John Lapussa, Esq., will give
me whatever I want."
"He may be fool enough to do so now," replied Clementina, "but just you
wait till he has won his action against Madame Langai and has no further
need of you, he won't care two pence for you then. I know Mr. John
Lapussa."
"So do I," retorted Margari. "He has paid me hitherto to say what he
tells me, he shall pay me hereafter for holding my tongue. John Lapussa,
Esq., will have to take care that Margari has plenty to eat and decent
clothes to put on, for, if Margari grows hungry, Margari will bite."
Mr. Margari spoke with an air of such impertinent assurance and blew
about such clouds of smoke that Clementina began to respect him, and sat
down on the sofa by his side, no doubt to protect her property. "If you
hold his honour so completely in the palm of your hand," said she, "why
don't you provide better for yourself and me? It is all very well for
his honour to fork out now when you press him, but money goes and more
is wanted. One of these days something will happen to him and he will
die,--and you can't follow him to the moon."
This was indeed a hard nut for Margari to crack. One cannot squeeze much
out of dead men. Such an impression did the remark make upon him that he
took his feet off the sofa and sat bolt upright.
"Then what do you think I ought to do?" he asked his wife.
"Well, it is of no use his doling you out mere driblets; for the great
services you have rendered him he ought to give you something more in
proportion to your merits--a little estate in the country, for instance.
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