I may be angry
with you; but I can never lose my esteem for you. You are a noble man,
Albert. Give me your hand."
It was a happy moment for these two men, and such a one as they had
scarcely ever experienced in their lives, restrained as they had been by
cold etiquette. The count felt proud of his son, and recognised in
him himself at that age. For a long time their hands remained clasped,
without either being able to utter a word.
At last, M. de Commarin resumed his seat.
"I must ask you to leave me, Albert," he said kindly. "I must be alone
to reflect, to try and accustom myself to this terrible blow."
And, as the young man closed the door, he added, as if giving vent to
his inmost thoughts, "If he, in whom I have placed all my hope, deserts
me, what will become of me? And what will the other one be like?"
Albert's features, when he left the count's study, bore traces of the
violent emotions he had felt during the interview. The servants whom he
met noticed it the more, as they had heard something of the quarrel.
"Well," said an old footman who had been in the family thirty years,
"the count has had another unhappy scene with his son.
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