her to the
Baron every day. What can I do? 'Yes,' says he, 'Betty, you are right;
I am a wretch. My wife is an angel, and I am a monster! I will go
to-morrow----' And he stays with Madame Marneffe. That woman is ruining
him, and he worships her; he lives only in her sight.--I do what I can;
if I were not there, and if I had not Mathurine to depend upon, he would
spend twice as much as he does; and as he has hardly any money in the
world, he would have blown his brains out by this time. And, I tell
you, Mariette, Adeline would die of her husband's death, I am perfectly
certain. At any rate, I pull to make both ends meet, and prevent my
cousin from throwing too much money into the fire."

"Yes, that is what madame says, poor soul! She knows how much she owes
you," replied Mariette. "She said she had judged you unjustly for many
years----"

"Indeed!" said Lisbeth. "And did she say anything else?"

"No, mademoiselle. If you wish to please her, talk to her about Monsieur
le Baron; she envies you your happiness in seeing him every day."

"Is she alone?"

"I beg pardon, no; the Marshal is with her. He comes every day, and she
always tells him she saw monsieur in the morning, but that he comes in
very late at night."

"And is there a good dinner to-day?"

Mariette hesitated; she could not meet Lisbeth's eye. The drawing-room
door opened, and Marshal Hulot rushed out in such haste that he bowed to
Lisbeth without looking at her, and dropped a paper. Lisbeth picked it
up and ran after him downstairs, for it was vain to hail a deaf man; but
she managed not to overtake the Marshal, and as she came up again she
furtively read the following lines written in pencil:--

"MY DEAR BROTHER,--My husband has given me the money for my
quarter's expenses; but my daughter Hortense was in such need of
it, that I lent her the whole sum, which was scarcely enough to
set her straight. Could you lend me a few hundred francs? For I
cannot ask Hector for more; if he were to blame me, I could not
bear it."

"My word!" thought Lisbeth, "she must be in extremities to bend her
pride to such a degree!"

Lisbeth went in. She saw tears in Adeline's eyes, and threw her arms
round her neck.

"Adeline, my dearest, I know all," cried Cousin Betty. "Here, the
Marshal dropped this paper--he was in such a state of mind, and
running like a greyhound.--Has that dreadful Hector given you no money
since----?"

"He gives it me quite regula