The reader may have forgotten the portrait of the stepmother of Madame d'Harville as drawn by the latter. Let us then repeat, that Madame d'Orbigny was a slight, fair, delicate woman, with eyelashes almost white, round and palish blue eyes, with a soft voice, a hypocritical air, insidious and insinuating manners. Any one who studied her treacherous and perfidious countenance would detect therein craft and cruelty. "What a delightful young man M. de Saint-Remy is!" said Madame d'Orbigny to Jacques Ferrand, when the viscount had left them. "Delightful! But, madame, let us now proceed to our business. You wrote to me from Normandy that you desired to consult me upon most serious matters." "Have you not always been my adviser ever since the worthy Doctor Polidori introduced me to you? By the way, have you heard from him recently?" inquired Madame d'Orbigny, with an air of complete carelessness. "Since he left Paris he has not written me a single line," replied the notary, with an air of similar indifference. Let the reader understand that these two persons lied most unequivocally to each other. The notary had seen Polidori (one of his two accomplices) recently, and had proposed to him to go to Asnieres, to the Martials, the fresh-water pirates, of whom we shall presently speak,--had proposed to him, we say, to poison Louise Morel, under the name of Doctor Vincent. Madame d'Harville's stepmother, on her side, had come to Paris in order to have a secret meeting with this scoundrel, who had been for a long time concealed, as we have said, under the name of Cesar Bradamanti. "But it is not the good doctor of whom we have to discourse," continued Madame d'Harville's stepmother. "You see me very uneasy. My husband is indisposed; his health becomes weaker and weaker every day. Without experiencing serious alarm, his condition gives me much concern,--or rather, gives him much concern," said Madame d'Orbigny, drying her eyes, which were slightly moistened. "What is the business, madame?" "He is constantly talking of making his last arrangements,--of his will." Here Madame d'Orbigny concealed her face in her pocket-handkerchief for some minutes. "It is very afflicting, no doubt," said the notary; "but the precaution has nothing terrible in itself. And what may be M. d'Orbigny's intentions, madame?" "Dear sir! How do I know? You may suppose that when he commences the subject I do not allow him to dwell on it long." "Well, then, he has not up to this time told you anything positive?" "I think," replied Madame d'Orbigny, with a deep sigh,--"I think that he wishes to leave me not only all that the law will allow him to bequeath to me, but--But, really, I pray of you, do not let us talk of that." "Of what, then, shall we talk?"