certainly did not hear him. Standing motionless where he had alighted, M. Fortunat scrutinized the house in front of him with close attention. "So she lives here," he muttered. "This is the place; but I can't present myself without knowing her name. I must make some inquiries."
There was a wine-shop some fifty paces distant, and thither M. Fortunat hastened, and ordered a glass of currant syrup. As he slowly sipped the beverage, he pointed to the house in question, with an air of well-assumed indifference, and asked: "Whom does that pretty dwelling belong to?"
"To Madame Lia d'Argeles," answered the landlady.
M. Fortunat started. He well remembered that this was the name the Marquis de Valorsay had mentioned when speaking of the vile conspiracy he had planned. It was at this woman's house that the man whom Mademoiselle Marguerite loved had been disgraced! Still he managed to master his surprise, and in a light, frank tone he resumed: "What a pretty name! And what does this lady do?"
"What does she do? Why, she amuses herself."
M. Fortunat seemed astonished. "Dash it!" said he. "She must amuse herself to good purpose to have a house like that. Is she pretty?"
"That depends on taste. She's no longer young, at any rate; but she has superb golden hair. And, oh! how white she is--as white as snow, monsieur--as white as snow! She has a fine figure as well, and a most distinguished bearing--pays cash, too, to the very last farthing."
There could no longer be any doubt. The portrait sketched by the wine-vendor fully corresponded with the description given by the hotelkeeper in the Rue de Helder. Accordingly, M. Fortunat drained his glass, and threw fifty centimes on the counter. Then, crossing the street, he boldly rang at the door of Madame d'Argeles's house. If any one had asked him what he proposed doing and saying if he succeeded in effecting an entrance, he might have replied with perfect sincerity, "I don't know." The fact is, he had but one aim, one settled purpose in his mind. He was obstinately, FURIOUSLY resolved to derive some benefit, small or great, from this mysterious affair. As for the means of execution, he relied entirely on his audacity and sang-froid, convinced that they would not fail him when the decisive moment came. "First of all, I must see this lady," he said to himself. "The first words will depend solely upon my first impressions. After that, I shall be guided by circumstances."
An old serving-man, in a quiet, tasteful livery, opened the door, whereupon M. Fortunat, in a tone of authority, asked: "Madame Lia d'Argeles?"
"Madame does not receive on Friday," was the reply.
With a petulant gesture, M. Fortunat rejoined: "All the same I must speak with her today. It is on a matter of the greatest importance. Give her my card." So saying, he held out a bit of pasteboard, on which, below his name, were inscribed the words: "Liquidations. Settlements effected for insolvent parties."
"Ah! that's a different thing," said the servant. "Will monsieur take the trouble to follow me?"
M. Fortunat did take the trouble; and he was conducted into a large drawing-room where he was requested to sit down and await madame's coming. Left to himself, he began an inventory of the apartment, as a general studies the ground on which he is about to give battle. No trace remained of the unfortunate scene of the previous night, save a broken candelabrum on the chimney-piece. It was the one which Pascal Ferailleur had armed himself with, when they talked of searching him, and which he had thrown down in the courtyard, as he left the house. But this detail did not attract M. Fortunat's attention. The only thing that puzzled him was the large reflector placed above the chandelier, and it took him some time to fathom with what object it was placed there. Without precisely intimidating him, the luxurious appointments of the house aroused his astonishment. "Everything here is in princely style," he muttered, "and this shows that all the lunatics are not at Charenton yet. If Madame d'Argeles lacked bread in days gone by, she does so no longer--that's evident."
Naturally enough this reflection led him to wonder why such a rich woman should become the Marquis de Valorsay's accomplice, and lend a hand in so vile and cowardly a plot, which horrified even him-- Fortunat. "For she must be an accomplice," he thought.
And he marvelled at the freak of fate which had connected the unfortunate man who had been sacrificed with the unacknowledged daughter, and the cast-off sister, of the Count de Chalusse. A vague presentiment, the mysterious voice of instinct, warned him, moreover, that his profit in the affair would depend upon the antagonism, or alliance, of Mademoiselle Marguerite and Madame d'Argeles. But his meditations were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a discussion in an adjoining room. He stepped eagerly forward, hoping to hear something, and he did hear a man saying in a coarse voice: "What! I leave an interesting game, and lose precious time in coming to offer you my services, and you receive me like this! Zounds! madame, this will teach me not to meddle with what doesn't concern me, in future. So, good-bye, my dear lady. You'll learn some day, to your cost, the real nature of this villain of a Coralth whom you now defend so warmly."
This name of Coralth was also one of those which were engraven upon M. Fortunat's memory; and yet he did not notice it at the moment. His attention was so absorbed by what he had just heard that he could not fix his mind upon the object of his mission; and he only abandoned his conjectures on hearing a rustling of skirts against the panels of the door leading into the hall.
