A
chance word of Severine's roused the suspicions of Roubaud regarding her
former relations with the President, and, driven to frenzy by jealousy,
he compelled her to become his accomplice in the murder of Grandmorin in
an express train between Paris and Havre.
Though slight suspicion fell upon the Roubauds, they were able to
prove an alibi, and as, for political reasons, it was not desired that
Grandmorin's character should be publicly discussed, the inquiry into
the murder was dropped. By a singular chance, however, Jacques Lantier
had been a momentary witness of the crime, and the Roubauds became aware
of his suspicions. To secure his silence they invited him constantly to
their house, and a liaison with Severine followed. For the first time
Lantier's blood lust was not aroused; the knowledge that this woman
had killed seemed to constitute her a being apart and sacred. After the
murder of Grandmorin a gradual disintegration of Roubaud's character set
in, and he became in time a confirmed gambler. His relations with his
wife were ultimately so strained that she induced Lantier to promise to
murder him, in order that they might fly together to America with
the proceeds of a small legacy she had received from Grandmorin.
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