Though he and the patriarch of the family had never been on good terms, Augustin was not the sort of man who carried a resentment so great of his father that he wished him dead. Mercedes' revelation was met by a short nod -- the man was getting on in years, and change of the degree the family had experienced rarely sat well with even the most hale of people -- and then he turned so that he was looking more fully at Mercedes, struck, perhaps, by curiosity as to how readily the man had spoken the address
"I will remember it. Thank you." He paused, almost as though he had thought better of what he was going to say next, then offered a half-smile as he continued: "It seems you are very well acquainted with my family. I suppose I should thank you for that too, oui? The Revolution has not been kind to people like-- to them," he corrected, "and one more friendly face has never done anyone any harm."