"First," Caderousse said, his voice trembling with nervous energy, "you have to promise me something."
"What's that?" the priest asked, leaning forward slightly.
"If you ever use the information I'm about to give you, swear you'll never tell anyone it came from me. The people I'm going to talk about, they're rich and powerful. If they so much as touched me with one finger, I'd shatter like glass."
The priest's expression softened with understanding. "Put your mind at ease, my friend. I'm a man of God, and confessions die with me. Remember, my only goal is to honor the final wishes of our departed friend. Speak freely, without holding back and without hatred. Tell me the complete truth. I don't know these people you're about to mention, and I never will. Besides, I'm not even from this country, and I belong to God, not to any earthly master. Soon I'll return to my monastery, which I only left to fulfill a dying man's last request."
