Part 55 (1/2)
Chapter LIV A Mission
The next day, or rather the same day (for the events we have just described were concluded only at three o'clock in thewas preparing to go to mass with the two queens; as Monsieur, with the Chevalier de Lorraine, and a few other inti his horse to set off for the river, to take one of those celebrated baths hich the ladies of the court were so infatuated, as, in fact, no one remained in the chateau, with the exception of Madame who, under the pretext of indisposition, would not leave her roolide stealthily out of the roo La Valliere after her, who tried to conceal herself as h the gardens, succeeded, looking round the the thicket The weather was cloudy, a war dust, swept along in clouds by the wind, hirled in eddies towards the trees Montalais, who, during their progress, had discharged the functions of a clever scout, advanced a few steps further, and turning round again, to be quite sure that no one was either listening or approaching, said to her cooodness, we are quite alone! Since yesterday every one spies on us here, and a circle seeue-stricken” La Valliere bent down her head and sighed ”It is positively unheard of,” continued Montalais; ”froet hold of our secret Coether, in order that I may knohat to do”
La Valliere lifted towards her companion her beautiful eyes, pure and deep as the azure of a spring sky, ”And I,” she said, ”will ask you e have been summoned to Madame's own room? Why have we slept close to her apart as usual in our own? Why did you return so late, and whence are these measures of strict supervision which have been adopted since this , with respect to us both?”
”My dear Louise, you answer my question by another, or rather, by ten others, which is not answering me at all I will tell you all you want to know later, and as it is of secondary i will depend upon that-is, whether there is or is not any secret?”
”I do not know if there is any secret,” said La Valliere; ”but I do know, for reat imprudence committed Since the foolish re yesterday, every one here isremarks about us”
”Speak for yourself,” said Montalais, laughing, ”speak for yourself and for Tonnay-Charente; for both of you made your declarations of love to the skies, which unfortunately were intercepted”
La Valliere hung down her head ”Really you overwhelm me,” she said
”I?”
”Yes, you torture me with your jests”
”Listen toisyou out of the chateau; I did notmass; I did not pretend to have a cold, as Madame did, which she has no more than I have; and, lastly, I did not display ten times more diplomacy than M Colbert inherited from M de Mazarin, and makes use of with respect to M Fouquet, in order to findmy perplexities to you, for the sole end and purpose that, when at last ere alone, with no one to listen to us, you should deal hypocritically with me No, no; believe me, that when I ask you a question, it is not from curiosity alone, but really because the position is a critical one What you said yesterday is non,-it is a text on which every one is discoursing Every one e to his own fancy; you had the honor last night, and you have it still to-day, of occupying the whole court, my dear Louise; and the number of tender and witty remarks which have been ascribed to you, would make Mademoiselle de Scudery and her brother burst from very spite, if they were faithfully reported”
”But, dearest Montalais,” said the poor girl, ”you know better than any one exactly what I said, since you were present when I said it”
”Yes, I know But that is not the question I have not forgotten a single syllable you uttered, but did you think what you were saying?”
Louise became confused ”What,” she exclaiive the world to forget what I did say, how does it happen that every one does all he possibly can to remind me of it? Oh, this is indeed terrible!”
”What is?”
”To have a friend who ought to spare ht adviseme”
”There, there, that will do,” said Montalais; ”after having said too little, you now say tooyou, even of your secret; I wish to have it voluntarily, and in no other way; for the question does not concern your own affairs only, but ours also; and Tonnay-Charente would tell you as I do, if she were here For, the fact is, that last evening she wished to have so there after the Manicamp and Malicorne colloquies terminated, when I learned, on my return, rather late, it is true, that Madame had sequestered her maids of honor, and that ere to sleep in her apartments, instead of our own Moreover, Madame has shut up her maids of honor in order that they should not have the ti she was closeted with Tonnay-Charente with the same object Tell me, then, to what extent Athenais and I can rely upon you, as ill tell you in ay you can rely upon us?”
”I do not clearly understand the question you have put,” said Louise, itated
”Hum! and yet, on the contrary, you seem to understand me very well However, I will put my questions in a more precise htest degree, to evade theelonne? That is plain enough, is it not?”
At this question, which fell like the first bo army into a doomed town, Louise started ”You ask me,” she exclaimed, ”if I love Raoul, the friend of ain you evade me, or rather, you wish to escape me I do not ask if you love Raoul, your childhood's friend,-your brother; but I ask if you love the Vicoelonne, your affianced husband?”
