Chapter LVII. Rivals in Love.
Saint-Aignan had quitted Louis XIV. hardly a couple of hours before; butin the first effervescence of his affection, whenever Louis XIV. was outof sight of La Valliere, he was obliged to talk about her. Besides,the only person with whom he could speak about her at his ease wasSaint-Aignan, and thus Saint-Aignan had become an indispensable.
"Ah, is that you, comte?" he exclaimed, as soon as he perceived him,doubly delighted, not only to see him again, but also to get rid ofColbert, whose scowling face always put him out of humor. "So muchthe better, I am very glad to see you. You will make one of the besttraveling party, I suppose?"
"Of what traveling part are you speaking, sire?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
"The one we are making up to go to the _fete_ the superintendent isabout to give at Vaux. Ah! Saint-Aignan, you will, at last, see a_fete_, a royal _fete_, by the side of which all our amusements atFontainebleau are petty, contemptible affairs."
"At Vaux! the superintendent going to give a _fete_ in your majesty'shonor? Nothing more than that!"
"'Nothing more than that,' do you say? It is very diverting to findyou treating it with so much disdain. Are you who express such anindifference on the subject, aware, that as soon as it is known that M.Fouquet is going to receive me at Vaux next Sunday week, people willbe striving their very utmost to get invited to the _fete?_ I repeat,Saint-Aignan, you shall be one of the invited guests."
"Very well, sire; unless I shall, in the meantime, have undertaken alonger and a less agreeable journey."
"What journey do you allude to?"
"The one across the Styx, sire."
"Bah!" said Louis XIV., laughing.
"No, seriously, sire," replied Saint-Aignan, "I am invited; and in sucha way, in truth, that I hardly know what to say, or how to act, in orderto refuse the invitation."
"I do not understand you. I know that you are in a poetical vein; buttry not to sink from Apollo to Phoebus."
"Very well; if your majesty will deign to listen to me, I will not keepyour mind on the rack a moment longer."
"Speak."
"Your majesty knows the Baron du Vallon?"
"Yes, indeed; a good servant to my father, the late king, and anadmirable companion at table; for, I think, you are referring to thegentleman who dined with us at Fontainebleau?"
"Precisely so; but you have omitted to add to his other qualifications,sire, that he is a most charming polisher-off of other people."
"What! Does M. du Vallon wish to polish you off?"
"Or to get me killed, which is much the same thing."
"The deuce!"
"Do not laugh, sire, for I am not saying one word beyond the exacttruth."
"And you say he wishes to get you killed."
"Such is that excellent person's present idea."
"Be easy; I will defend you, if he be in the wrong."
"Ah! There is an 'if'!"
"Of course; answer me as candidly as if it were some one else's affairinstead of your own, my poor Saint-Aignan; is he right or wrong?"
"Your majesty shall be the judge."
"What have you done to him?"
"To him, personally, nothing at all; but, it seems, to one of hisfriends, I have."
"It is all the same. Is his friend one of the celebrated 'four'?"
"No. It is the son of one of the celebrated 'four,' though."
"What have you done to the son? Come, tell me."
"Why, it seems that I have helped some one to take his mistress fromhim."
"You confess it, then?"
"I cannot help confessing it, for it is true."
"In that case, you are wrong; and if he were to kill you, he would bedoing perfectly right."
"Ah! that is your majesty's way of reasoning, then!"
"Do you think it a bad way?"
"It is a very expeditious way, at all events."
"'Good justice is prompt;' so my grandfather Henry IV. used to say."
"In that case, your majesty will, perhaps, be good enough to sign myadversary's pardon, for he is now waiting for me at the Minimes, for thepurpose of putting me out of my misery."
"His name, and a parchment!"
"There is a parchment upon your majesty's table; and for his name--"
"Well, what is it?"
"The Vicomte de Bragelonne, sire."
"'The Vicomte de Bragelonne!'" exclaimed the king; changing from a fitof laughter to the most profound stupor, and then, after a moment'ssilence, while he wiped his forehead, which was bedewed withperspiration, he again murmured, "Bragelonne!"
"No other, sire."
"Bragelonne, who was affianced to--"
"Yes, sire."
"But--he has been in London."
