He burnt all the count's letters establishing the substitution, and he
preserved only those which made it probable.
These last he went and showed to Albert, feeling sure, that, should
justice ever discover the reason of Claudine's death, it would naturally
suspect he who appeared to have most interest in it.
Not that he really wished Albert to be suspected of the crime, it was
simply a precaution. He thought that he could so arrange matters
that the police would waste their time in the pursuit of an imaginary
criminal.
Nor did he think of ousting the Viscount de Commarin and putting himself
in his place. His plan was simply this; the crime once committed,
he would wait; things would take their own course, there would be
negotiations, and ultimately he would compromise the matter at the price
of a fortune.
He felt sure of his mother's silence, should she ever suspect him guilty
of the assassination.
His plan settled, he decided to strike the fatal blow on the Shrove
Tuesday.
To neglect no precaution, he, that very same evening, took Juliette to
the theatre, and afterwards to the masked ball at the opera. In case
things went against him, he thus secured an unanswerable _alibi_.
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