The next moment Madame Lia d'Argeles entered the room. She was arrayed in a very elegant dressing-gown of gray cashmere, with blue satin trimmings, her hair was beautifully arranged, and she had neglected none of the usual artifices of the toilettetable; still any one would have considered her to be over forty years of age. Her sad face wore an expression of melancholy resignation; and there were signs of recent tears in her swollen eyes, surrounded by bluish circles. She glanced at her visitor, and, in anything but an encouraging tone exclaimed: "You desired to speak with me, I believe?" M. Fortunat bowed, almost disconcerted. He had expected to meet one of those stupid, ignorant young women, who make themselves conspicuous at the afternoon promenade in the Bois de Boulogne; and he found himself in the presence of an evidently cultivated and imperious woman, who, even in her degradation, retained all her pride of race, and awed him, despite all his coolness and assurance. "I do, indeed, madame, wish to confer with you respecting some important interests," he answered.
She sank on to a chair; and, without asking her visitor to take a seat: "Explain yourself," she said, briefly.
M. Fortunat's knowledge of the importance of the game in which he had already risked so much had already restored his presence of mind. He had only needed a glance to form a true estimate of Madame d'Argeles's character; and he realized that it would require a sudden, powerful, and well-directed blow to shatter her composure. "I have the unpleasant duty of informing you of a great misfortune, madame," he began. "A person who is very dear to you, and who is nearly related to you, was a victim of a frightful accident yesterday evening and died this morning."
This gloomy preamble did not seem to produce the slightest effect on Madame d'Argeles. "Whom are you speaking of?" she coldly asked.
M. Fortunat assumed his most solemn manner as he replied: "Of your brother, madame-of the Count de Chalusse."
She sprang up, and a convulsive shudder shook her from head to foot. "Raymond is dead!" she faltered.
"Alas! yes, madame. Struck with death at the very moment he was repairing to the appointment you had given him at the Hotel de Homburg."
This clever falsehood, which was not entirely one, would, so the agent thought, be of advantage to him, since it would prove he was acquainted with previous events. But Madame d'Argeles did not seem to notice, or even to hear the remark. She had fallen back in her arm-chair, paler than death. "How did he die?" she asked.
"From an attack of apoplexy."
"My God!" exclaimed the wretched woman, who now suspected the truth; "my God, forgive me. It was my letter that killed him!" and she wept as if her heart were breaking-this woman who had suffered and wept so much.
It is needless to say that M. Fortunat was moved with sympathy; he always evinced a respectful sympathy for the woes of others; but in the present instance, his emotion was greatly mitigated by the satisfaction he felt at having succeeded so quickly and so completely. Madame d'Argeles had confessed everything! This was indeed a victory, for it must be admitted that he had trembled lest she should deny all, and bid him leave the house. He still saw many difficulties between his pocket and the Count de Chalusse's money; but he did not despair of conquering them after such a successful beginning. And he was muttering some words of consolation, when Madame d'Argeles suddenly looked up and said: "I must see him--I will see him once more! Come, monsieur!" But a terrible memory rooted her to the spot and with a despairing gesture, and in a voice quivering with anguish she exclaimed:
"No, no--I cannot even do that."
M. Fortunat was not a little disturbed; and it was with a look of something very like consternation that he glanced at Madame d'Argeles, who had reseated herself and was now sobbing violently, with her face hidden on the arm of her chair. "What prevents her?" he thought. "Why this sudden terror now that her brother is dead? Is she unwilling to confess that she is a Chalusse? She must make up her mind to it, however, if she wishes to receive the count's property--and she must make up her mind to it, for my sake, if not for her own."
He remained silent, until it seemed to him that Madame d'Argeles was calmer, then: "Excuse me, madame," he began, "for breaking in upon your very natural grief, but duty requires me to remind you of your interests."
With the passive docility of those who are wretched, she wiped away her tears, and replied, gently: "I am listening, monsieur."
He had had time to prepare his discourse. "First of all, madame," he remarked, "I must tell you that I was the count's confidential agent. In him I lose a protector. Respect alone prevents me from saying a friend. He had no secrets from me." M. Fortunat saw so plainly that Madame d'Argeles did not understand a word of this sentimental exordium that he thought it necessary to add: "I tell you this, not so much to gain your consideration and good-will, as to explain to you how I became acquainted with these matters relating to your family--how I became aware of your existence, for instance, which no one else suspected." He paused, hoping for some reply, a word, a sign, but not receiving this encouragement, he continued: "I must, first of all, call your attention to the peculiar situation of M. de Chalusse, and to the circumstances which immediately preceded and attended his departure from life. His death was so unexpected that he was unable to make any disposition of his property by will, or even to indicate his last wishes. This, madame, is fortunate for you. M. de Chalusse had certain prejudices against you, as you are aware. Poor count. He certainly had the best heart in the world, and yet hatred with him was almost barbaric in its intensity. There can be no doubt whatever, that he had determined to deprive you of your inheritance. With this intention he had already begun to convert his estates into ready money, and had he lived six months longer you would not have received a penny."
With a gesture of indifference, which was difficult to explain after the vehemence and the threatening tone of her letter, Madame d'Argeles murmured:
"Ah, well! what does it matter?"
