The Count of Monte Cristo

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guests whom he had left at table were taking coffee in the salon. Renee
was, with all the rest of the company, anxiously awaiting him, and his
entrance was followed by a general exclamation.

"Well, Decapitator, Guardian of the State, Royalist, Brutus, what is the
matter?" said one. "Speak out."

"Are we threatened with a fresh Reign of Terror?" asked another.

"Has the Corsican ogre broken loose?" cried a third.

"Marquise," said Villefort, approaching his future mother-in-law, "I
request your pardon for thus leaving you. Will the marquis honor me by a
few moments' private conversation?"

"Ah, it is really a serious matter, then?" asked the marquis, remarking
the cloud on Villefort's brow.