"
"How do you know that?"
"I wished to see the count my father, to speak with him."
"You?"
"Yes, I. Do you think that I shall not reclaim my own? Do you imagine
that I shall not raise my voice. On what account should I keep silent,
who have I to consider? I have rights, and I will make them good. What
do you find surprising in that?"
"Nothing, certainly, my friend. So then you called at M. de Commarin's
house?"
"Oh! I did not decide on doing so all at once," continued Noel. "At
first my discovery almost drove me mad. Then I required time to reflect.
A thousand opposing sentiments agitated me. At one moment, my fury
blinded me; the next, my courage deserted me. I would, and I would not.
I was undecided, uncertain, wild. The scandal that must arise from the
publicity of such an affair terrified me. I desired, I still desire to
recover my name, that much is certain. But on the eve of recovering it,
I wish to preserve it from stain. I was seeking a means of arranging
everything, without noise, without scandal."
"At length, however, you made up your mind?"
"Yes, after a struggle of fifteen days, fifteen days of torture, of
anguish! Ah! what I suffered in that time! I neglected my business,
being totally unfit for work.
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