"Yes; but I can assure you, sire, he is there no longer."
"Is he in Paris, then?"
"He is at Minimes, sire, where he is waiting for me, as I have alreadyhad the honor of telling you."
"Does he know all?"
"Yes; and many things besides. Perhaps your majesty would like to lookat the letter I have received from him;" and Saint-Aignan drew from hispocket the note we are already acquainted with. "When your majesty hasread the letter, I will tell you how it reached me."
The king read it in a great agitation, and immediately said, "Well?"
"Well, sire; your majesty knows a certain carved lock, closing a certaindoor of carved ebony, which separates a certain apartment from a certainblue and white sanctuary?"
"Of course; Louise's boudoir."
"Yes, sire. Well, it was in the keyhole of that lock that I found yondernote."
"Who placed it there?"
"Either M. de Bragelonne, or the devil himself; but, inasmuch as thenote smells of musk and not of sulphur, I conclude that it must be, notthe devil, but M. de Bragelonne."
Louis bent his head, and seemed absorbed in sad and bitter thought.Perhaps something like remorse was at that moment passing through hisheart. "The secret is discovered," he said.
"Sire, I shall do my utmost that the secret dies in the breast of theman who possesses it!" said Saint-Aignan, in a tone of bravado, as hemoved towards the door; but a gesture of the king made him pause.
"Where are you going?" he inquired.
"Where they await me, sire."
"What for?"
"To fight, in all probability."
"_You_ fight!" exclaimed the king. "One moment, if you please, monsieurle comte!"
Saint-Aignan shook his head, as a rebellious child does, whenever anyone interferes to prevent him throwing himself into a well, or playingwith a knife. "But, sire," he said.
"In the first place," continued the king. "I want to be enlightened alittle further."
"Upon all points, if your majesty will be pleased to interrogate me,"replied Saint-Aignan, "I will throw what light I can."
"Who told you that M. de Bragelonne had penetrated into that room?"
"The letter which I found in the keyhole told me."
"Who told you that it was De Bragelonne who put it there?"
"Who but himself would have dared to undertake such a mission?"
"You are right. How was he able to get into your rooms?"
"Ah! that is very serious, inasmuch as all the doors were closed, and mylackey, Basque, had the keys in his pocket."
"Your lackey must have been bribed."
"Impossible, sire; for if he had been bribed, those who did so would nothave sacrificed the poor fellow, whom, it is not unlikely, they mightwant to turn to further use by and by, in showing so clearly that it washe whom they had made use of."
"Quite true. And now I can only form one conjecture."
"Tell me what it is, sire, and we shall see if it is the same that haspresented itself to my mind."
"That he effected an entrance by means of the staircase."
"Alas, sire, that seems to me more than probable."
"There is no doubt that some one must have sold the secret of thetrap-door."
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"Either sold it or given it."
"Why do you make that distinction?"
"Because there are certain persons, sire, who, being above the price oftreason, give, and do not sell."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, sire! Your majesty's mind is too clear-sighted not to guess whatI mean, and you will save me the embarrassment of naming the person Iallude to."
"You are right: you mean Madame; I suppose her suspicions were arousedby your changing your lodgings."
"Madame has keys of the apartments of her maids of honor, and she ispowerful enough to discover what no one but yourself could do, or shewould not be able to discover anything."
"And you suppose, then, that my sister must have entered into analliance with Bragelonne, and has informed him of all the details of theaffair."
"Possibly even better still, for she perhaps accompanied him there."
"Which way? through your own apartments?"
"You think it impossible, sire? Well, listen to me. Your majesty knowsthat Madame is very fond of perfumes?"
"Yes, she acquired that taste from my mother."
"Vervain, particularly."
"Yes, it is the scent she prefers to all others."
"Very good, sire! my apartments happen to smell very strongly ofvervain."
The king remained silent and thoughtful for a few moments, and thenresumed: "But why should Madame take Bragelonne's part against me?"
