Roustem, remove the prisoner!'
'There, Monsieur de Laval,' said the Emperor, when the wretched Lesage
had been conducted from the room. 'We have not done such a bad piece of
work between the coffee and the breakfast. It was your idea, Josephine,
and I give you credit for it. But now, de Laval, I feel that we owe you
some recompense for having set the young aristocrats a good example, and
for having had a share in this Toussac business. You have certainly
acted very well.'
'I ask no recompense, sire,' said I, with an uneasy sense of what was
coming.
'It is your modesty that speaks. But I have already decided upon your
reward. You shall have such an allowance as will permit you to keep up
a proper appearance as my aide-de-camp, and I have determined to marry
you suitably to one of the ladies-in-waiting of the Empress.' My heart
turned to lead within me.
'But, sire,' I stammered, 'this is impossible.'
'Oh, you have no occasion to hesitate. The lady is of excellent family
and she is not wanting in personal charm. In a word, the affair is
settled, and the marriage takes place upon Thursday.
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