Part 29 (1/2)
”Not so”
”But reflect, madame, upon the effect which will be produced by the sale of your jewels”
”No one need know it You can get sets of false jewels made for me, similar to the real Do not answer a word; I insist upon it Sell them separately, sell the stones only”
”In that way it is easy Monsieur is looking out for sole stones for Madame's toilette There will be a competition for them I can easily dispose of six hundred thousand francs' worth to Monsieur I am certain yours are the most beautiful”
”When can you do so?”
”In less than three days' ti private individuals For the present, make me out a contract of sale, payment to be made in four days”
”I entreat you to reflect, madame; for if you force the sale, you will lose a hundred thousand francs”
”If necessary, I will lose two hundred; I wish everything to be settled this evening Do you accept?”
”I do, your ladyshi+p I will not conceal from you that I shall make fifty thousand francs by the transaction”
”So much the better for you In ay shall I have the old, or in bills of the bank of Lyons, payable at M Colbert's”
”I agree,” said thethe sum in question in notes, as soon as possible”
”Yes, madame, but for Heaven's sake-”
”Not a word, M Faucheux By the by, I was forgetting the silver plate What is the value of that which I have?”
”Fifty thousand francs, madame”
”That makes a million,” said the marquise to herself ”M Faucheux, you will take aith you both the gold and silver plate I can assign, as a pretext, that I wish it remodeled on patters more in accordance with my own taste Melt it down, and return me its value in money, at once”
”It shall be done, your ladyshi+p”
”You will be good enough to place the money in a chest, and direct one of your clerks to acco hie”
”In Madae?” said the jeweler
”If you will allow it, and I will call for it at your house”
”Certainly, your ladyshi+p”
”I will direct some of my servants to convey the plate to your house” The”Let the small van be placed at M Faucheux's disposal,” she said The jeweler bowed and left the house, directing that the van should follow hi aloud, that the marquise was about to have her plate melted down in order to have other plate manufactured of a more modern style Three hours afterwards she went to M Faucheux's house and received froold inclosed in a chest, which one of the clerks could hardly carry towards Madae As the daughter of a president of accounts, she had brought a e portion of thirty thousand crowns to her husband, as syndic of the goldsmiths These thirty thousand crowns had becoh a millionaire, was a e, built in 1648, ten years after the king's birth This carriage, or rather house upon wheels, excited the admiration of the whole quarter in which he resided-it was covered with allegorical paintings, and clouds scattered over with stars Theopposite the clerk, who endeavored to put his knees out of the way, afraid even of touching the marquise's dress It was the clerk, too, who told the coach a marquise to drive, to take the road to Saint-Mande
Chapter XXVIII The Dowry
Monsieur Faucheux's horses were serviceable anis that had soed to the earlier part of the century They were not as fleet as the English horses of M Fouquet, and consequently it took two hours to get to Saint-Mande Their progress, it ht be said, was majestic Majesty, however, precludes hurry The e at the door so well known to her, although she had seen it only once, under circumstances, it will now be reht her now to it again She drew a key from her pocket, and inserted it into the lock, pushed open the door, which noiselessly yielded to her touch, and directed the clerk to carry the chest upstairs to the first floor The weight of the chest was so great that the clerk was obliged to get the coachman to assist him with it They placed it in a s the saloon where we once saw M Fouquet at the ave the coachracefully at the clerk, and dismissed them both She closed the door after them, and waited in the room, alone and barricaded There was no servant to be seen about the rooenius had divined the wishes and desires of an expected guest The fire was laid, candles in the candelabra, refreshments upon the table, books scattered about, fresh-cut flowers in the vases One ined it an enchanted house