Saint-Aignan could very easily have replied: "A woman's jealousy!" Theking probed his friend to the bottom of his heart to ascertain if hehad learned the secret of his flirtation with his sister-in-law. ButSaint-Aignan was not an ordinary courtier; he did not lightly run therisk of finding out family secrets; and he was too a friend of the Musesnot to think very frequently of poor Ovidius Naso, whose eyes shed somany tears in expiation of his crime for having once beheld something,one hardly knows what, in the palace of Augustus. He therefore passedby Madame's secret very skillfully. But as he had shown no ordinarysagacity in indicating Madame's presence in his rooms in company withBragelonne, it was necessary, of course, for him to repay with interestthe king's _amour propre_, and reply plainly to the question which hadbeen put to him of: "Why has Madame taken Bragelonne's part against me?"
"Why?" replied Saint-Aignan. "Your majesty forgets, I presume, that theComte de Guiche is the intimate friend of the Vicomte de Bragelonne."
"I do not see the connection, however," said the king.
"Ah! I beg your pardon, then, sire; but I thought the Comte de Guichewas a very great friend of Madame's."
"Quite true," the king returned; "there is no occasion to search anyfurther, the blow came from that direction."
"And is not your majesty of opinion that, in order to ward it off, itwill be necessary to deal another blow?"
"Yes, but not one of the kind given in the Bois de Vincennes," repliedthe king.
"You forget, sire," said Saint-Aignan, "that I am a gentleman, and thatI have been challenged."
"The challenge neither concerns nor was it intended for you."
"But I am the man, sire, who has been expected at the Minimes, sire,during the last hour and more; and I shall be dishonored if I do notgo."
"The first honor and duty of a gentleman is obedience to his sovereign."
"Sire!"
"I order you to remain."
"Sire!"
"Obey, monsieur!"
"As your majesty pleases."
"Besides, I wish to have the whole of this affair explained; I wish toknow how it is that I have been so insolently trifled with, as to havethe sanctuary of my affections pried into. It is not you, Saint-Aignan,whose business it is to punish those who have acted in this manner, forit is not your honor they have attacked, but my own."
"I implore your majesty not to overwhelm M. de Bragelonne with yourwrath, for although in the whole of this affair he may have shownhimself deficient in prudence, he has not been so in his feelings ofloyalty."
"Enough! I shall know how to decide between the just and the unjust,even in the height of my anger. But take care that not a word of this isbreathed to Madame."
"But what am I to do with regard to M. de Bragelonne? He will be seekingme in every direction, and--"
"I shall either have spoken to him, or taken care that he has beenspoken to, before the evening is over."
"Let me once more entreat your majesty to be indulgent towards him."
"I have been indulgent long enough, comte," said Louis XIV., frowningseverely; "it is now quite time to show certain persons that I am masterin my own palace."
The king had hardly pronounced these words, which betokened that a freshfeeling of irritation was mingling with the recollections of old, whenan usher appeared at the door of the cabinet. "What is the matter?"inquired the king, "and why do you presume to come when I have notsummoned you?"
"Sire," said the usher, "your majesty desired me to permit M. le Comtede la Fere to pass freely on any and every occasion, when he might wishto speak to your majesty."
"Well, monsieur?"
"M. le Comte de la Fere is now waiting to see your majesty."
The king and Saint-Aignan at this reply exchanged a look which betrayedmore uneasiness than surprise. Louis hesitated for a moment, butimmediately afterwards, seeming to make up his mind, he said:
"Go, Saint-Aignan, and find Louise; inform her of the plot against us;do not let her be ignorant that Madame will return to her system ofpersecutions against her, and that she has set those to work who wouldhave found it far safer to remain neuter."
"Sire--"
"If Louise gets nervous and frightened, reassure her as much as you can;tell her that the king's affection is an impenetrable shield over her;if, which I suspect is the case, she already knows everything, or if shehas already been herself subjected to an attack of some kind or otherfrom any quarter, tell her, be sure to tell her, Saint-Aignan," addedthe king, trembling with passion, "tell her, I say, that this time,instead of defending her, I will avenge her, and that too so terriblythat no one will in future even dare to raise his eyes towards her."
"Is that all, sire?"
"Yes, all. Go as quickly as you can, and remain faithful; for, you wholive in the midst of this stake of infernal torments, have not, likemyself, the hope of the paradise beyond it."
Saint-Aignan exhausted himself in protestations of devotion, took theking's hand, kissed it, and left the room radiant with delight.