I rode on to tell you so." "An odd fancy, this of his.

But"-- and a sudden smile overspread her face--"we may find a more useful purpose for one of these monks." An hour ago she would willingly have set mademoiselle at liberty in exchange for the assurance that Marius had been successful in the business that had taken him over the border into Savoy.

She would have done it gladly, content that Marius should be heir to Condillac.

But now that Condillac was assured her son, she must have more for him; her insatiable greed for his advancement and prosperity was again upon her.

Now, more than ever--now that Florimond was dead--must she have La Vauvraye for Marius, and she thought that mademoiselle would no longer be difficult to bend.