Chapter 19 4. Have I ever killed, Boniface?

Maxime Duthiere was back on the terrace before he threw Forville down the steps.He couldn't help being dumbfounded when he saw the scene in front of him.What happened!He had taken all precautionary measures to prevent anyone from getting close to him and Natalie, but enemies from all sides gathered in the ancient tower!Alan Rock... Boniface... Rudovic...even Falville.He thought that Falwell was still on his way to the United States at sea, but he was pushed down the steps by Boniface and Ludovic under the order of Alan Rock. "My dear Maxim, that's what it is." Alan Rock said cheerfully. "I'm glad you made it in time to hear the end of the play..."

Then, he added more seriously: "Besides, this may be the most moving part in the play...at least, it is the part that moved me the most." Boniface came back, putting on a smile.The old master never seemed so intimidating.Rudovic also had a hippie smile on his face.They were very frightened and worried about their fate. Alan Rock walked towards them, as if he wanted to settle something, he said decisively: "What are the plans of the two good brothers? You and Mr. Forville came to kill me, and now I heard what he said. He said Yes, this M. Falville. You catch me as I catch you, and the law will put us in a prison wagon. What, do you want the fight to go on, or make peace?"

Boniface shook his shoulders with a look of embarrassment and regret. "Jericho, how can you ask such a question? After finally finding your boss, can you still fight him!" "You gave him a hard blow, you gave your boss a stick!" "Oh! Jericho, don't mention it! I regret it when I think about it! . . . " "However, you are still with Forville today..." "I'm crazy. This idiot is driving me crazy." "So you won't do it again?" "Never again. This happens only once..." "Well, let's make it a joke. Write it off. So we're on the same page? You're not bothering Miss Manoelson anymore?"

"yes." "Similarly, I will not care about you anymore. You have to try your best to get back on the right path and be an upright and kind person. There is no need, is there? You are a scoundrel, and you will still be a scoundrel when you die. But, I want to warn You, if you don't keep your promise, I don't care so much. The result is: the police come to your door, it's settled?" "It's a deal. Jericho. I mean what I say." "Fine. Now, tell me the truth." "Which aspect of the truth?" "About me. You should know that the blow you gave me nearly made me lose my mind. Today, I am healed. But, I need your testimony. Miss Manoelson is here. You make it clear in front of her... ...You heard me, one is one, two is two... No matter what the facts are, you have to tell the truth."

"Ask, Jericho." "Did I kill Mr. Manoelson?" "no." The answer came out of his mouth, and his heels slammed on the floor at the same time.Allen Rock was beaming. "I knew it earlier," he said. "So, you killed it? Answer bluntly, I already know the truth." "You know?" "Yes, I know everything." "Who told you? Pascaela?" "No, it's Chafellow." "You idiot! Well, now that he's said it, I don't have to beat around the bush. Yes, I did it." "Is it my order?" "No. Quite the contrary. You sent me to follow Mr. Manoelsen and take the reliquary from him, and you told me not to hurt him. You told me that every time you went to Sicily. "

"The results of it?……" "Well, seeing Mr. Manoelson lying on the steps of the temple, I couldn't resist the temptation of this great opportunity, and pushed down the parasol." "why?" "I hope to find the pendant on him...and keep it for myself." "One more question. Boniface, you've been watching me work. You live with me and I have nothing to hide from you, don't you?" "yes." "Have I ever killed someone?" "You? Never." "Have you never seen me kill? Have I ever done anything in my life that you would suspect was a crime?"

"Never. Your order is clear: No killing." "However, in our operations, there have been several criminal records." "That happened in your absence." "Did I know then?" "You didn't know. You found out after the fact, after Mr. Manoelson's death. You wanted to fire me. That's one of the reasons I wanted to kill you." "Very well, we agree. You hold out your hand." Boniface complied. "You are saved forever by your soul, and by your mother's eternal rest, what you just said is the truth." "I swear it," said Boniface solemnly.

Allen Rock's image seems to be a bit taller.His face glowed with uncontrollable excitement.He strode up and down the room, stomping on the floorboards. His body seemed to be free from heavy chains, and he seemed to be able to lift his head up at last.He looked at the ancestors, and seemed to be proudly saying to them: "I have done stupid things like you, but my hands have never been stained with blood." Twice he walked up to Natalie, as if rather surprised that she hadn't come to congratulate him on his innocence.But the girl stood aside, facing him somewhat awkwardly, and refused to initiate the conversation as he wished, so that he did not dare to speak to her rashly.He was holding two robbers in his hands, as cold as ice, and treated them like weeds, as if they had never served him.While warning them that if they dare to touch Miss Manoelson again, they will be punished severely, while pushing them off the platform.

Maxim was guarding the door at this time, and after letting Boniface and Ludovic pass by, he stopped Alan Rock. "Let them go," he said. "You can't go, Alan Rock." "why?" Maxim waited for the two people to go away, and then whispered to him: "Miss de Aneris is here...she is with old Geoffroy..." Alan Rock said loudly in a hearty tone: "Ah! Do you know her? She is very beautiful, isn't she?" "Indeed, very moving." "Then she will be happy!" "No, no," objected Maxime. "Everyone here thinks you're dead. Only Mademoiselle de Aneris has been hoping and waiting for your return. Every morning she brings flowers to be placed on your grave... or rather here room... I'll explain to you later. But just think about what happens when she sees you out of the blue! Natalie and I, let's go say hello and give her a thought Prepare."

He took Natalie's hand, and before Alan Rock could calm down from his surprise, they hurried downstairs.At the same time, the voices of the girl and old Geoffrey were heard in the distance.Natalie walked out of the tower, determined to break the silence and tell Miss de Aniris all the truth.The girl walked towards her and said to her: "Miss, I am coming back to say goodbye to you, and at the same time I want to ask you..." There was a beautiful, innocent and lovely smile on her face, which seemed to be mixed with a little sadness and a little embarrassment. "Ask me?..." Natalie said, her voice tensed.

