Chapter XLI. Wherein May Be Seen that a Bargain Which Cannot Be Madewith One Person, Can Be Carried Out with Another.
Aramis had been perfectly correct in his supposition; for hardly had sheleft the house in the Place Baudoyer than Madame de Chevreuse proceededhomeward. She was doubtless afraid of being followed, and by this meansthought she might succeed in throwing those who might be following heroff their guard; but scarcely had she arrived within the door of thehotel, and hardly had assured herself that no one who could cause herany uneasiness was on her track, when she opened the door of the garden,leading into another street, and hurried towards the Rue Croix desPetits-Champs, where M. Colbert resided.
We have already said that evening, or rather night, had closed in; itwas a dark, thick night, besides; Paris had once more sunk into itscalm, quiescent state, enshrouding alike within its indulgent mantle thehigh-born duchesse carrying out her political intrigue, and the simplecitizen's wife, who, having been detained late by a supper in the city,was making her way slowly homewards, hanging on the arm of a lover,by the shortest possible route. Madame de Chevreuse had been too wellaccustomed to nocturnal political intrigues to be ignorant that aminister never denies himself, even at his own private residence, toany young and beautiful woman who may chance to object to the dust andconfusion of a public office, or to old women, as full of experienceas of years, who dislike the indiscreet echo of official residences. Avalet received the duchesse under the peristyle, and received her, itmust be admitted, with some indifference of manner; he intimated, afterhaving looked at her face, that it was hardly at such an hour that oneso advanced in years as herself could be permitted to disturb MonsieurColbert's important occupations. But Madame de Chevreuse, withoutlooking or appearing to be annoyed, wrote her name upon a leaf of hertablets--a name which had but too frequently sounded so disagreeably inthe ears of Louis XIII. and of the great cardinal. She wrote her name inthe large, ill-formed characters of the higher classes of that period,handed it to the valet, without uttering a word, but with so haughty andimperious a gesture, that the fellow, well accustomed to judge of peoplefrom their manners and appearance, perceived at once the quality of theperson before him, bowed his head, and ran to M. Colbert's room. Theminister could not control a sudden exclamation as he opened the paper;and the valet, gathering from it the interest with which his masterregarded the mysterious visitor, returned as fast as he could to beg theduchesse to follow him. She ascended to the first floor of the beautifulnew house very slowly, rested herself on the landing-place, in order notto enter the apartment out of breath, and appeared before M. Colbert,who, with his own hands, held both the folding doors open. The duchessepaused at the threshold, for the purpose of well studying the characterof the man with whom she was about to converse. At the first glance,the round, large, heavy head, thick brows, and ill-favored features ofColbert, who wore, thrust low down on his head, a cap like a priest's_calotte_, seemed to indicate that but little difficulty was likelyto be met with in her negotiations with him, but also that she was toexpect as little interest in the discussion of particulars; for therewas scarcely any indication that the rough and uncouth nature of the manwas susceptible to the impulses of a refined revenge, or of an exaltedambition. But when, on closer inspection, the duchesse perceived thesmall, piercingly black eyes, the longitudinal wrinkles of his high andmassive forehead, the imperceptible twitching of the lips, on which wereapparent traces of rough good-humor, Madame de Chevreuse altered heropinion of him, and felt she could say to herself: "I have found the manI want."
"What is the subject, madame, which procures me the honor of a visitfrom you?" he inquired.
"The need I have of you, monsieur," returned the duchesse, "as wellas that which you have of me."
"I am delighted, madame, with the first portion of your sentence; but,as far as the second portion is concerned--"
Madame de Chevreuse sat down in the armchair which M. Colbert advancedtowards her. "Monsieur Colbert, you are the intendant of finances, andare ambitious of becoming the superintendent?"
"Madame!"
"Nay, do not deny it; that would only unnecessarily prolong ourconversation, and that is useless."
"And yet, madame, however well-disposed and inclined to show politenessI may be towards a lady of your position and merit, nothing will makeme confess that I have ever entertained the idea of supplanting mysuperior."
"I said nothing about supplanting, Monsieur Colbert. Could Iaccidentally have made use of that word? I hardly think that likely.The word 'replace' is less aggressive in its signification, andmore grammatically suitable, as M. de Voiture would say. I presume,therefore, that you are ambitious of replacing M. Fouquet."
"M. Fouquet's fortune, madame, enables him to withstand all attempts.The superintendent in this age plays the part of the Colossus of Rhodes;the vessels pass beneath him and do not overthrow him."
