But as befits this stranger-than-fiction tale, Mme Bourgeois's tax-sheltered offshore bequest played its part in undoing Mr Robinson's political career.
There is a lovely post-credits shot as the Mme de Merteuil figure (Valmont's opposite number in cunning and deceit) pats her stomach bearing the now visible reward for her chicanery.
Debt amounts to less than 2% of common equity at Mid Atlantic Medical Services (nyse: MME - news - people), a managed health care operator which also offers insurance services to the Mid-Atlantic region.