three days la Peyrade had been measuring himself for the task; he had
carefully reconnoitred the ground to see all difficulty. Flattery,
that almost infallible means in able hands, would certainly miscarry
with a woman who for years had known she had no beauty. But a man of
strong will finds nothing impregnable; the Lamarques could never have
failed to take Capri. Therefore, nothing must be omitted from the
memorable scene which was now to take place; all things about it had
their own importance,--inflections of the voice, pauses, glances,
lowered eyes.

"But," rejoined Brigitte, "you have already proved to us your
affection."

"Your brother has told you--?"

"No, he merely told me that you had something to tell me."

"Yes, mademoiselle, I have; for you are the man of the family. In
reflecting on this matter, I find many dangers for myself, such as a
man only risks for his nearest and dearest. It involves a fortune;
thirty to forty thousand francs a year, and not the slightest
speculation--a piece of landed property. The hope of helping Thuillier
to win such a fortune enticed me from the first. 'It fascinates me,' I
said to him--for, unless a man is an absolute fool, he can't help
asking himself: 'Why should he care to do us all this good?' So I told
him frankly that in working for his interests, I flattered myself I
was working for my own, as I'll explain to you later. If he wishes to
be deputy, two things are absolutely necessary: to comply with the law
as to property, and to win for his name some sort of public celebrity.
If I myself push my devotion to the point of helping him to write a