"Curs!" said Melmotte almost aloud. "They neither of them will be there. If any evil can be done to me by treachery and desertion, they will do it." Then it occurred to him to think whether the Grendall article had been worth all the money that he had paid for it. "Curs!" he said again. He walked down into the hall, and through the banqueting-room, and stood at the place where he himself had sat. What a scene it had been, and how frightfully low his heart had sunk within him! It had been the defection of the Lord Mayor that had hit him hardest. 
"Curs!" said Melmotte almost aloud. "Neither of them will be there. If any evil can be done to me by treachery and desertion, they will do it. Curs!" He walked down into the hall, and through the banqueting-room. What a scene it had been! The defection of the Lord Mayor had hit him the hardest. 