Summaries

Synopsis

Viscountess de Sallure, formerly Florence Safford, and her husband Paul, the Viscount de Sallure, have a hard lime evading their creditors. To Paul's mind, Mrs. Safford, Florence's mother, is the only cloud on their conjugal happiness, despite the fact that she has paid their debts twice, She was shrewd enough to stipulate in her daughter's marriage settlement that the prodigal pair live on only the income from the money left by Florence's father. Jean le Beau makes love to Florence. When Florence tells him of this, Paul decides to return to le Beau the two thousand francs he borrowed from him. He denounces le Beau as an ingrate reminding him that he had given le Beau, the little actress, Fifi Dupet. Paul goes to Mendoza, a usurer, to hunt up some money, but Mendoza refuses. Instead goes to Paul's home and demands to see Florence's marriage settlement. Paul, eager to distract his mother-in-law's peace of mind, plans to raise a scandal. He leaves a compromising letter where she is sure to find it. He addresses this to Mlle. Fifi Dupet. Mendoza finds a loophole in the marriage settlement, by which Florence can dispose of her dowry if she were a widow or single. He suggests a make-believe divorce, with an assumed infidelity on the part of the husband, as grounds. The husband and wife, very much in love with each other, at first refuse, but he persuades them. The letter Paul has written to Fifi comes into use, and he and his wife begin to act their respective parts for the benefit of the unsuspecting mother. Florence starts divorce proceedings. Paul goes to a bachelor apartment, where Florence, heavily veiled, visits him three times a week. Going to the apartment. Mrs. Safford overhears the two young people congratulating themselves on the success of their little plan, and she begins to realize that she has been duped. The divorce proceedings are stopped, and their visions of money vanish. Florence, seeking consolation, gives le Beau the letter her husband addressed to Fifi and when le Beau delivers it to the actress, she visits Paul at his apartment, lie pleads with her to go, but she refuses to leave before having something to drink. She compels Paul to drink from her glass and then Florence arrives. She recognizes Fifi as the woman of her husband's letter and says she will get a real divorce. When she tells her mother that her husband has been deceiving her. Mrs. Safford thinks they are acting again, and refuses to believe that it is serious this time. The next day, Florence is told by Mendoza that in order to make her mother understand the true state of affairs, she must commit a trifling indiscretion. She asks le Beau to seal and compromise her. He agrees to elope with her. They leave together. At a railroad crossing, their automobile is wrecked, and in jumping out of the machine, Florence sprains her ankle. They go to a nearby farmhouse when they are given adjoining bedrooms. Learning of his wife's elopement, Paul becomes jealous and with his father and Mrs. Safford he follows the eloping pair. He arrives at the farmhouse and enters Florence's bedroom just as le Beau is making love to her. Paul challenges le Beau to a duel the morning. At the duel, le Beau inflicts a slight wound on Paul. Fifi, having received a letter from le Beau which protests his never-ending love for her and informs her that he is to have a duel with Paul, comes on the field. Paul still believes Florence guilty of infidelity. Florence arrives on the field with Mendoza, who shows Paul a formal agreement drawn up by Florence in which she advises Mendoza that she to play the part he had suggested. Fully convinced that Florence not really care for le Beau. Paul forgives and is forgiven. He explains his own seeming infidelity by informing his wife that Fifi was so jealous of le Beau's attentions to her (Florence) she tried to win le Beau back by making him jealous. Later in the day, Mrs. Safford compels Mendoza to accept fifty per cent on the dollar for his loans to Paul, as well as all the other bills which he had bought up from the tradespeople. When she has paid the usurer, Paul offers to allow her to kiss both himself and her daughter. With a toss of the head, Mrs. Safford exits while Paul and Florence kiss.