"I ought to have availed myself precisely of that very comparison. Itis true, M. Fouquet plays the part of the Colossus of Rhodes; but Iremember to have heard it said by M. Conrart, a member of the academy, Ibelieve, that when the Colossus of Rhodes fell from its lofty position,the merchant who had cast it down--a merchant, nothing more, M.Colbert--loaded four hundred camels with the ruins. A merchant! and thatis considerably less than an intendant of finances."
"Madame, I can assure you that I shall never overthrow M. Fouquet."
"Very good, Monsieur Colbert, since you persist in showing so muchsensitiveness with me, as if you were ignorant that I am Madame deChevreuse, and also that I am somewhat advanced in years; in otherwords, that you have to do with a woman who has had political dealingswith the Cardinal Richelieu, and who has no time to lose; as, I repeat,you do not hesitate to commit such an imprudence, I shall go and findothers who are more intelligent and more desirous of making theirfortunes."
"How, madame, how?"
"You give me a very poor idea of negotiations of the present day.I assure you that if, in my earlier days, a woman had gone to M.de Cinq-Mars, who was not, moreover, a man of a very high order ofintellect, and had said to him about the cardinal what I have just saidto you of M. Fouquet, M. de Cinq-Mars would by this time have alreadyset actively to work."
"Nay, madame, show a little indulgence, I entreat you."
"Well, then, do you really consent to replace M. Fouquet?"
"Certainly, I do, if the king dismisses M. Fouquet."
"Again, a word too much; it is quite evident that, if you have not yetsucceeded in driving M. Fouquet from his post, it is because you havenot been able to do so. Therefore, I should be the greatest simpletonpossible if, in coming to you, I did not bring the very thing yourequire."
"I am distressed to be obliged to persist, madame," said Colbert,after a silence which enabled the duchesse to sound the depths ofhis dissimulation, "but I must warn you that, for the last six years,denunciation after denunciation has been made against M. Fouquet, and hehas remained unshaken and unaffected by them."
"There is a time for everything, Monsieur Colbert; those who were theauthors of those denunciations were not called Madame de Chevreuse, andthey had no proofs equal to the six letters from M. de Mazarin whichestablish the offense in question."
"The offense!"
"The crime, if you like it better."
"The crime! committed by M. Fouquet!"
"Nothing less. It is rather strange, M. Colbert, but your face, whichjust now was cold and indifferent, is now positively the very reverse."
"A crime!"
"I am delighted to see that it makes an impression upon you."
"It is because that word, madame, embraces so many things."
"It embraces the post of superintendent of finance for yourself, and aletter of exile, or the Bastile, for M. Fouquet."
"Forgive me, madame la duchesse, but it is almost impossible that M.Fouquet can be exiled; to be imprisoned or disgraced, that is already agreat deal."
"Oh, I am perfectly aware of what I am saying," returned Mada
me deChevreuse, coldly. "I do not live at such a distance from Paris as notto know what takes place there. The king does not like M. Fouquet, andhe would willingly sacrifice M. Fouquet if an opportunity were onlygiven him."
"It must be a good one, though."
"Good enough, and one I estimate to be worth five hundred thousandfrancs."
"In what way?" said Colbert.
"I mean, monsieur, that holding this opportunity in my own hands, I willnot allow it to be transferred to yours except for a sum of five hundredthousand francs."
"I understand you perfectly, madame. But since you have fixed a pricefor the sale, let me now see the value of the articles to be sold."
"Oh, a mere trifle; six letters, as I have already told you, from M. deMazarin; and the autographs will most assuredly not be regarded as toohighly priced, if they establish, in an irrefutable manner, thatM. Fouquet has embezzled large sums of money from the treasury andappropriated them to his own purposes."
"In an irrefutable manner, do you say?" observed Colbert, whose eyessparkled with delight.
"Perfectly so; would you like to read the letters?"
"With all my heart! Copies, of course?"
"Of course, the copies," said the duchesse, as she drew from her bosom asmall packet of papers flattened by her velvet bodice. "Read," she said.
Colbert eagerly snatched the papers and devoured them. "Excellent!" hesaid.
"It is clear enough, is it not?"
"Yes, madame, yes; M. Mazarin must have handed the money to M. Fouquet,who must have kept it for his own purposes; but the question is, whatmoney?"
"Exactly,--what money; if we come to terms I will join to these sixletters a seventh, which will supply you with the fullest particulars."
Colbert reflected. "And the originals of these letters?"
