第80章

Myunknownfriendevidentlydivinedallthatwas

passinginmymind，forsheobserved，

“Iperceivethatmyrecitalappearstoyouimprobable；one

particularwhichIwillstatemayperhapsovercomeyour

incredulity。

Areyounotinthehabit，madam，oftakingevery

eveningmixedwithalargeproportionoforange-

flowerwater？“

“Iam，“repliedI。

“Thisday，“continuedmyinformant，“youwillreceivefourbottles

oforange-flowerwatercontainedinaboxbearingtheusual

appearancesofhavingcomefromtheperfumers’，butitissent

byotherhands，andtheliquorcontainedintheflasksismingled

withadeadlypoison。“

Theselastwordsmademetremble。

“Youmustcompleteyourkind

offices，“criedItomyvisitor，“bybringingmeacquaintedwith

thepersonfromwhomyouhavederivedyourintelligence:that

individualmustbeacquaintedwiththewholeoftheplot；and，

believeme，Iwillnotbeunmindfulofeitherofyou。“

“Stayoneinstant，“repliedthelady，withoutevincingtheslightest

emotion；“themanwhowasmyinformantisassuredlyawareofthe

namesofthoseconcernedintheconspiracy，buthehascharged

menottostatewhoheisbutuponcertainconditions；a

recommendationIshallmostcertainlyattendto。“

“Beassured，“interruptedI，“thatyourdemandsshallbeacceded

to；youshallyourselffixthepriceofyourentiredisclosureof

everyfactconnectedwiththebusiness。“

“Itwillnotbeanexorbitantone，“repliedthelady；“merely

600，000francs，tobeequallydividedbetweenthefriendyou

desiretoknowandmyself；forthissum，whichisnotavery

largeone，youmaycommandtheservicesofbothofus。

Oneword

more，madam，andIamgone。

ObserveastrictsilenceuponallI

havetoldyou；or，ifyoumusthaveacounsellorinsuchperilous

circumstances，confidemerelyinsometriedfriend；saytheduc

d’Aiguillonorthechancellor，orbothshouldyoudeemitnecessary；

buthaveacarehowyouadmitathirdtoaparticipationofthe

affair；youcouldscarcelyselectanotherpersonwithoutchoosing

onealreadycorruptedbyyourenemies。

Itissaidthattheyare

incorrespondencewitheventhosepersonsimmediatelyaboutthe

personoftheking。

Adieu，madam；Iwillseeyouatyourown

apartmentsthedayafterto-morrow，whenItrustyouwillhave

ready100，000francs，onaccountofthe600，000Ihavestipulatedfor。“

Sosaying，shecurtsiedandleftme，overcomewithsurprise。

A

thousandfearfulideaspresseduponmybrain，andmyheartsickened

atthelongtrainofgloomyimageswhichpresentedthemselves。

I

hadhadsufficientproofssincemyelevationofthedeadlyhatred

bornemebythosewhommygoodfortunehadrenderedmyenemies:

yet，hitherto，mystrongestapprehensionshadneverbeendirected

toanythingmoreterriblethanbeingsupplantedinthefavorofthe

king，orbeingconfinedinmychateauduLucienne。

Thehorrible

ideasofmurder，poison，orassassination