III
"In the meantime, however busy and full I was of my new engagement withthe Queen, I still kept fair with Madam de Themines by a naturalinclination which it was not in my power to conquer; I thought shecooled in her love to me, and whereas, had I been prudent, I shouldhave made use of the change I observed in her for my cure, my loveredoubled upon it, and I managed so ill that the Queen got someknowledge of this intrigue. Jealousy is natural to persons of hernation, and perhaps she had a greater affection for me than she evenimagined herself; at least the report of my being in love gave her somuch uneasiness, that I thought myself entirely ruined with her;however I came into favour again by virtue of submissions, false oaths,and assiduity; but I should not have been able to have deceived herlong, had not Madam de Themines's change disengaged me from her againstmy will; she convinced me she no longer loved me, and I was sothoroughly satisfied of it, that I was obliged to give her no furtheruneasiness, but to let her be quiet. Some time after she wrote me thisletter which I have lost; I learned from it, she had heard of thecorrespondence I had with the other woman I told you of, and that thatwas the reason of her change. As I had then nothing further left todivide me, the Queen was well enough satisfied with me; but thesentiments I have for her not being of a nature to render me incapableof other engagements, and love not being a thing that depends on ourwill, I fell in love with Madam de Martigues, of whom I was formerly agreat admirer, while she was with Villemontais, maid of honour to theQueen-Dauphin; I have reason to believe she does not hate me; thediscretion I observe towards her, and which she does not wholly knowthe reasons of, is very agreeable to her; the Queen has not the leastsuspicion on her account, but she has another jealousy which is notless troublesome; as Madam de Martigues is constantly with theQueen-Dauphin, I go there much oftener than usual; the Queen imaginesthat 'tis this Princess I am in love with; the Queen-Dauphin's rank,which is equal to her own, and the superiority of her youth and beauty,create a jealousy that rises even to fury, and fills her with a hatredagainst her daughter-in-law that cannot be concealed. The Cardinal ofLoraine, who, I believe has been long aspiring to the Queen's favour,and would be glad to fill the place I possess, is, under pretence ofreconciling the two Queens, become master of the differences betweenthem; I doubt not but he has discovered the true cause of the Queen'sanger, and I believe he does me all manner of ill offices, withoutletting her see that he designs it. This is the condition my affairsare in at present; judge what effect may be produced by the letterwhich I have lost, and which I unfortunately put in my pocket withdesign to restore it to Madam de Themines: if the Queen sees thisletter, she will know I have deceived her; and that almost at the verysame time that I deceived her for Madam de Themines, I deceived Madamde Themines for another; judge what an idea this will give her of me,and whether she will ever trust me again. If she does not see theletter, what shall I say to her? She knows it has been given to theQueen-Dauphin; she will think Chatelart knew that Queen's hand, andthat the letter is from her; she will fancy the person of whom theletter expresses a jealousy, is perhaps herself; in short, there isnothing which she may not think, and there is nothing which I ought notto fear from her thoughts; add to this, that I am desperately in lovewith Madam de Martigues, and that the Queen-Dauphin will certainly showher this letter, which she will conclude to have been lately writ.Thus shall I be equally embroiled both with the person I love most, andwith the person I have most cause to fear. Judge, after this, if Ihave not reason to conjure you to say the letter is yours, and to begof you to get it out of the Queen-Dauphin's hands."
"I am very well satisfied," answered the Duke de Nemours, "that onecannot be in a greater embarrassment than that you are in, and it mustbe confessed you deserve it; I have been accused of being inconstant inmy amours, and of having had several intrigues at the same time, butyou out-go me so far, that I should not so much as have dared toimagine what you have undertaken; could you pretend to keep Madam deThemines, and be at the same engaged with the Queen? did you hope tohave an engagement with the Queen, and be able to deceive her? she isboth an Italian and a Queen, and by consequence full of jealousy,suspicion, and pride. As soon as your good fortune, rather than yourgood conduct, had set you at liberty from an engagement you wasentangled in, you involved yourself in new ones, and you fancied thatin the midst of the Court you could be in love with Madam de Martigueswithout the Queen's perceiving it: you could not have been too carefulto take from her the shame of having made the first advances; she has aviolent passion for you; you have more discretion than to tell it me,and I than to ask you to tell it; it is certain she is jealous of you,and has truth on her side." "And does it belong to you," interruptedthe Viscount, "to load me with reprimands, and ought not your ownexperience to make you indulgent to my faults? However I grant I am toblame; but think, I conjure you, how to draw me out of thisdifficulty"; "I think you must go to the Queen-Dauphin as soon as sheis awake, and ask her for the letter, as if you had lost it." "I havetold you already," replied the Duke de Nemours, "that what you proposeis somewhat extraordinary, and that there are difficulties in it whichmay affect my own particular interest; but besides, if this letter hasbeen seen to drop out of your pocket, I should think it would be hardto persuade people that it dropped out of mine." "I thought I had toldyou," replied the Viscount, "that the Queen-Dauphin had been informedthat you dropped it." "How," said the Duke de Nemours hastily,apprehending the ill consequence this mistake might be of to him withMadam de Cleves, "has the Queen-Dauphin been told I dropped theletter?" "Yes," replied the Viscount, "she has been told so; and whatoccasioned the mistake was, that there were several gentlemen of thetwo Queens in a room belonging to the tennis court, where our clotheswere put up, when your servants and mine went together to fetch them;then it was the letter fell out of the pocket; those gentlemen took itup, and read it aloud; some believed it belonged to you, and others tome; Chatelart, who took it, and to whom I have just sent for it, says,he gave it to the Queen-Dauphin as a letter of yours; and those whohave spoken of it to the Queen have unfortunately told her it was mine;so that you may easily do what I desire of you, and free me from thisperplexity."
