“Ah, answer me! Don’t you see that your hesitation is an insult?”
“Well--yes.”
As if in utter despair, she raised her hands to heaven, calling God, as
it were, to witness, and asking for inspiration from on high. Then she
added suddenly,--
“But I have proofs, irrefutable proofs of Malgat’s rascality.”
And, without waiting for another word, she hurried into the adjoining
room. Daniel, moved to the bottom of his heart, remained standing where
he was, immovable, like a statue.
He was utterly confounded and overcome by the charm of that marvellous
voice, which passed through the whole gamut of passion with such a
sonorous ring, and yet with such sweet languor, that it seemed by turns
to sob and to threaten, to sigh with sadness and to thunder with wrath.
“What a woman!” he said to himself, repeating thus unconsciously the
words uttered by M. de Brevan.
“What a woman! And how well she defends herself.”
But Miss Brandon was already back again, carrying in her arms a small
box of costly wood inlaid with jewels. She resumed her seat on the sofa;
and in that brief, sharp tone which betrays terrible passions restrained
with a great effort, she said,--
“Before all, I must thank you, M. Champcey, for your frankness, since it
enables me to defend myself. I knew that slander had attacked me; I felt
it, so to say, in the air I was breathing; but I had never been able yet
to take hold of it. Now, for the first time, I can face it; and I owe it
to you that I am able to defy it. Listen, therefore; for I swear to you
by all that is most sacred to me, by the memory of my sainted mother,
I swear to you solemnly, that you shall hear the truth, and nothing but
the truth.”
She had opened the box, and was eagerly searching something among the
papers inside. She then continued, in feverish haste,--
“M. Malgat was the cashier and confidential clerk of the Mutual Discount
Society, a large and powerful company. M. Elgin had some business with
him, a few weeks after our arrival here, for the purpose of drawing
funds which he had in Philadelphia. He found him an exceedingly obliging
man, and, to show his appreciation, invited him to dine here. Thus he
became acquainted with Mrs. Brian and myself. He was a man of about
forty, of medium height, ordinary looking, very polite, but not refined
in his manners. The first time I looked at his light yellow eyes, I felt
disgusted and frightened. I read in his face an expression of base vice.
The impression was so strong, that I could not help telling M. Elgin how
sure I was this man would turn out a bad man, and that he ought not to
trust him in money-matters.”
Daniel listened with breathless attention. This description of Malgat
impressed his portrait so deeply on his mind, that he thought he saw
him before his eyes, and would certainly recognize him if he should ever
meet him.
“M. Elgin,” continued Miss Brandon, “only laughed at my presentiments;
and even Mrs. Brian, I remember distinctly, scolded me, saying it was
very wrong to judge a man by his appearance, and that there were
very honest men in the world who had yellow eyes. I must acknowledge,
moreover, that M. Malgat behaved perfectly well whenever he was here.
As M. Elgin did not know Paris, and had money to invest, he advised
him what to do. When we had drafts upon the Mutual Discount Society, he
always saved M. Elgin the trouble, and brought the money himself.
After a while, when M. Elgin took it into his head to try some small
speculations on ‘change, M. Malgat offered him his assistance, although
they never had any luck, in fact.”
By this time Miss Brandon had found the papers she was looking for. She
handed them to Daniel, saying,--
“And, if you do not believe what I say, look at this.”
There were a dozen square bits of paper, on which Malgat had reported
the result of his operations on ‘change, which he carried on on account
of, and with the money of, M. Elgin. All ended with these words:--
“We have lost considerably; but we may be more fortunate next time.
There is a capital chance on such and such funds; send me all the money
you can spare.”
The words were always the same; the name of the funds alone varied in
each.
“That is strange,” said Daniel.
Miss Sarah shook her head.
“Strange? Yes, indeed!” she replied. “But it does not help me in any
way. This letter, however, will tell you more. Read it, sir, and read it
aloud.”