The hted the candles, inhaled the perfued in profound thought Her deep ed with a certain vague joy Spread out before her was a treasure, a leaner plucks the blue corn-flower from her crown of flowers She conjured up the sweetest dreaht, and one that took precedence of all others, was to devisethisfroh, was the first to present itself to her h, on reflection, it appeared difficult to carry out, she did not despair of success She would then ring to summon M Fouquet and iven athere, and having seen the boudoir so coquettishly decorated that it ht almost be said the least particle of dust had but theobserved the drawing-rooht almost be said her presence there had driven away the fairies ere its occupants, she asked herself if the glance or gaze of those whom she had displaced-whether spirits, fairies, elves, or hunized her To secure success, it was necessary that some steps should be seriously taken, and it was necessary also that the superintendent should comprehend the serious position in which he was placed, in order to yield coenerous fancies of a woman; all the fascinations of an eloquent friendshi+p would be required to persuade hi influence of a devoted passion, which, in its resolute determination to carry conviction, would not be turned aside Was not the superintendent, indeed, known for his delicacy and dignity of feeling? Would he allow himself to accept from any woman that of which she had stripped herself? No! He would resist, and if any voice in the world could overcome his resistance, it would be the voice of the woested itself to Madaer thrust Did he really love her? Would that volatile mind, that inconstant heart, be likely to be fixed for a el? Was it not the sahtness of conduct, as with those conquerors on the field of battle who shed tears when they have gained a victory? ”I e of that for myself,” said the marquise ”Who can tell whether that heart, so coveted, is not common in its impulses, and full of alloy? Who can tell if that mind, when the touchstone is applied to it, will not be found of a ar character? Co and hesitation tooat the timepiece ”It is now seven o'clock,” she said; ”hehis papers” With a feverish impatience she rose and walked towards the mirror, in which she smiled with a resolute s and drew out the handle of the bell Then, as if exhausted beforehand by the struggle she had just undergone, she threw herself on her knees, in utter abandone couch, in which she buried her face in her tre of the door sound The door es, and Fouquet appeared He looked pale, and seeht of some bitter reflection He did not hurry, but simply came at the summons The preoccupation of his reat, that a man, so devoted to pleasure, for who, should obey such a suht, in fact, fertile in enerally so noble in their indifference of expression, and had traced dark lines of anxiety around his eyes Handsome and noble he still was, and the melancholy expression of his ave a new character to his features, by which his youth seemed to be renewed Dressed in black, the lace in front of his chest ed by his feverishly restless hand, the looks of the superintendent, full of dreamy reflection, were fixed upon the threshold of the room which he had so frequently approached in search of expected happiness This gloo sadness of expression, which had replaced his former excessive joy, produced an indescribable effect upon Mada him at a distance
A woman's eye can read the face of theof pride, its every expression of suffering; it ranted to women, on account of their very weakness, more than it has accorded to other creatures They can conceal their own feelings from a man, but frole glace the whole weight of the unhappiness of the superintendent She divined a night passed without sleep, a day passed in deceptions Froth, and she felt that she loved Fouquet beyond everything else She arose and approached hiinning to forget me, and that I, whom you had not seen lately, had no doubt ceased to think of you I have come to undeceive you, monsieur, and theI can read in your eyes”
”What is that, madame?” said Fouquet, astonished
”That you have never loved me so much as at this moment; in the same manner you can read, in otten you”
”Oh! hted up by a sudden gleael, and no man can suspect you All he can do is to huiveness”
”Your forgiveness is granted, then,” said the marquise Fouquet was about to throw himself upon his knees ”No, no,” she said, ”sit here by ht which has just crossed your mind”
”How do you detect it, madame?”
”By the smile that has just marred the expression of your countenance Be candid, and tell ht was-no secrets between friends”
”Tell me, then, madame, why you have been so harsh these three or four months past?”
”Harsh?”
”Yes; did you not forbid hing, ”because your visit to reat misfortune; because my house is watched; because the saain; because I think it less dangerous for you that I should come here than that you should come to my house; and, lastly, because I know you to be already unhappy enough not to wish to increase your unhappiness further”
Fouquet started, for these words recalled all the anxieties connected with his office of superintendent-he who, for the last few ed in all the wild aspirations of the lover ”I unhappy?” he said, endeavoring to smile: ”indeed,from your own sadness Are your beautiful eyes raised uponfor another expression from them”
”It is not I who am sad, monsieur; look in the mirror, there-it is yourself”
”It is true I a yesterday required a supply of money from me”
”Yes, four millions; I am aware of it”
”You know it?” exclaimed Fouquet, in a tone of surprise; ”how can you have learnt it? It was after the departure of the queen, and in the presence of one person only, that the king-”