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Abbe Midon was wondering what they were to do, when Marie-Anne told him of the will which Chanlouineau had made in her favor, and of the money concealed beneath the hearth-stone in the best chamber. "I might go to the Borderie at night," suggested Marie-Anne, "enter the house, which is unoccupied, obtain the money and bring it here. I have a right to do so, have I not?"
"Like those in any peasant's house." Certainly no one was aware of the existence of the luxurious apartment which Chanlouineau had intended for Marie-Anne. He had never spoken of it, and had even taken the greatest precautions to prevent anyone from seeing him transport the furniture. "How many doors are there?" inquired Blanche.
And finally, at the bottom of the casket, he found the marriage-certificate of Marie-Anne Lacheneur and Maurice d'Escorval, drawn up by the Cure of Vigano and signed by the old physician and Corporal Bavois. The truth was as clear as daylight. Stunned, frozen with horror, Martial scarcely had strength to return the letters to the casket and restore it to its place.
But the horror of the situation restored Blanche's calmness. "All is not yet lost," she exclaimed. "It was in that great box there upon the table, where I found" she dared not utter the word poison "the white powder which I poured into the bowl. You know this powder; you must know the antidote." Marie-Anne sadly shook her head.
He rose to his feet in the chaotic gloom, facing the bulkhead beyond which he was certain St. Pierre's wife lay wide awake. He tried to laugh. It was inexcusable, he told himself, to let his thoughts become involved in the family affairs of St. Pierre and Marie-Anne. That was not his business.
He did so, at last, however; but he left slowly and with evident reluctance. Marie-Anne, remaining in the door, gave him a friendly gesture of farewell. "I wish to speak to this creature!" exclaimed Mlle. Blanche. "Come, aunt, at once!"
The marquis declared it necessary to inflict the most frightful he said the most salutary punishment upon the offender; the duke, on the contrary, was inclined to be indulgent. The marquis declared that since Lacheneur, the prime mover, and his son, had both eluded pursuit, it was an urgent necessity to arrest Marie-Anne.
Or was she, as he thought St. Pierre had painfully tried to make him believe, innocent of all the thoughts and desires that had come to him, as he sat worshipping her in their stolen hours? He could think of them only as stolen, for he did not believe Marie-Anne had revealed to her husband all she might have told him.
They will live as snug as a bug in a rug! Well, what I thought so comfortable for others, will be good enough for me. I will raise vegetables, and Marie-Anne shall sell them." Was he speaking seriously? Maurice must have supposed so, for he sprang forward. "This shall not be, Monsieur Lacheneur!" he exclaimed. "Oh "
As usual, the impecunious relative assented, and her niece resumed: "But at last we are here. I could not, my dearest, resign myself to hearing nothing from you, especially after all your misfortunes. What have you been doing? Did my recommendation procure for you the work you desired?" Marie-Anne could not fail to be deeply touched by this kindly interest on the part of her former friend.
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