The Duke de Nemours had always had a great friendship for the Viscountde Chartres, and the relation he bore to Madam de Cleves still made himmore dear to him; nevertheless he could not prevail with himself to runthe risk of her having heard of this letter, as of a thing in which hewas concerned; he fell into a deep musing, and the Viscount guessedpretty near what was the subject of his meditations; "I plainly see,"said he, "that you are afraid of embroiling yourself with yourmistress, and I should almost fancy the Queen-Dauphin was she, if thelittle jealousy you seem to have of Monsieur d'Anville did not take meoff from that thought; but be that as it will, it is not reasonable youshould sacrifice your repose to mine, and I'll put you in a way ofconvincing her you love, that this letter is directed to me, and not toyou; here is a billet from Madam d'Amboise, who is a friend of Madam deThemines, and was her confidant in the amour between her and me; inthis she desires me to send her Madam de Themines's letter, which Ihave lost; my name is on the superscription, and the contents of thebillet prove, without question, that the letter she desires is the samewith that which has been found; I'll leave this billet in your hands,and agree that you may show it to your mistress in your justificationI conjure you not to lose a moment, but to go this morning to theQueen-Dauphin."
The Duke de Nemours promised the Viscount he would, and took Madamd'Amboise's billet; nevertheless his design was not to see theQueen-Dauphin; he thought more pressing business required his care; hemade no question, but she had already spoke of the letter to Madam deCleves, and could not bear that a person he loved so desperately,should have ground to believe he had engagements with any other.
He went to the Princess of Cleves as soon as he thought she might beawake; and ordered her to be told, that, if he had not business of thelast consequence, he would not have desired the honour to see her at soextraordinary an hour.
Madam de Cleves was in bed, and her mind wastossed to and fro by a thousand melancholy thoughts that she had hadduring the night; she was extremely surprised to hear the Duke deNemours asked for her; the anxiety she was in made her presentlyanswer, that she was ill, and could not speak with him.
The Duke was not at all shocked at this refusal; he thought it presagedhim no ill, that she expressed a little coldness at a time when shemight be touched with jealousy. He went to the Prince of Cleves'sapartment, and told him he came from that of his lady, and that he wasvery sorry he could not see her, because he had an affair tocommunicate to her of great consequence to the Viscount de Chartres; heexplained in few words to the Prince the importance of this business,and the Prince immediately introduced him into his lady's chamber. Hadshe not been in the dark, she would have found it hard to haveconcealed the trouble and astonishment she was in to see the Duke deNemours introduced by her husband. Monsieur de Cleves told her thebusiness was about a letter, wherein her assistance was wanting for theinterest of the Viscount, that she was to consult with Monsieur deNemours what was to be done; and that as for him he was going to theKing, who had just sent for him.
The Duke de Nemours had his heart's desire, in being alone with Madamde Cleves; "I am come to ask you, Madam," said he, "if theQueen-Dauphin has not spoke to you of a letter which Chatelart gave heryesterday." "She said something to me of it," replied Madam de Cleves,"but I don't see what relation this letter his to the interests of myuncle, and I can assure you that he is not named in it." "It is true,Madam," replied the Duke de Nemours, "he is not named in it but yet itis addressed to him, and it very much imports him that you should getit out of the Queen-Dauphin's hands." "I cannot comprehend," repliedthe Princess, "how it should be of any consequence to him, if thisletter should be seen, nor what reason there is to redemand it in hisname." "If you please to be at leisure to hear me, Madam," saidMonsieur de Nemours, "I'll presently make you acquainted with the truestate of the thing, and inform you of matters of so great importance tothe Viscount, that I would not even have trusted the Prince of Cleveswith them, had I not stood in need of his assistance to have the honourto see you." "I believe," said Madam de Cleves in a very unconcernedmanner, "that anything you may give yourself the trouble of telling me,will be to little purpose; you had better go to the Queen-Dauphin, andplainly tell her, without using these roundabout ways, the interest youhave in that letter, since she has been told, as well as I, that itbelongs to you."