"A useless question to ask; exactly as if I were to ask you, MonsieurColbert, whether the money-bags you will give me will be full or empty."
"Very good, madame."
"Is it concluded?"
"No; for there is one circumstance to which neither of us has given anyattention."
"Name it!"
"M. Fouquet can be utterly ruined, under the legal circumstances youhave detailed, only by means of legal proceedings."
"Well?"
"A public scandal, for instance; and yet neither the legal proceedingsnor the scandal can be commenced against him."
"Why not?"
"Because he is procureur-general of the parliament; because, too,in France, all public administrators, the army, justice itself, andcommerce, are intimately connected by ties of good-fellowship, whichpeople call _esprit de corps_. In such a case, madame, the parliamentwill never permit its chief to be dragged before a public tribunal; andnever, even if he be dragged there by royal authority, never, I say,will he be condemned."
"Well, Monsieur Colbert, I do not see what I have to do with that."
"I am aware of that, madame; but I have to do with it, and itconsequently diminishes the value of what you have brought to show me.What good can a proof of a crime be to me, without the possibility ofobtaining a condemnation?"
"Even if he be only suspected, M. Fouquet will lose his post ofsuperintendent."
"Is that all?" exclaimed Colbert, whose dark, gloomy features weremomentarily lighted up by an expression of hate and vengeance.
"Ah! ah! Monsieur Colbert," said the duchesse, "forgive me, but I didnot think you were so impressionable. Very good; in that case, since youneed more than I have to give you, there is no occasion to speak of thematter at all."
"Yes, madame, we will go on talking of it; only, as the value of yourcommodities had decreased, you must lower your pretensions."
"You are bargaining, then?"
"Every man who wishes to deal loyally is obliged to do so."
"How much will you offer me?"
"Two hundred thousand francs," said Colbert.
The duchesse laughed in his face, and then said, suddenly, "Wait amoment, I have another arrangement to propose; will you give me threehundred thousand francs?"
"No, no."
"Oh, you can either accept or refuse my terms; besides, that is notall."
"More still! you are becoming too impracticable to deal with, madame."
"Less so than you think, perhaps, for it is not money I am going to askyou for."
"What is it, then?"
"A service; you know that I have always been most affectionatelyattached to the queen, and I am desirous of having an interview with hermajesty."
"With the queen?"
"Yes, Monsieur Colbert, with the queen, who is, I admit, no longer myfriend, and who has ceased to be so for a long time past, but who mayagain become so if the opportunity be only given her."
"Her majesty has ceased to receive any one, madame. She is a greatsufferer, and you may be aware that the paroxysms of her disease occurwith greater frequency than ever."
"That is the very reason why I wish to have an interview with hermajesty; for in Flanders there is a great variety of these kinds ofcomplaints."
"What, cancers--a fearful, incurable disorder?"
"Do not believe that, Monsieur Colbert. The Flemish peasant is somewhata man of nature, and his companion for life is not alone a wife, but afemale laborer also; for while he is smoking his pipe, the woman works:it is she who draws the water from the well; she who loads the muleor the ass, and even bears herself a portion of the burden. Taking butlittle care of herself, she gets knocked about first in one direction,and then in another, and very often is beaten by her husband, andcancers frequently rise from contusions."
"True, true," said Colbert.
"The Flemish women do not die the sooner on that account. When they aregreat sufferers from this disease they go in search of remedies, and theBeguines of Bruges are excellent doctors for every kind of disease. Theyhave precious waters of one sort or another; specifics of various kinds;and they give a bottle of it and a wax candle to the sufferer, wherebythe priests are gainers, and Heaven is served by the disposal of boththeir wares. I will take the queen some of this holy water, which I willprocure from the Beguines of Bruges; her majesty will recover, and willburn as many wax candles as she may see fit. You see, Monsieur Colbert,to prevent my seeing the queen is almost as bad as committing the crimeof regicide."
"You are undoubtedly, madame la duchesse, a woman of exceedingly greatabilities, and I am more than astounded at their display; still I cannotbut suppose that this charitable consideration towards the queen in somemeasure covers a slight personal interest for yourself."
"I have not given myself the trouble to conceal it, that I am awareof, Monsieur Colbert. You said, I believe, that I had a slight personalinterest? On the contrary, it is a very great interest, and I will proveit to you, by resuming what I was saying. If you procure me a personalinterview with her majesty, I will be satisfied with the three hundredthousand francs I have claimed; if not, I shall keep my letters, unless,indeed, you give me, on the spot, five hundred thousand francs."
