His valet noticed that this singular change dated from
the visit, on Sunday morning, of a certain M. Noel Gerdy, who had been
closeted with him for three hours in the library.
The Viscount, gay as a lark until the arrival of this person, had, from
the moment of his departure, the appearance of a man at the point of
death. When setting forth to meet his father, the viscount appeared to
suffer so acutely that M. Lubin, his valet, entreated him not to go out;
suggesting that it would be more prudent to retire to his room, and call
in the doctor.
But the Count de Commarin was exacting on the score of filial duty, and
would overlook the worst of youthful indiscretions sooner than what he
termed a want of reverence. He had announced his intended arrival
by telegraph, twenty-four hours in advance; therefore the house was
expected to be in perfect readiness to receive him, and the absence of
Albert at the railway station would have been resented as a flagrant
omission of duty.
The viscount had been but five minutes in the waiting-room, when the
bell announced the arrival of the train. Soon the doors leading on
to the platform were opened, and the travelers crowded in.
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