It was easy to see that all believed their master guilty.
Albert's conduct since the beginning of the fatal week, his least words,
his most insignificant movements, were reported, commented upon, and
explained.
The man who lives in the midst of thirty servants is like an insect in
a glass box under the magnifying glass of a naturalist. Not one of his
acts escapes their notice: he can scarcely have a secret of his own;
and, if they cannot divine what it is, they at least know that he has
one. From morn till night he is the point of observation for thirty
pairs of eyes, interested in studying the slightest changes in his
countenance.
The magistrate obtained, therefore, an abundance of those frivolous
details which seem nothing at first; but the slightest of which may, at
the trial, become a question of life or death.
By combining these depositions, reconciling them and putting them in
order, M. Daburon was able to follow his prisoner hour by hour from the
Sunday morning.
Directly Noel left, the viscount gave orders that all visitors should be
informed that he had gone into the country. From that moment, the whole
household perceived that something had gone wrong with him, that he was
very much annoyed, or very unwell.
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