Les Aigues and made him forget
about Gaubertin, even to his very name. In 1820 he took the countess to
Burgundy to show her the estate, and he accepted Sibilet's accounts and
leases without looking closely into them; happiness never cavils. The
countess, well pleased to find the steward's wife a charming young
woman, made presents to her and to the children, with whom she
occasionally amused herself. She ordered a few changes at Les Aigues,
having sent to Paris for an architect; proposing, to the general's great
delight, to spend six months of every year on this magnificent estate.
Montcornet's savings were soon spent on the architectural work and the
exquisite new furniture sent from Paris. Les Aigues thus received the
last touch which made it a choice example of all the diverse elegancies
of four centuries.

In 1821 the general was almost peremptorily urged by Sibilet to be at
Les Aigues before the month of May. Important matters had to be decided.
A lease of nine years, to the amount of thirty thousand francs, granted
by Gaubertin in 1812 to a wood-merchant, fell in on the 15th of May of
the current year. Sibilet, anxious to prove his rectitude, was unwilling
to be responsible for the renewal of the lease. "You know, Monsieur le
comte," he wrote, "that I do not choose to profit by such matters."
The wood-merchant claimed an indemnity, extorted from Madame Laguerre,
through her hatred of litigation, and shared by him with Gaubertin. This
indemnity was based on the injury done to the woods by the peasants,
who treated the forest of Les Aigues as if they had a right to cut the
timber. Messrs. Gravelot Brothers, wood-merchants in Paris, refused to
pay their last quarter dues, offering to prove by an expert that the
woods were reduced one-fifth in value, through, they said, the injurious
precedent established by Madame Laguerre.

"I have already," wrote Sibilet, "sued these men in the courts at
Ville-aux-Fayes, for they have taken legal residence there, on account
of this lease, with my old employer, Maitre Corbinet. I fear we shall
lose the suit."

"It is a question of income, my dear," said the general, showing the
letter to his wife. "Will you go down to Les Aigues a little earlier
this year than last?"

"Go yourself, and I will follow you when the weather is warmer," said
the countess, not sorry to remain in Paris alone.

The general, who knew very well the canker that was eating into his
revenues, departed wit