"Speak for me," said poor Eugenie, in a tone of bitter feeling, "but
respect my sister. The Comtesse de Vandenesse is happy; her husband
gives her too much freedom not to make her truly attached to him.
Besides, if your supposition were true, she would never have told me
of such a matter."

"It is true," he said, "and I forbid you to have anything to do with
the affair. My interests demand that the man shall go to prison.
Remember my orders."

Madame du Tillet left the room.

"She will disobey me, of course, and I shall find out all the facts by
watching her," thought du Tillet, when alone in the boudoir. "These
poor fools always think they can do battle against us."

He shrugged his shoulders and rejoined his wife, or to speak the
truth, his slave.

The confidence made to Madame du Tillet by Madame Felix de Vandenesse
is connected with so many points of the latter's history for the last
six years, that it would be unintelligible without a succinct account
of the principal events of her life.



CHAPTER III

THE HISTORY OF A FORTUNATE WOMAN