"The fools!" he added.

"For me, Marius had been welcome to Valerie.

He might have found in me an ally to aid him in the urging of his suit.

But now--" He raised his clenched hand and shook it in the air, as if in promise of the battle he would deliver.
"Good," said Garnache, reassured.

"I hear their steps upon the stairs.
They must not find me with you." A moment later the door opened, and Marius, very bravely arrayed, entered the room, followed closely by Fortunio.