.

"Ah!" he said, "Mme. la Duchesse will be leaving Brestalou? I am sorry
to hear that. Why should she go so soon?"

"An affair of business, my dear de Marmont," replied the Comte. "I will
tell you about it at an early opportunity."

After which there was a hubbub of talk in the corridors outside, the
sound of greetings, the pleasing confusion of questions and answers
which marks the simultaneous arrival of several guests.

Crystal rose and turned to Bobby with a smile.

"You will have to tell me some other time," she said lightly. "Don't
forget!"

The psychological moment had gone by and Clyffurde cursed himself for
having fought too long against the promptings of his heart and lost the
precious moments which might have changed the whole of Crystal's
future. He cursed himself for not having spoken sooner, now that he saw
de Marmont with glowing eyes and ill-concealed triumph approach his
beautiful fiancee and with the air of a conqueror raise her hand to his
lips.

She looked very pale, and to the man who loved her so ardently and so
hopelessly it seemed as if she gave a curious little shiver and that for
one brief second her blue eyes flashed a pathetic look of appeal up to
his.

VI

M. le Comte's guests followed closely on the triumphant bridegroom's
heels: M. le prefet, fussy and nervous, secretly delighted at the idea
of affixing his official signature to such an aristocratic _contrat de
mariage_ as was this between Mlle. de Cambray de Brestalou and M. Victor
de Marmont, own nephew to Marshal the duc de Raguse; Madame la prefete,
resplendent in the latest fashion from Paris, the Duc and Duchesse
d'Embrun, cousins of the bride, the Vicomte de Genevois and his mother,
who was Abbess of Pont Haut and godmother by proxy to Crystal de
Cambray; whilst General Marchand, in command of the troops of the
district, fresh from the Council of War which he had hastily convened,
was trying to hide behind a _debonnaire_ manner all the anxiety which
"the brigand's" march on Grenoble was causing him.

The chief notabilities of the province had assembled to do honour to the
occasion, later on others would come, lesser lights by birth and
position than this select crowd who would partake of the _souper des
fiancailles_ before the _contrat_ was signed in their presence as
witnesses to the transaction.

Everyone was talking volubly: the ogre's progress through France--no
longer to be denied--was the chief subject of con