"And yet you foiled me! But that is not to the point. My name is Renaud
L'Estang. My father was a gentleman, poor and without influence; I had
good blood in my veins but no money in my purse. My only chance of
wealth lay in my sword. I sold it to the highest bidder. In short,
monsieur, I am an adventurer, no better and no worse than thousands of
others."

"And in the pay of the League!"

"At present," he corrected, with a courteous inclination of the head,
"in the service of the Duke of Anjou."

"Why did you attack me at Nevers?"

"To obtain possession of the letter of whose contents we were in
ignorance."

"And you denounced my father to the Duke!"

"There you wrong me. I endeavoured to capture the letter; I failed, and
my part in the affair was over; but again I am wandering from the point,
which is to explain my presence in Rochelle. Monsieur, has it ever
occurred to you that a man who earns his livelihood by his sword may
have a heart the same as more innocent persons?"

"No one is without some virtue," I said.

"There is one person in the world," he continued, in low earnest tones,
almost as if communing with himself, "who has all my love and affection.