he cried. 'I would not believe them, I
_could_ not believe them--for I did not know that there was upon this
earth a thing so contemptible. They said that they would prove it, and
I defied them to do so, and now I see you as you are. Thank God that I
have found you out in time! And to think that for your sake I have
brought about the death of a man who was worth a hundred of you! Oh, I
am rightly punished for an unwomanly act. Toussac has had his revenge.'

'Enough!' said the Emperor sternly. 'Constant, lead Mademoiselle Bernac
into the next room. As to you, sir, I do not think that I can condemn
any lady of my Court to take such a man as a husband. Suffice it that
you have been shown in your true colours, and that Mademoiselle Bernac
has been cured of a foolish infatuation. Roustem, remove the prisoner!'

'There, Monsieur de Laval,' said the Emperor, when the wretched Lesage
had been conducted from the room. 'We have not done such a bad piece of
work between the coffee and the breakfast. It was your idea, Josephine,
and I give you credit for it. But now, de Laval, I feel that we owe you
some recompense for having set the young aristocrats a good example, and
for having had a share in this Toussac business. You have certainly
acted very well.'

'I ask no recompense, sire,' said I, with an uneasy sense of what was
coming.

'It is your modesty that speaks. But I have already decided upon your
reward. You shall have such an allowance as will permit you to keep up
a proper appearance as my aide-de-camp, and I have determined to marry
you suitably to one of the ladies-in-waiting of the Empress.' My heart
turned to lead within me.

'But, sire,' I stammered, 'this is impossible.'

'Oh, you have no occasion to hesitate. The lady is of excellent family
and she is not wanting in personal charm. In a word, the affair is
settled, and the marriage takes place upon Thursday.'

'But it is impossible, sire,' I repeated.

'Impossible! When you have been longer in my service, sir, you will
understand that that is a word which I do not tolerate. I tell you that
it is settled.'

'My love is given to another, sire. It is not possible for me to
change.'

'Indeed!' said the Emperor coldly. 'If you persist in such a resolution
you cannot expect to retain your place in my household.'

Here was the whole structure which my ambition had planned out crumbling
hopelessly about my ears. And yet what was there for