avoid his glance his
countenance assumed a more gentle expression, and Madame de Lamotte
introduced him as a person who took great interest in Edouard."

"It is a whole tissue of imposture!" exclaimed Monsieur de Lamotte.

"Allow me to finish," answered Derues. "I understand your doubts, and
that you are not anxious to believe what I say, but I have been brought
here by legal summons to tell the truth, and I am going to tell it. You
can then weigh the two accusations in the balance, and choose between
them. The reputation of an honourable man is as sacred, as important,
as worthy of credit as the reputation of a woman, and I never heard that
the virtue of the one was more fragile than that of the other."

Monsieur de Lamotte, thunderstruck by such a revelation, could not
contain his impatience and indignation.

"This, then," he said, "is the explanation of an anonymous letter which
I received, and of the injurious suggestions' concerning my wife's
honour which it contained; it was written to give an appearance of
probability to this infamous legend. The whole thing is a disgraceful
plot, and no doubt Monsieur Derues wrote the letter himself."

"I know nothing about it," said Derues unconcernedly, "and the
explanation which you profess to find in it I should rather refer to
something else I am going to mention. I did not know a secret warning
had been sent to you: I now learn it from you, and I understand
perfectly that such a letter, may have been written. But that you
have received such a warning ought surely to be a reason for listening
patiently and not denouncing all I say as imposture."

While saying this Derues mentally constructed the fresh falsehood
necessitated by the interruption, but no variation of countenance
betrayed his thought. He had an air of dignity natural to his position.
He saw that, in spite of clear-headedness and long practice in studying
the most deceptive countenances, the magistrate so far had not scented
any of his falsehoods, and was getting bewildered in the windings of
this long narrative, through which Derues led him as he chose; and he
resumed with confidence--

"You know that I made Monsieur de Lamotte's acquaintance more than a
year ago, and I had reason to believe his friendship as sincere as my
own. As a friend, I could not calmly accept the suspicion which then
entered my mind, nor could I conceal my surprise. Madame de Lamotte saw
this, and understood from my looks that I w