The uneasiness of mind which Monsieur de Nemours observed in Madam deCleves gave him the most sensible pleasure he ever knew, and lessenedhis impatience to justify himself: "I don't know, Madam," replied he,"what the Queen-Dauphin may have been told; but I am not at allconcerned in that letter; it is addressed to the Viscount." "I believeso," replied Madam de Cleves, "but the Queen-Dauphin has heard to thecontrary, and she won't think it very probable that the Viscount'sletters should fall out of your pocket; you must therefore have somereason, that I don't know of, for concealing the truth of this matterfrom the Queen-Dauphin; I advise you to confess it to her." "I havenothing to confess to her," says he, "the letter is not directed to me,and if there be anyone that I would have satisfied of it, it is not theQueen-Dauphin; but, Madam, since the Viscount's interest is nearlyconcerned in this, be pleased to let me acquaint you with some mattersthat are worthy of your curiosity." Madam de Cleves by her silenceshowed her readiness to hear him, and he as succinctly as possiblerelated to her all he had just heard from the Viscount. Though thecircumstances were naturally surprising, and proper to createattention, yet Madam de Cleves heard them with such coldness, that sheseemed either not to believe them true, or to think them indifferent toher; she continued in this temper until the Duke de Nemours spoke ofMadam d'Amboise's billet, which was directed to the Viscount, and was aproof of all he had been saying; as Madam de Cleves knew that this ladywas a friend of Madam de Themines, she found some probability in whatthe Duke de Nemours had said, which made her think, that the letterperhaps was not addressed to him; this thought suddenly, and in spiteof herself, drew her out of the coldness and indifferency she had untilthen been in. The Duke having read the billet, which fully justifiedhim, presented it to her to read, and told her she might possibly knowthe hand. She could not forbear taking it, and examining thesuperscription to see if it was addressed to the Viscount de Chartres,and reading it all over, that she might the better judge, if the letterwhich was redemanded was the same with that she had in her hand. TheDuke de Nemours added whatever he thought proper to persuade her of it;and as one is easily persuaded of the truth of what one wishes, he soonconvinced Madam de Cleves that he had no concern in the letter.
She began now to reason with him concerning the embarrassment anddanger the Viscount was in, to blame his ill conduct, and to think ofmeans to help him: she was astonished at the Queen's proceedings, andconfessed to the Duke that she had the letter; in short, she no soonerbelieved him innocent, but she discoursed with him with greater easeand freedom, concerning what she would scarce before vouchsafe to hear;they agreed that the letter should not be restored to theQueen-Dauphin, for fear she should show it to Madam de Martigues, whoknew Madam de Themines's hand, and would easily guess, by the interestshe had in the Viscount, that it was addressed to him; they agreedalso, that they ought not to entrust the Queen-Dauphin with all thatconcerned the Queen her mother-in-law. Madam de Cleves, under pretenceof serving her uncle, was pleased to be the Duke de Nemours's confidantin the secrets he had imparted to her.
The Duke would not have confined his discourse to the Viscount'sconcerns, but from the liberty he had of free conversation with her,would have assumed a boldness he had never yet done, had not a messagebeen brought in to Madam de Cleves, that the Queen-Dauphin had sent forher. The Duke was forced to withdraw; he went to the Viscount toinform him, that after he had left him, he thought it more proper toapply to Madam de Cleves, his niece, than to go directly to theQueen-Dauphin; he did not want reasons to make him approve what he haddone, and to give him hopes of good success.
In the meantime Madam de Cleves dressed herself in all haste to go tothe Queen-Dauphin; she was no sooner entered her chamber, but shecalled her to her, and whispered her, "I have been waiting for youthese two hours, and was never so perplexed about disguising a truth asI have been this morning: the Queen has heard of the letter I gave youyesterday, and believes it was the Viscount de Chartres that droppedit; you know, she has some interest to be satisfied in it; she has beenin search for the letter, and has caused Chatelart to be asked for it;who said he had given it to me; they have been to ask me for it, underpretence it was an ingenious letter which the Queen had a curiosity tosee; I durst not say that you had it, for fear she should think I hadgiven it you on your uncle the Viscount's account, and that there was acorrespondence between him and me. I was already satisfied that hisseeing me so often gave her uneasiness, so that I said the letter wasin the clothes I had on yesterday, and that those who had them inkeeping were gone abroad; give me the letter immediately," added she,"that I may send it her, and that I may read it before I send it to seeif I know the hand."
