The other, a man with a bloated face, and fair Dundreary whiskers, was eager to do business with him. Certainly the affair was good.
“Oh, my dear Prince, I am happy to be alone with you for a moment!” said Herzog, with that familiarity which was one of his means of becoming intimate with people. “I was going to compliment you! What a splendid position you have reached.”
“Yes; I have married a charming woman,” replied the Prince, coldly.
“And what a fortune!” insisted the financier. “Ah, it is worthy of the lot of a great lord such as you are! Oh, you are like those masterpieces of art which need a splendidly carved frame! Well, you have your frame, and well gilt too!”
He laughed and seemed pleased at Serge’s happiness. He had taken one of his hands and was patting it softly between his own.
“Not a very ‘convenient’ mother-in-law, for instance,” he went on, good-naturedly; “but you are so charming! Only you could have, coaxed Madame Desvarennes, and you have succeeded. Oh! she likes you, my dear Prince; she told me so only a little while ago. You have won her heart. I don’t know how you manage it, but you are irresistible! By the way, I was not there when the marriage contract was read, and I, forgot to ask Cayrol. Under what conditions are you married?”
The Prince looked at Herzog with a look that was hardly friendly. But the financier appeared so indifferent, that Serge could not help answering him:
“My wife’s fortune is settled on herself.”
“Ah! ah! that is usual in Normandy!” replied Herzog with a grave look. “I was told Madame Desvarennes was a clever woman and she has proved it. And you signed the contract with your eyes shut, my dear Prince. It is perfect, just as a gentleman should do!”
He said this with a good-natured air. Then, suddenly lifting his eyes, and with an ironical smile playing on his lips, he added:
“You are bowled out, my dear fellow, don’t you know?”
“Don’t cry out; it is too late, and would be useless,” replied the financier. “Let me explain your position to you. Your hands are tied. You cannot dispose of a sou belonging to your wife without her consent. It is true, you have influence over her, happily for you. Still you must foresee that she will be guided by her mother. A strong woman, too, the mother! Ah, Prince, you have allowed yourself to be done completely. I would not have thought it of you.”