"Never!" said Victorin.
"Never!" said Celestine.
"Never!" said Hortense.
Lisbeth was possessed by the wish to crush the haughty attitude
assumed by all the Hulots.
"She seems to have arms that she can turn against you," she replied.
"I do not know all about it, but I shall find out. She spoke vaguely
of some history of two hundred thousand francs in which Adeline is
implicated."
The Baroness fell gently backward on the sofa she was sitting on in a
fit of hysterical sobbing.
"Go there, go, my children!" she cried. "Receive the woman! Monsieur
Crevel is an infamous wretch. He deserves the worst punishment
imaginable.--Do as the woman desires you! She is a monster--she knows
all!"
After gasping out these words with tears and sobs, Madame Hulot
collected her strength to go to her room, leaning on her daughter and
Celestine.
"What is the meaning of all this?" cried Lisbeth, left alone with
Victorin.
The lawyer stood rigid, in very natural dismay, and did not hear her.
"What is the matter, my dear Victorin?"
"I am horrified!" said he, and his face scowled darkly. "Woe to
anybody who hurts my mother! I have no scruples then. I would crush
that woman like a viper if I could!--What, does she attack my mother's
life, my mother's honor?"
"She said, but do not repeat it, my dear Victorin--she said you should
all fall lower even than your father. And she scolded Crevel roundly
for not having shut your mouths with this secret that seems to be such
a terror to Adeline.
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