If I could now persuade her to leave Avranches, I should have done all that could reasonably be expected of me; if the duke pursued, she must fight the battle for herself.

So I mused, sipping my coffee; and then I fell to wondering what the duchess would say on seeing me again so soon.

Would she see me?
She must, whether she liked it or not; I could not keep the diamonds all night.

Perhaps she would like.
"There you are again!" I said to myself sharply, and I roused myself from my meditations.
As I looked up, I saw the man Lafleur opposite to me.

He had his back toward me, but I knew him, and he was just walking into a shop that faced the _caf_ and displayed in its windows an assortment of offensive weapons--guns, pistols, and various sorts of knives.