Almer went on: "I am reminded of the man you met, the man who called himself Pruvanec... He may well be a relative you don't know... Maybe there will be news of Jean... If you have If you ever see him, please tell him... that there is a girl in Brittany who is expecting a fiancé... and that fiancé's name is Jean de Prouenec." Natalie hesitated. There was no doubt that she was ready to tell the truth, and wanted to say it without reservation.It is her duty to reunite the two newcomers and fulfill the fateful arrangement.For Almer, it's about her happiness and her reward.For Jean de Prouenec, his soul would be saved.However, she did not reveal the secret.Something stronger than her will stopped her impulse, and Maxim saw that she was silent, so he didn't speak either. She just said, "I'll definitely do it, miss." The two girls shook hands.Almer saluted Maxime and left. Geoffroy accompanied her all the way back to the manor. The skirt trimmed with black velvet was as long as her ankle.A brown bun, pulled back, concealed the nape of the neck.She is tall, strong-looking and healthy. Natalie felt a lump in her throat and watched her slowly walk away.She thought that Alan Rock was also looking at her in the dark on the steps at the moment, and he heard what the girl said just now.Why doesn't he come out? She posed the question to Maxim.However, Maxim suddenly jumped into a rage and rushed towards the gate.Two girls and an old gentleman were coming by the door.He shouted angrily: "Henriette! Janina! What are you doing here? With Dr. Chaporo! This is unbearable! . . . Why, who told you? . . . " Natalie knew that Alan Rock would not let her leave before they had a clear explanation. She always hoped that everyone would have an explanation, but she was also very scared. In fact, as soon as she left, she He heard the sound of trampling the green grass by the side of the road. She didn't pick up the pace, she had run away many times, this time she didn't want to run again.Besides, he was already at her side, and they walked like this, more and more slowly, as if both of them were afraid to reach some place where they would have their last conversation. Nathalie walked with trepidation among the laurel and privet trees by a path leading directly to the plateau.From the high ground, you can see the panoramic view of the ruins and the old and dilapidated courtyard walls.She stopped not far from a stone bench and could no longer walk. A beautiful blue sky, soft and peaceful, spread over the estate and the nearby woods.The heat of the sun becomes light and thin because of the proximity to the sea.In the extremely pure air, there is the aroma of wild flowers that radiate everywhere in the moors of Brittany. Never had they been so alone, nor so estranged, since that night at the Villa Mirador, and this minute seemed to them a minute of parting. Natalie turned her back to Alan Rock, who could only see her profile.A profile turned stern with determination, her determination never to be weak, and whatever Alan-Rourke suggested, her answer should be a forever farewell. He obviously had a hunch about this, so when he started speaking, his tone was very sharp. "Before parting, ma'am," he said bluntly, "some things should be made clear. You understand it as well as I do. But you should also know that my only wish is to leave you a A real image, an image that is neither the person you first knew nor the adventurer you found out later on. I don't defend either image. I want you to see the real me." She frowned.Domineering tone, accustomed to commanding people, he came to beg for mercy, how dare he talk to her like this? He went on, still outwardly calm, as if asking her to listen to his explanation, asking her to believe it absolutely: "There has been a tragedy between us, which has almost made us sworn enemies, and in my case On the one hand, my heart is tortured, and I can hardly see any other way out except suicide. The reason I am alive today is because when my memory comes back, I wonder if the reality is really so terrible. I'm Jericho, but is Jericho really what people say? Are there no exaggerations and lies in the newspapers and in the victim's accounts? My name, I'm a pirate, will Won't the common people believe in the legend of a great crime, and confuse my origin with the pirates of history? Alas! I can assure you that there are some days, I am really distressed. One thing appeared in the In my head, fragmented and unconnected, I keep thinking, will my next step be to experience the evil that my new life fears to see? Any drop of blood shed because of me will be my sentence I haven't seen this drop of blood anywhere. I asked myself, like an examining judge interrogating a suspect. If I don't have the right to say I'm innocent, at least I have the right to live on." He stopped, as if continuing to say what he hadn't finished: "I have a right to live, and I've made the most of it." He puffed out his chest, breathed the air of his hometown with great joy, and stepped on the land overlooking his ancestors. On the slope of the earth, it shows the self-confidence that no disaster can destroy the master of the country. Natalie didn't hide it, she was amazed by his ease and enthusiasm. He guessed her thoughts, and said, "Isn't it supposed to be like this? What I'm afraid of is being what other people think Jericho is, and what I think of myself as a wanton murderer, your father's murderer. Now that the nightmare is over, is what's left really so serious? Here, where I spent my childhood, Jericho is a man I don't know, and I only see Jean de Proyes Necker, son of the lovely old lady Marie de Saint-Marie, in my own estate, in my own land, in my own country, in what is truly mine, from birth to battle What happened next, insanity, mental imbalance, madness, the medieval Provanec family, that gang of pirates and thugs who reveled in the dark, don't talk about these things anymore. It's the war's sake. The war rages It raised my heroism, and set me on high, that I had charged like a madman. It, in turn, raised the dross, and brought to light the most savage and bestial things that had lain dormant in my instincts. I began to zealously do evil, for Fleeing from Germany, I killed two sentries; I plundered in Turkey, and stole my first corsair, all the follies of war. But now it's all over. Boniface's A stick brought me to my senses. I am, and will always be, only Jean de Prouenec. It is Jean de Prouenec who wants to say to you..." After hesitating for a moment, he expressed his thoughts completely, saying: "...he wants to tell you about your position in his heart, and at the same time wants to ask you what you think of him."