The letter announcing this terrible news and making this preposterous demand she now placed in the hands of M. le Marquis, who at first was horrified and thunderstruck, and appeared quite unable to deal with the situation or to tender advice.  For Madame it meant complete social ruin, of course, and she herself declared that she would never survive such a scandal.  Her tears and her misery made the loving heart of M. le Marquis bleed in sympathy.  He did all he could to console and comfort the lady, whom, alas! he could no longer look upon as his wife.  Then, gradually, both he and she became more composed.  It was necessary above all things to make sure that Madame was not being victimized by an impostor, and for this purpose M. le Marquis generously offered himself as a disinterested friend and adviser.  He offered to go himself to the Rue Daunou at the hour appointed and to do his best to induce M. le Comte de Naquet—­if indeed he existed—­to forgo his rights on the lady who had so innocently taken on the name and hand of M. le Marquis de Firmin-Latour.  Somewhat more calm, but still unconsoled, the beautiful Rachel accepted this generous offer.  I believe that she even found five thousand francs in her privy purse which was to be offered to M. de Naquet in exchange for a promise never to worry Mme. la Marquise again with his presence.  But this I have never been able to ascertain with any finality.  Certain it is that when at three o’clock on that same afternoon M. de Firmin-Latour presented himself at my office, he did not offer me a share in any five thousand francs, though he spoke to me about the money, adding that he thought it would look well if he were to give it back to Madame, and to tell her that M. de Naquet had rejected so paltry a sum with disdain.

I thought such a move unnecessary, and we argued about it rather warmly, and in the end he went away, as I say, without offering me any share in the emolument.  Whether he did put his project into execution or not I never knew.  He told me that he did.  After that there followed for me, Sir, many days, nay, weeks, of anxiety and of strenuous work.  Mme. la Marquise received several more letters from the supposititious M. de Naquet, any one of which would have landed me, Sir, in a vessel bound for New Caledonia.  The discarded husband became more and more insistent as time went on, and finally sent an ultimatum to Madame saying that he was tired of perpetual interviews with M. le Marquis de Firmin-Latour, whose right to interfere in the matter he now wholly denied, and that he was quite determined to claim his lawful wife before the whole world.

Madame la Marquise, in the meanwhile, had passed from one fit of hysterics into another.  She denied her door to everyone and lived in the strictest seclusion in her beautiful apartment of the Rue de Grammont.  Fortunately this all occurred in the early autumn, when the absence of such a society star from fashionable gatherings was not as noticeable as it otherwise would have been.  But clearly we were working up for the climax, which occurred in the way I am about to relate.