“And what does it concern, then—my captivity?”
“I heard of it the day it happened; but as you were not guilty of any crime, as you were not guilty of any intrigue, as you, in short, knew nothing that could compromise yourself or anybody else, I attached no more importance to that event than it merited.”
“You speak very much at your ease, Madame,” said Bonacieux, hurt at the little interest his wife showed in him. “Do you know that I was plunged during a day and night in a dungeon of the Bastille?”
“Oh, a day and night soon pass away. Let us return to the object that brings me here.”
“What, that which brings you home to me? Is it not the desire of seeing a husband again from whom you have been separated for a week?” asked the mercer, piqued to the quick.
“Yes, that first, and other things afterward.”
“Speak.”
“It is a thing of the highest interest, and upon which our future fortune perhaps depends.”
“The complexion of our fortune has changed very much since I saw you, Madame Bonacieux, and I should not be astonished if in the course of a few months it were to excite the envy of many folks.”
“Yes, particularly if you follow the instructions I am about to give you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. There is good and holy action to be performed, Monsieur, and much money to be gained at the same time.”