"What does it matter?" repeated M. Fortunat. "I see, madame, that your grief prevents you from realizing the extent of the peril you have escaped. M. de Chalusse had other, and more powerful reasons even than his hatred for wishing to deprive you of your share of his property. He had sworn that he would give a princely fortune to his beloved daughter."
For the first time, Madame d'Argeles's features assumed an expression of surprise. "What, my brother had a child?"
"Yes, madame, an illegitimate daughter, Mademoiselle Marguerite, a lovely and charming girl whom I had the pleasure of restoring to his care some years ago. She has been living with him for six months or so; and he was about to marry her, with an enormous dowry, to a nobleman bearing one of the proudest names in France, the Marquis de Valorsay."
The name shook Madame d'Argeles as if she had experienced the shock of an electric battery, and springing to her feet, with flashing eyes: "You say that my brother's daughter was to marry M. de Valorsay?" she asked.
"It was decided--the marquis adored her."
"But she--she did not love him--confess that she did not love him."
M. Fortunat did not know what to reply. The question took him completely by surprise; and feeling that his answer would have a very considerable influence upon what might follow, he hesitated.
"Will you answer me?" insisted Madame d'Argeles, imperiously. "She loved another, did she not?"
"To tell the truth, I believe she did," the agent stammered. "But I have no proof of it, madame."
"Ah! the wretch!" she exclaimed with a threatening gesture; "the traitor! the infamous scoundrel! Now I understand it all. And to think that it occurred in my house. But no; it was best so, I can still repair everything." And darting to the bell-rope, she pulled it violently.
A servant at once appeared. "Job," she said, "hasten after Baron Trigault--he left the house a moment ago and bring him back. I must speak with him. If you do not overtake him, go to his club, to his house, to the houses of his friends, go to every place where there is any chance of finding him. Make haste, and do not return without him." And as the man turned to obey, she added: "My carriage must be in the courtyard. Take it."
Meanwhile M. Fortunat's expression of countenance had undergone a marked change. "Well!" thought he, "I have just made a mess of it! M. Valorsay is unmasked; and now, may I be hung, if he ever marries Mademoiselle Marguerite. Certainly, I do not owe much to the scoundrel, for he has defrauded me of forty thousand francs, but what will he say when he discovers what I've done? He will never believe me if I tell him that it was an involuntary blunder, and Heaven only knows what revenge he will plan! A man of his disposition, knowing that he is ruined, is capable of anything! So much the worse for me. Before night I shall warn the commissary of police in my district, and I shall not go out unarmed!"
The servant went off, and Madame d'Argeles then turned to her visitor again. But she seemed literally transfigured by the storm of passion which was raging in her heart and mind; her cheeks were crimson, and an unwonted energy sparkled in her eyes. "Let us finish this business," she said, curtly; "I am expecting some one."
M. Fortunat bowed with a rather pompous, but at the same time obsequious air. "I have only a few more words to say," he declared. "M. de Chalusse having no other heir, I have come to acquaint you with your rights."
"Very good; continue, if you please."
"You have only to present yourself, and establish your identity, to be put in possession of your brother's property."
Madame d'Argeles gave the agent a look of mingled irony and distrust; and after a moment's reflection, she replied: "I am very grateful for your interest, monsieur; but if I have any rights, it is not my intention to urge them."
It seemed to M. Fortunat as if he were suddenly falling from some immense height. "You are not in earnest," he exclaimed, "or you are ignorant of the fact that M. de Chalusse leaves perhaps twenty millions behind him."
"My course is decided on, monsieur; irrevocably decided on."
"Very well, madame; but it often happens that the court institutes inquiries for the heirs of large fortunes, and this may happen in your case."
"I should reply that I was not a member of the Chalusse family, and that would end it. Startled by the news of my brother's death, I allowed my secret to escape me. I shall know how to keep it in future."
Anger succeeded astonishment in M. Fortunat's mind. "Madame, madame, what can you be thinking of?" he cried, impetuously. "Accept--in Heaven's name--accept this inheritance; if not for yourself, for the sake of----"
In his excitement, he was about to commit a terrible blunder. He saw it in time, and checked himself.
"For the sake of whom?" asked Madame d'Argeles, in an altered voice.
"For the sake of Mademoiselle Marguerite, madame; for the sake of this poor child, who is your niece. The count never having acknowledged her as his daughter, she will be left actually without bread, while her father's millions go to enrich the state."
"That will suffice, monsieur; I will think of it. And now, enough!"
The dismissal was so imperious that M. Fortunat bowed and went off, completely bewildered by this denouement. "She's crazy!" he said to himself. "Crazy in the fullest sense of the word. She refuses the count's millions from a silly fear of telling people that she belongs to the Chalusse family. She threatened her brother, but she would never have carried her threats into execution. And she prefers her present position to such a fortune. What lunacy!" But, although he was disappointed and angry, he did not by any means despair. "Fortunately for me," he thought, "this proud and haughty lady has a son somewhere in the world. And she'll do for him what she would not consent to do for herself. Through her, with a little patience and Victor Chupin's aid, I shall succeed in discovering this boy. He must be an intelligent youth--and we'll see if he surrenders his millions as easily as his mamma does."