a superior order.

We meet every day mothers who are jealous of their daughters, and some
fathers!

This was one of those cases.

The duke, however, showed no sign of mental disquietude; and if Martial
had possessed less penetration, he would have believed that his father
adored him. But if he had detected the duke's secret, he did not allow
him to discover it, nor did he abuse his power.

Their manner toward each other was perfect. The duke was kind even to
weakness; Martial full of deference. But their relations were not those
of father and son. One was in constant fear of displeasing the other;
the other was a little too sure of his power. They lived on a footing of
perfect equality, like two companions of the same age.

From this trying situation, Lacheneur had rescued the duke.

The owner of Sairmeuse, an estate worth more than a million, the duke
was free from his son's tyranny; he had recovered his liberty.

What brilliant projects flitted through his brain that night!

He beheld himself the richest landowner in that locality; he was the
chosen friend of the King; had he not a right to aspire to anything?

Such a prospect enchanted him. He felt twenty years younger--the twenty
years that had been passed in exile.