CHAPTER XXI
ROYAL THANKS
In one of the smaller rooms of the palace of Trianon, His Majesty KingLouis XV received M. le Comte de Stainville in private audience.Madame la Marquise de Pompadour was present. She sat in an armchair,close beside the one occupied by His Majesty, her dainty feet restingon a footstool, her hand given up to her royal patron, so that hemight occasionally imprint a kiss upon it.
Gaston de Stainville sat on a tabouret at a respectful distance. Hehad in his hand a letter with a seal attached to it and a map, whichhad a number of notes scribbled in the margin. His Majesty seemed in asuperlatively good humour, and sat back in his chair, his fat bodyshaking now and again with bursts of merriment.
"Eh! eh! this gallant Count!" he said jovially, "par ma foi! to thinkthat the minx deceived us and our Court all these years, with her primways and prudish manner. Even Her Majesty the Queen looks upon MadameLydie as a pattern of all the virtues."
He leaned forward and beckoned to Gaston to draw his chair nearer.
"Voyons, M. le Comte," continued Louis with a humorous leer, "there isno need for quite so much discretion. We are all friends together. . . eh? Tell us how you did it."
Gaston de Stainville did draw his chair nearer to His Majesty, such aproffered honour was not to be ignored. His face wore an air ofprovocative discretion and a fatuous smile curled his sensual lips.
"Nay," he said unctuously, "your Majesty who is _galant homme_ parexcellence will deign to grant me leave to keep inviolate the secretof how I succeeded in breaking through the barrier of prudery, set upby the most unapproachable woman in France. Enough that I did succeed:and that I have been made thrice happy by being allowed to place theresult, with mine own hands, at the feet of the most adored of hersex."
And with an elegant and graceful flourish of the arm, he rose from histabouret and immediately dropped on one knee at Madame's feet,offering her the letter and the map which he held. She took them fromhim, regarding him with a smile, which fortunately the amorous buthighly jealous monarch failed to see; he had just taken the papersfrom Pompadour and was gloating over their contents.
"You had best see M. le Duc d'Aumont at once," said His Majesty with aquick return to gravity, as soon as Gaston de Stainville had once moreresumed his seat. "Go back to the palace now, Monsieur le Comte,Madame will allow you to take her chair, and then by using our ownprivate entrance on the South side, you will avoid being seen from theWest Wing. Needless to say, I hope, that discretion and wariness mustbe your watchword until the affair is brought to a successfulconclusion."
Gaston de Stainville bent himself nearly double, and placed one handthere, where his heart was supposed to be, all in token that he wouldbe obedient to the letter and the spirit of every royal command.
"We do not think," said Louis, with somewhat forced carelessness,"that our subjects need know anything about this transaction."
"Certainly not, Sire," rejoined De Stainville most emphatically,whilst Madame too nodded very decisively.
"Most people have strange ideas about politics and diplomacy,"continued the King. "Just as if those complicated arts could beconducted on lines of antiquated mediaeval codes: therefore the wholebusiness must be kept between our three selves now present, M. leComte, and of course M. le Duc d'Aumont, who has helped us throughout,and without whom we could not now proceed."
"I quite understand, Sire," assented Gaston.
"We are of course presuming that your happy influence over MadameLydie will not cease with her giving you those papers," said Louiswith another of his unpleasant leers.
"I think not your Majesty."
"She will hold her tongue, I should imagine . . . for very obviousreasons," said Madame with a malicious sneer.
"Anyhow you had best make our recommendations known to Monsieur le Ducd'Aumont. Tell him that we suggest not relying on _Le Monarque_ eventhough she be ready to put to sea, as her commander may be, for aughtwe know a secret adherent of the Stuart. We should not care to trusthim, since the Eglintons seem to have been already to do so. A delayof five or six days while _Le Levantin_ is being commissioned isbetter than the taking of any risk. Though we are doing nothing thatwe are ashamed of," added Louis the Well-beloved airily, "we have nowish that the matter be bruited abroad, lest we be misunderstood."
We must suppose that Monsieur le Comte de Stainville had been deniedat his birth the saving gift of a sense of humour, for in reply tothis long tirade from the King, he said quite seriously andemphatically:
"Your Majesty need not be under the slightest apprehension. Neither M.le Duc d'Aumont, I feel sure, nor I myself will in any way endangerthe absolute secrecy of the transaction, lest we be misunderstood. Asfor Madame Lydie . . ." He paused a moment, whilst carefully examininghis well-trimmed nails: a smile, wherein evil intent now fought withfatuity, played round the corners of his lips. "Madame Lydie will alsohold her tongue," he concluded quietly.
"That is well!" assented the King. "M. le Duc d'Aumont will see to therest. In five or six days, _Le Levantin_ should be ready. Her secretorders have been drafted and already bear our royal signature. Nowwith this map and directions, and the private note for the Stuart, allso kindly furnished by Madame Lydie, the expedition should be easy,and above all quite swift. The sooner the affair is concluded and themoney paid over, the less likelihood there is of our subjects gettingwind thereof. We must stipulate, M. le Comte, since you are theyoungest partner in this undertaking and the least prominent in thepublic eye, that you take the secret orders yourself to _Le Levantin_.We should not feel safe if they were in any one else's hands."
"I thank your Majesty for this trust."
"For this special task, and for your work this afternoon, you shall berewarded with two out of the fifteen millions promised by His Grace ofCumberland. M. le Duc d'Aumont will receive three, whilst we shallhave the honour and pleasure of laying the remainder at the feet ofMadame la Marquise de Pompadour."
He cast an amorous glance at Madame, who promptly rewarded him with agracious smile.
"I think that is all which we need say for the present M. le Comte,"concluded His Majesty; "within six days from now you should be on yourway to Brest where _Le Levantin_ should by then be waiting her ordersand ready to put to sea. A month later, if wind, weather andcircumstances favour us, that young adventurer will have been handedover to the English authorities and we, who had worked out thedifficult diplomatic problems so carefully, will have shared betweenus the English millions."
With his habitual airy gesture, Louis now intimated that the audiencewas at an end. He was obviously more highly elated than he cared toshow before Gaston, and was longing to talk over plans and projectsfor future pleasures and extravagances with the fair Marquise. Madame,who had the knack of conveying a great deal by a look, succeeded inintimating to Gaston that she would gladly have availed herself alittle longer of his pleasant company, but that royal commands mustprevail.
Gaston therefore rose and kissed each hand, as it was graciouslyextended to him.
"We are pleased with what you have done, Monsieur le Comte," said theKing as M. de Stainville finally took his leave, "but tell me," hewhispered slily, "did the unapproachable Lydie yield with the firstkiss, or did she struggle much? . . . eh? . . . B-r-r . . . my dearComte, are your lips not frozen by contact with such an icicle?"
"Nay, your Majesty! all icicles are bound to melt sooner or later!"said Gaston de Stainville with a smile which--had Lydie seen it--wouldhave half killed her with shame.
And with that same smile of fatuity still lurking round his lips, hebowed himself out of the room.