over every blemish and every defect; she thought the gold
light, and the stones wretched. The goldsmith, as he
entered, found her thus occupied. “M. Faucheux ” she said,
“I believe you supplied me with my gold service?”
“I did, your ladyship.”
“I do not now remember the amount of the account.”
“Of the new service, madame, or of that which M. de Belliere
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presented to you on your marriage? for I have furnished
both.”
“First of all, the new one.”
“The covers, the goblets, and the dishes, with their covers,
the eau-epergne, the ice-pails, the dishes for the
preserves, and the tea and coffee urns, cost your ladyship
sixty thousand francs.”
“No more?”
“Your ladyship thought the account very high.”
“Yes, yes; I remember, in fact, that it was dear; but it was
the workmanship, I suppose?”
“Yes, madame; the designs, the chasings — all new
patterns.”
“What proportion of the cost does the workmanship form? Do
not hesitate to tell me.”
“A third of its value, madame.”
“There is the other service, the old one, that which
belonged to my husband?”
“Yes, madame; there is less workmanship in that than in the
other. Its intrinsic value does not exceed thirty thousand
francs.”
“Thirty thousand,” murmured the marquise. “But, M. Faucheux,
there is also the service which belonged to my mother; all
that massive plate which I did not wish to part with, on
account of the associations connected with it.”
“Ah! madame, that would indeed be an excellent resource for
those who, unlike your ladyship, might not be in a position
to keep their plate. In chasing that they worked in solid
metal. But that service is no longer in fashion. Its weight
is its only advantage.”
“That is all I care about. How much does it weigh?”
“Fifty thousand livres at the very least. I do not allude to
the enormous vases for the buffet, which alone weigh five
thousand livres, or ten thousand the pair.”
“One hundred and thirty,” murmured the marquise. “You are
quite sure of your figures, M. Faucheux?”
“Positive, madame. Besides, there is no difficulty in
weighing them.”
“The amount is entered in my books.”
“Your ladyship is extremely methodical, I am aware.”
“Let us now turn to another subject,” said Madame de,
Belliere; and she opened one of her jewel-boxes.
“I recognize these emeralds,” said M. Faucheux; “for it was
I who had the setting of them. They are the most beautiful
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Dumas, Alexandre – Ten Years Later
in the whole court. No, I am mistaken; Madame de Chatillon
has the most beautiful set; she had them from Messieurs de
Guise; but your set madame, comes next.”
“What are they worth?”
“Mounted?”
“No; supposing I wished to sell them.”
“I know very well who would buy them,” exclaimed M.
Faucheux.
“That is the very thing I ask. They could be sold, then?”
“All your jewels could be sold, madame. It is well known
that you possess the most beautiful jewels in Paris. You are
not changeable in your tastes; when you make a purchase it
is of the very best; and what you purchase you do not part
with.”
“What could these emeralds be sold for, then?”
“A hundred and thirty thousand francs.”
The marquise wrote down upon her tablets the amount which
the jeweler mentioned. “The ruby necklace?” she said.
“Are they balas-rubies, madame?”
“Here they are.”
“They are beautiful — magnificent. I did not know that your
ladyship had these stones.”
“What is their value?”
“Two hundred thousand francs. The center one is alone worth
a hundred thousand.”
“I thought so,” said the marquise. “As for diamonds, I have
them in numbers; rings, necklaces, sprigs, earrings, clasps.
Tell me their value, M. Faucheux.”
The jeweler took his magnifying-glass and scales, weighed
and inspected them, and silently made his calculations.
“These stones,” he said, “must have cost your ladyship an
income of forty thousand francs.”
“You value them at eight hundred thousand francs?”
“Nearly so.”
“It is about what I imagined —but the settings are not
included?”
“No, madame; but if I were called upon to sell or to buy, I
should be satisfied with the gold of the settings alone as