Милий друг
The Will
Lamaneur’salone,toconsulthimandtoexplainthemattertohim.IwilltellhimofmyscruplesandIwilladdthatwehaveagreedtodivideitinordertoavoidanyscandal.FromthemomentthatIacceptaportionoftheinheritanceitwillbeevidentthatthereisnothingwrong.Icansay:‘MywifeacceptsitbecauseI,herhusband,accept’—I,whoamthebestjudgeofwhatshecandowithoutcompromisingherself."
Madeleinesimplymurmured:"Asyouwish."
Hecontinued:"Yes,itwillbeasclearasdayifthatisdone.Weinheritafortunefromafriendwhowishedtomakenodistinctionbetweenus,therebyshowingthathislikingforyouwaspurelyPlatonic.Youmaybesurethatifhehadgivenitathought,thatiswhathewouldhavedone.Hedidnotreflect—hedidnotforeseetheconsequences.Asyousaidjustnow,heofferedyouflowerseveryweek,heleftyouhiswealth."
Sheinterruptedhimwithashadeofannoyance:
"Iunderstand.Nomoreexplanationsarenecessary.Gotothenotaryatonce."
Hestammeredinconfusion:"Youareright;Iwillgo."Hetookhishat,and,ashewasleavingtheroom,heasked:"ShallItrytocompromisewiththenephewforfiftythousandfrancs?"
Sherepliedhaughtily:"No.Givehimthehundredthousandfrancshedemands,andtakethemfrommyshareifyouwish."
Abashed,hemurmured:"No,wewillshareit.Afterdeductingfiftythousandfrancseachwewillstillhaveamillionnet.
