It was bitter to have lost, but he still lived.

In a manner as he saw it, he had been disgraced, but time and the red wine and the white would take away the sting.

He still lived.

That was the grand and beautiful fact.
Many more joyous days and nights awaited him in the company of Bigot and Cadet and Pean, powerful men who knew how to exercise their power and how to live at the same time.

He should be grateful for a little while, at least, to the young Bostonnais, and he shook the proffered hand as heartily as his own damp, limp fingers would admit.
"May your stay in Quebec be as pleasant as you wish," he said, a bit thickly.
"Thanks," said Robert, who read the man's mind thoroughly.
De Galisonniere put away the unstained swords, quite satisfied with the affair, himself and everybody.