Granville's estate

"That damned lackey of Durand Bank!"

The curse words from the mouth of the servant John undoubtedly startled both Louis and Alred—but they can’t blame them, because John imitated the rude tone of the tea merchant too much. For a moment, Louis even thought that Bernard had come back and looked towards the door.

And as the person who was so insulted by Bernard, Andrew Dumont, the senior executive of Durand Bank, his reaction was quite beyond the expectations of the two friends-this gentleman was neither surprised nor angry, but He crossed his legs, sank himself comfortably into the velvet-upholstered armchair, and demanded of his valet: "Not bad, say it again, John."

"……what?"

Louis almost thought he had heard it wrong, but Alrede's expression proved that Mr. Dumont had indeed made such a request. While the two friends were looking at each other in disbelief, the servant John acted like he knew it long ago. : "Ah, gentlemen, don't be surprised, our husband is like this."

Having explained this to Louie and Alred, John turned to his master, and repeated, imitating Bernard's vulgar accent: "That damned lackey of Durand Bank!"

"That damned lackey of Durand Bank!"

"That bloody lackey of the Durand Bank, bah!"

After John scolded him several times in a row, Andrew Dumont finally signaled his servant to stop—even though he was the one being scolded, this gentleman looked very happy, and it was almost admirable Incomparably good self-cultivation.

"Ah, gentlemen, my servants have not frightened you?"

Mr. Dumont asked the two friends standing there with a smile. His appearance was very elegant when he spoke, and it was unexpected that such a handsome gentleman would have such a strange habit: "Please don't be offended, this is my personal One of the habits, as bank employees, we have to infer from the customer's reaction to their next possible move, so I often ask my servants to tell me what they did when they left."

"...So that's the case, Mr. Dumont, I admire your ability." Alred replied dryly, his face was clearly full of disbelief: "Then, what can you learn from Bernard's words to you?" , What do you deduce from your evaluation?"

"Ah, this is very obvious, Mr. de Granville." Dumont replied without blinking, "Although Mr. Jacques Bernard is very dissatisfied with my handling method, at least he is not in the near future. He won't do anything else, he doesn't dare to offend that Clermont police officer, the most he can do is curse me for not meddling in your affairs."

"How can you be sure that Bernard won't do anything again, sir?" Louis couldn't help asking. Although he trusted Mr. Dumont's ability, he still didn't trust the tea merchant's credibility: "Then Mr. Bernard left without making any promises, sir, I do not question your meaning, but I am still a little worried."

"Mr. Farentin, you don't have to worry about this. When a person needs to pay a lot more for doing something than the benefits he can get, he will naturally keep his own place."

Mr. Dumont was still smiling. After explaining this sentence to Louis, he turned to Alred: "Mr. de Granville, are you surprised why I gave Mr. Bernard and Clay With so much money from the police officer, and knowing that this tea counterfeiting case itself is another fraud? After all, during the negotiation just now, your impulsiveness almost ruined my efforts."

"No, sir, the choices you make are always justified."

Even though he said so, Alrede's expression was obviously not convinced.

"Ah, sir, I actually know what you think. After all, young people always think that after the facts are clear, justice should come like the sun rising."

Mr. Dumont stared into Alred's eyes, and his expression became serious: "But in fact, sir, many times, even if we know what the truth is, we have to adopt a compromise method to give ourselves Leave a way out."

"In this matter, your biggest mistake was not signing your name on Bernard's contract, but believing too rashly in the character of Sologne Grostedt from the very beginning. Noble Partnerships and even marriages with merchants are not uncommon these days, but you unsuspectingly left everything in the hands of Grostedt, letting him use your noble title to swagger around instead of responding to his usual behavior There is a shred of vigilance and doubt."

This was quite a severe reproach, and Louis had to speak out to defend Alred: "Sir, my friend is not indifferent to the situation in Moore Street. He will also go there to check the goods and ledgers, but no one will I didn't expect Grostedt to be able to hide everything to this extent."

"Ah, Mr. Farentin, what you said must be true, but this level of participation is useless." Dumont said, his tone softened a little: "The crime committed by Sologne Grostedt It is true, and as long as the traces of falsification in the No. 12 district are still there, I will have to deal with it through the police officer Guillonet du Clermont, which is why I gave him twenty thousand francs."

"Mr. de Granville, you should be grateful that Officer Clermont wants to compete for the position of the next senior police officer in the eighth district and No.16 district. Before I came here, Mr. Viscount de Durand who entrusted me here Tell me that if Sergeant Clermont is not willing to negotiate, he will be more than happy to say a few words for the officer in front of Mr. Thomas, the prefect of the Paris police, which would disqualify him immediately. This is the man, sir. The real reason why the police officer is willing to let go, otherwise, is that no matter how capable I am, I will not be able to protect the reputation of your family, because even without Jacques Bernard, it is very easy for Officer Claremont to ruin your reputation through other people .”

After saying this to Alred, Mr. Dumont picked up his oak cane, ignored the young nobleman who was ashamed, frustrated, and shocked by Viscount Durand's behavior, and said to Louis: " Mr. Farentin, I'm going back to Durand Bank to report to Mr. Viscount on my handling of this matter. Do you want to go with me to see Mr. Viscount?"

Although Du Meng said this in a questioning tone, Louis standing in front of him immediately realized that he had no room to refuse.

"Yes, Mr. Dumont, I will go with you."

Louis replied in a low voice, he felt a little dizzy, and even the ground under his feet seemed to be soft cotton instead of solid ground: "Al, I, I and Mr. Dumont are going to visit Viscount Durand, I Be back soon."

"Louis!"

Alred frowned slightly. He felt that something was wrong: "I also want to express my gratitude to Mr. Viscount de Durand. Mr. Dumont, please allow me to go with you."

"Ah, Monsieur de Granville, my carriage is too small for only two people, and the viscount doesn't like too many people visiting him together-you can send a business card to the viscount and make an appointment with him Time for next visit."

Andrew Dumont rejected Alred's request very lightly, and he tapped the two contracts that were thrown on the table with his cane: "I think you'd better deal with these two things first, and you My servants, don't let them talk around. Mister Farentin, let us go, it's getting dark."

Mr. Dumont did not lie, his carriage was a two-horse carriage, and indeed it could not accommodate a third person, but just as they boarded the carriage, Alred chased him out of the house .

"Louis, when are you coming back?"

When Alred asked this question, his expression was a little strange, mixed with frustration, worry and a trace of doubt, while Louis didn't dare to look at his friend, nor could he give an accurate answer, so he could only vaguely say: "I don't know , it shouldn’t be too long, Al, you don’t have to worry.”

"If you don't come back after eleven o'clock, I'll pick you up at Durand Bank." Alred said to Louis in an unquestionable tone. He also looked at Dumont, but the latter just rushed He smiled and said nothing.

Alred's decision was beyond Louis' expectations, but in a hurry, he couldn't think of a better way to deal with it: "Al, you deal with this matter first, Mary and the others must be terrified..."

"That's it, Louis."

After watching Mr. Dumont's carriage leave, Allred returned to 79 St. George Street, grabbed the two damn contracts on the table and threw them into the fireplace, watching them burn to ashes in the flames, Then he went up to the second floor and called his servant.

"Joseph, tell me everything you saw and heard when you sent the letter to Durand Bank today, especially the Viscount Durand, what did he say at that time?"