”Good heavens! dear Montalais,” said Louise, ”how severe your tone is!”
”You deserve no indulgence,-I am neither more nor less severe than usual I put a question to you, so answer it”
”You certainly do not,” said Louise, in a choking voice, ”speak to me like a friend; but I will answer you as a true friend”
”Well, do so”
”Very well; s of pride, with respect to everything that a woht to keep secret, and in this respect no one has ever read into the bottom of my soul”
”That I know very well If I had read it, I should not interrogate you as I have done; I should siood Louise, you have the happiness of an acquaintance with M de Bragelonne, who is an excellent young irl without fortune M de la Fere will leave so like fifteen thousand livres a year to his son At a future day, then, you, as this son's wife, will have fifteen thousand livres a year; which is not bad Turn, then, neither to the right hand nor to the left, but go frankly to M de Bragelonne; that is to say, to the altar to which he will lead you Afterwards, why- afterwards, according to his disposition, you will be eht to commit any piece of folly people commit who have either too much liberty or too little' That is, my dear Louise, what I should have told you at first, if I had been able to read your heart”
”And I should have thanked you,” stah the advice does not appear to ether sound”
”Wait, wait But iiven you that advice, I should have added,-'Louise, it is very dangerous to pass whole days with your head drooping, your hands unoccupied, your eyes restless and full of thought; it is dangerous to prefer the least frequented paths, and no longer be airls' hearts; it is dangerous, Louise, to scraith the point of your foot, as you do, upon the gravel, certain letters it is useless for you to efface, but which appear again under your heel, particularly when those letters rather reseerous to allow the mind to dwell on a thousand wild fancies, the fruits of solitude and heartache; these fancies, while they sink into a young girl's mind, make her cheeks sink in also, so that it is not unusual, on such occasions, to find the reeable, and the wittiest to become the dullest'”
”I thank you, dearest Aure,” replied La Valliere, gently; ”it is like you to speak to me in this manner, and I thank you for it”
”It was only for the benefit of wild dreamers, such as I have just described, that I spoke; do not take any of my words, then, to yourself, except such as you think you deserve Stay, I hardly knohat story recurs to radually pining away because she fancied that the prince, or the king, or the emperor, whoever it was-and it does not matter much which-had fallen in love with her; while on the contrary, the prince, or the king, or the emperor, whichever you please, was plainly in love with soular circuh every one around and about her perceived it clearly enough- h as I do, at this poor silly girl, do you not, Louise?”
”I?-oh! of course,” staht, too, for the thing is ah The story, whether true or false, aine then, ood Louise, the mischief that such a melancholy would create in anybody's brain,-a melancholy, I mean, of that kind For my own part, I resolved to tell you the story; for if such a thing were to happen to either of us, it would be most essential to be assured of its truth; to-day it is a snare, to-morroould become a jest and mockery, the next day it would ain, and beca takes notice of us,” continued Montalais, ”he lets us see it easily enough, and, if we happen to be the object he covets, he knows very well how to gain his object You see, then, Louise, that, in such circuer as the one in question, the most perfect confidence should exist, in order that those hearts which are not disposed towards melancholy may watch over those likely to become so”
”Silence, silence!” said La Valliere; ”so fast, in fact,” said Montalais; ”but who can it possibly be? Everybody is away, either atwith Monsieur”
At the end of the walk the young girls perceived alraceful carriage and noble stature of a young man, ith his sword under his arm and a cloak thrown across his shoulders, booted and spurred besides, saluted theentle selonne!” e to decide upon our difference of opinion,” said Montalais
”Oh! Montalais, Montalais, for pity's sake,” exclai been so cruel, show me a little mercy” These words, uttered with all the fervor of a prayer, effaced all trace of irony, if not from Montalais's heart, at least from her face
”Why, you are as handsoelonne,” she cried to Raoul, ”and ar ladies,” replied Raoul, bowing
”But why, I ask, are you booted in this h she looked at Raoul with a surprise equal to that of her companion, nevertheless uttered not a word
”Why?” inquired Raoul
”Yes!” ventured Louise
”Because I a at Louise
The young girl see of terror, and tottered ”You are going away, Raoul!” she cried; ”and where are you going?”
”Dearest Louise,” he replied, with that quiet, coland”
”What are you going to do in England?”