And rising from her seat with this decisive remark, the old duchesseplunged M. Colbert into a disagreeable perplexity. To bargain anyfurther was out of the question; and not to bargain was to pay a greatdeal too dearly for them. "Madame," he said, "I shall have the pleasureof handing over a hundred thousand crowns; but how shall I get theactual letters themselves?"
"In the simplest manner in the world, my dear Monsieur Colbert--whomwill you trust?"
The financier began to laugh, silently, so that his large eyebrows wentup and down like the wings of a bat, upon the deep lines of his yellowforehead. "No one," he said.
"You surely will make an exception in your own favor, Monsieur Colbert?"
"In what way, madame?"
"I mean that, if you would take the trouble to accompany me to the placewhere the letters are, they would be delivered into your own hands, andyou would be able to verify and check them."
"Quite true."
"You would bring the hund
red thousand crowns with you at the same time,for I, too, do not trust any one."
Colbert colored to the tips of his ears. Like all eminent men in the artof figures, he was of an insolent and mathematical probity. "I willtake with me, madame," he said, "two orders for the amount agreed upon,payable at my treasury. Will that satisfy you?"
"Would that the orders on your treasury were for two millions, monsieurl'intendant! I shall have the pleasure of showing you the way, then?"
"Allow me to order my carriage?"
"I have a carriage below, monsieur."
Colbert coughed like an irresolute man. He imagined, for a moment, thatthe proposition of the duchesse was a snare; that perhaps some one waswaiting at the door; and that she whose secret had just been sold toColbert for a hundred thousand crowns, had already offered it to Fouquetfor the same sum. As he still hesitated, the duchesse looked at him fullin the face.
"You prefer your own carriage?" she said.
"I admit I _do_."
"You suppose I am going to lead you into a snare or trap of some sort orother?"
"Madame la duchesse, you have the character of being somewhatinconsiderate at times, as I am reputed a sober, solemn character, ajest or practical joke might compromise me."
"Yes; the fact is, you are afraid. Well, then, take your own carriage,as many servants as you like, only think well of what I am going to say.What we two may arrange between ourselves, we are the only persons whowill know--if a third person is present we might as well tell the wholeworld about it. After all, I do not make a point of it; my carriageshall follow yours, and I shall be satisfied to accompany you in yourown carriage to the queen."
"To the queen?"
"Have you forgotten that already? Is it possible that one of the clausesof the agreement of so much importance to me, can have escaped you sosoon? How trifling it seems to you, indeed; if I had known it I shouldhave asked double what I have done."
"I have reflected, madame, and I shall not accompany you."
"Really--and why not?"
"Because I have the most perfect confidence in you."
"You overpower me. But--provided I receive the hundred thousand crowns?"
"Here they are, madame," said Colbert, scribbling a few lines on a pieceof paper, which he handed to the duchesse, adding, "You are paid."
"The trait is a fine one, Monsieur Colbert, and I will reward you forit," she said, beginning to laugh.
Madame de Chevreuse's laugh was a very sinister sound; a man with youth,faith, love, life itself, throbbing in his heart, would prefer a sob tosuch a lamentable laugh. The duchesse opened the front of her dress anddrew forth from her bosom, somewhat less white than it once had been,a small packet of papers, tied with a flame-colored ribbon, and, stilllaughing, she said, "There, Monsieur Colbert, are the originals ofCardinal Mazarin's letters; they are now your own property," she added,refastening the body of her dress; "your fortune is secured. And nowaccompany me to the queen."
"No, madame; if you are again about to run the chance of her majesty'sdispleasure, and it were known at the Palais Royal that I had been themeans of introducing you there, the queen would never forgive me whileshe lived. No; there are certain persons at the palace who are devotedto me, who will procure you an admission without my being compromised."
"Just as you please, provided I enter."
"What do you term those religious women at Bruges who cure disorders?"
"Beguines."
"Good; are you one?"
"As you please,--but I must soon cease to be one."
"That is your affair."
"Excuse me, but I do not wish to be exposed to a refusal."
"That is again your own affair, madame. I am going to give directionsto the head valet of the gentleman in waiting on the queen to allowadmission to a Beguine, who brings an effectual remedy for her majesty'ssufferings. You are the bearer of my letter, you will undertake tobe provided with the remedy, and will give every explanation on thesubject. I admit a knowledge of a Beguine, but I deny all knowledgeof Madame de Chevreuse. Here, madame, then, is your letter ofintroduction."