"My first impulse," said Lavedan, when later he came to tell me of
it, "was incontinently to order his departure. But upon considering
the matter and remembering how high in power and in the King's
favour stands that monstrous libertine Bardelys, I deemed it wiser
to afford shelter to this outrageous retinue. His steward - a
flabby, insolent creature - says that Bardelys left them last night
near Mirepoix, to ride hither, bidding them follow to-day. Curious
that we should have no news of him! That he should have fallen
into the Garonne and drowned himself were too great a good fortune
to be hoped for."
The bitterness with which he spoke of me afforded me ample cause
for congratulation that I had resolved to accept the role of Lesperon.
Yet, remembering that my father and he had been good friends, his
manner left me nonplussed. What cause could he have for this
animosity to the son? Could it be merely my position at Court that
made me seem in his rebel eyes a natural enemy?
"You are acquainted with this Bardelys?" I inquired, by way of
drawing him.
"I knew his father," he answered gruffly. "An honest, upright
gentleman."
"And the son," I inquired timidly, "has he none of these virtues?"
"I know not what virtues he may have; his vices are known to all
the world. He is a libertine, a gambler, a rake, a spendthrift.
They say he is one of the King's favourites, and that his monstrous
extravagances have earned for him the title of 'Magnificent'.
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