one knew how, and d'Alibert's wife and child were
ruined. D'Alibert's brother-in-law, who was Sieur de la Magdelaine, felt
certain vague suspicions concerning this death, and wished to get to the
bottom of it; he accordingly began investigations, which were suddenly
brought to an end by his death.

In one way alone Fortune seemed to have abandoned her favourite: Maitre
Penautier had a great desire to succeed the Sieur of Mennevillette,
who was receiver of the clergy, and this office was worth nearly 60,000
livres. Penautier knew that Mennevillette was retiring in favour of his
chief clerk, Messire Pierre Hannyvel, Sieur de Saint-Laurent, and he had
taken all the necessary, steps for buying the place over his head: the
Sieur de Saint-Laurent, with the full support of the clergy, obtained
the reversion for nothing--a thing that never happened before. Penautier
then offered him 40,000 crowns to go halves, but Saint-Laurent refused.
Their relations, however, were not broken off, and they continued to
meet. Penautier was considered such a lucky fellow that it was generally
expected he would somehow or other get some day the post he coveted so
highly. People who had no faith in the mysteries of alchemy declared
that Sainte-Croix and Penautier did business together.

Now, when the period for mourning was over, the relations of the
marquise and Sainte-Croix were as open and public as before: the two
brothers d'Aubray expostulated with her by the medium of an older sister
who was in a Carmelite nunnery, and the marquise perceived that her
father had on his death bequeathed the care and supervision of her to
her brothers. Thus her first crime had been all but in vain: she had
wanted to get rid of her father's rebukes and to gain his fortune; as a
fact the fortune was diminished by reason of her elder brothers, and
she had scarcely enough to pay her debts; while the rebukes were renewed
from the mouths of her brothers, one of whom, being civil lieutenant,
had the power to separate her again from her lover. This must be
prevented. Lachaussee left the service of Sainte-Croix, and by a
contrivance of the marquise was installed three months later as servant
of the elder brother, who lived with the civil lieutenant. The poison
to be used on this occasion was not so swift as the one taken by M.
d'Aubray so violent a death happening so soon in the same family might
arouse suspicion. Experiments were tried once more, not on animals--for