"Our debts are increasing," I said. "Have you thought of any way of
paying them?"
I had feared that my question might irritate him. To my relief, he
seemed to be diverted by it.
"The payment of debts," he replied, "is a problem that I am too poor to
solve. Perhaps I got near to it the other day."
I asked how.
"Well," he said, "I found myself wishing I had some rich friends.
By-the-bye, how is _your_ rich friend? What have you heard lately of
Mr. Mountjoy?"
"I have heard that he is steadily advancing towards recovery."
"Likely, I dare say, to return to France when he feels equal to it," my
husband remarked. "He is a good-natured creature. If he finds himself
in Paris again, I wonder whether he will pay us another visit?"
He said this quite seriously. On my side, I was too much as astonished
to utter a word. My bewilderment seemed to amuse him. In his own
pleasant way he explained himself:
"I ought to have told you, my dear, that I was in Mr. Mountjoy's
company the night before he returned to England. We had said some
disagreeable things to each other here in the cottage, while you were
away in your room. My tongue got the better of my judgment. In short, I
spoke rudely to our guest.
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