I have no doubt, gentlemen, that you will think harshly of me because I did not enlighten the Vicomte.

But there were reasons for which I trust you will not press me, since I shall find it difficult to answer you with truth." "But is your name Lesperon ?" cried Lesperon.
"That, monsieur, is a small matter.

Whether my name is Lesperon or not, I confess to having practised a duplicity upon the Vicomte and his family, since I am certainly not the Lesperon whose identity I accepted.
But if I accepted that identity, monsieur, I also accepted your liabilities, and so I think that you should find it in your heart to extend me some measure of forgiveness.

As Rene de Lesperon, of Lesperon in Gascony, I was arrested last night at Lavedan, and, as you may observe, I am being taken to Toulouse to stand the charge of high treason.

I have not demurred; I have not denied in the hour of trouble the identity that served me in my hour of need.