The Knight of Maison-Rouge by Alexandre Dumas

Author:Alexandre Dumas
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781588363350
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2003-06-03T22:00:00+00:00

28

THE KNIGHT OF MAISON-ROUGE

Maurice hurried back to the section to bring a complaint against Simon. It is true that before separating from Maurice Lorin had come up with a more effective plan, which was to assemble a few Thermopylae members, wait till Simon was due to leave the Temple, and kill him in an orderly battle. But Maurice put paid to the scheme.

“You’re finished,” he said to Lorin, “once you descend to battery. We’ll crush that bastard Simon all right, but let’s crush him legally. Lawyers would have a field day with him.”

And so Maurice went off to the section next morning to make his official complaint. He was perfectly stunned when the president of the section turned a deaf ear, declaring himself unable to act and saying he could not take sides between two good citizens both motivated by love of the nation.

“Right!” said Maurice. “Now I know what you have to do to merit the reputation of being a good citizen. Ha! All you have to do is gather a bunch of thugs together to assassinate a man you don’t like! You call that being motivated by love of the nation? I’m quickly coming round to Lorin’s view, which I was silly enough to rule out. From today I’ll practice patriotism as you understand it, and I’ll start by experimenting on Simon.”

“Citizen Maurice,” replied the president, “Simon may well be less in the wrong than you in this matter. He uncovered a plot without being called upon to do so by the terms of his employment. Furthermore, you have either chance or deliberate dealings—which? That we don’t know; we just know you have them—with the enemies of our nation.”

“Me!” cried Maurice. “Ah, this is novel, I’ll grant you that. And with whom then, citizen president?”

“With citizen Maison-Rouge.”

“Me?” said Maurice, stunned. “Me? I have dealings with the Knight of Maison-Rouge? I don’t even know him, I have never …”

“You were seen talking to him.”

“Me?”

“Shaking his hand.”

“Me?”

“Yes—you.”

“Where? When? … Citizen president, you are making it up!” said Maurice, carried away by the conviction of his innocence.

“You’re taking your zeal for the nation a bit far, citizen Maurice,” said the president. “And you’ll be sorry in a moment that you said what you just said, when I give you proof that I’ve spoken nothing but the truth. Here are three different reports accusing you.”

“Well, you wouldn’t credit it!” said Maurice. “Do you really think I’m naïve enough to believe in your Knight of Maison-Rouge?”

“And why wouldn’t you believe in him?”

“Because he is a conspirator bogeyman you always keep up your sleeve, ready to overpower your enemies with talk of some dreadful plot or other.”

“Read the denunciations.”

“I won’t read anything,” said Maurice. “I protest that I have never seen the Knight of Maison-Rouge and that I have never spoken to him. Let anyone who doesn’t believe my word of honor come forward and tell me to my face. I know what I’ll say to him.”

The president gave a shrug. Maurice, not wanting to be outdone by anyone, did the same.

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