"Monsieur, I have a letter of credit on you: here it is. I wished to see you in order to arrange some business matters."
This short and disdainful accent disconcerted Pascal; he expected some explanation of the scene of the day before, if not an excuse for it, so he said, stammering:
"What, madame, you come here--only--to learn about this letter of credit?"
"For this letter first, then for something else."
"I suspected it," said Pascal to himself, with a light sigh of relief, "this letter of credit was only a pretext. It is a good sign."
"The letter of credit, madame, is in the hands of my cashier; he has the order to attend to your demand. As to the other thing which brings you, is it, as I hope, personal?"
"Before speaking, madame, permit me to ask you one question."
"On the card which you have just sent me, madame, you wrote that you had seen me yesterday at the Élysée."
"But you do not seem to recollect our interview."
"Well," said Pascal, regaining his assurance and thinking that the dryness of Madeleine's tone was assumed for some purpose he did not clearly understand, "let us now, madame marquise, confess, at least, that you treated your humble servant very cruelly yesterday."
"What! you feel no remorse for having been so wicked? You do not regret your unjust anger against me?"
"Very well, I understand; it was done for effect on this fine man, the archduke," Pascal presumed to say with a smile, hoping in some way to draw Madeleine out of this frozen reserve which had begun to make him uneasy. "It is always very adroit to pretend to feel an interest in the dignity of those we govern, because, between us,--beautiful, adorable, as you are,--you can make of this poor prince all that you wish, but I defy you ever to do so with a man of spirit or a brave man."
"Wait, madame marquise, I have not seen your letter of credit," and Pascal opened it. "I wager it is an atrocious meanness. Zounds! I was sure of it,--forty thousand francs! What would make a woman like you do with such a beggarly pittance in Paris? Ah! Ah! Oh!--forty thousand francs. Only a German archduke could be capable of such magnificence."
Madeleine had at first listened to Pascal without comprehending him. Soon she saw his meaning: he regarded her as the mistress of the prince and living on his liberality.