Madam de Cleves was harder put to it than she expected; "I don't know,Madam, what you will do," answered she, "for Monsieur de Cleves, towhom I gave it to read, returned it to the Duke of Nemours, who cameearly this morning to beg him to get it of you. Monsieur de Cleves hadthe imprudence to tell him he had it, and the weakness to yield to theentreaties the Duke de Nemours made that he would restore it him.""You throw me into the greatest embarrassment I can possibly be in,"replied the Queen-Dauphin; "and you have given this letter to the Dukede Nemours. Since it was I that gave it you, you ought not to haverestored it without my leave; what would you have me say to the Queen,and what can she imagine? She will think, and not without reason, thatthis letter concerns myself, and that there is something between theViscount and me; she will never be persuaded the letter belonged to theDuke de Nemours." "I am very much concerned," replied Madam de Cleves
,"for the misfortune I have occasioned, and I believe the difficulty Ihave brought you into is very great; but 'twas Monsieur de Cleves'sfault, and not mine." "You are in fault," replied the Queen-Dauphin,"for having given him the letter; and I believe you are the only womanin the world that acquaints her husband with all she knows." "Iacknowledge myself in fault, Madam," replied the Princess of Cleves,"but let us rather think of preventing the consequences of what I havedone, than insist on the fault itself." "Do you remember, pretty near,what the letter contains?" says the Queen-Dauphin. "Yes, Madam, I do,"replied she, "for I have read it over more than once." "If so," saidthe Queen-Dauphin, "you must immediately get it written out in anunknown hand, and I'll send it to the Queen; she'll not show it thosewho have seen it already; and though she should, I'll stand in it, thatit is the same Chatelart gave me; and he'll not dare to say otherwise."
Madam de Cleves approved of this expedient, and the more because itgave her an opportunity of sending for the Duke de Nemours, to have theletter itself again, in order to have it copied word for word,imitating as near as may be the hand it was written in, and she thoughtthis would effectually deceive the Queen. As soon as she was got home,she informed her husband of what had passed between her and theQueen-Dauphin, and begged him to send for the Duke de Nemours. TheDuke was sent for, and came immediately; Madam de Cleves told him allshe had told her husband, and asked for the letter; but the Dukeanswered, that he had already returned it to the Viscount de Chartres,who was so overjoyed upon having it again, and being freed from thedanger he was in, that he sent it immediately to Madam de Themines'sfriend. Madam de Cleves was in a new embarrassment on this occasion:in short, after having consulted together, they resolved to form theletter by memory; and, in order to go about it, they locked themselvesup, and left orders that nobody should be admitted, and that all theDuke de Nemours's attendants should be sent away. Such an appearanceof secret confidence was no small charm to Monsieur de Nemours, andeven to Madam de Cleves; her husband's presence, and the interests ofher uncle the Viscount de Chartres, were considerations which in greatmeasure removed her scruples, and made this opportunity of seeing andbeing with the Duke de Nemours so agreeable to her, that she neverbefore experienced a joy so pure and free from allay; this threw herinto a freedom and gaiety of spirit which the Duke had never observedin her till now, and which made him still more passionately in lovewith her: as he had never known such agreeable moments, his vivacitywas much heightened; and whenever Madam de Cleves was beginning torecollect and write the letter, instead of assisting her seriously, didnothing but interrupt her with wit and pleasantry. Madam de Cleves wasas gay as he, so that they had been locked up a considerable time, andtwo messages had come from the Queen-Dauphin to hasten Madam de Cleves,before they had half finished the letter.
The Duke de Nemours was glad to prolong the time that was so agreeableto him, and neglected the concerns of his friend; Madam de Cleves wasnot at all tired, and neglected also the concerns of her uncle: atlast, with much ado, about four o'clock the letter was finished, andwas so ill done, and the copy so unlike the original, as to thehandwriting, that the queen must have taken very little care to come atthe truth of the matter, if she had been imposed on by so ill acounterfeit. Accordingly she was not deceived; and however industriousthey were to persuade her, that this letter was addressed to the Dukede Nemours, she remained satisfied not only that it was addressed tothe Viscount de Chartres, but that the Queen-Dauphin was concerned init, and that there was a correspondence between them; this heightenedher hatred against that Princess to such a degree, that she neverforgave her, and never ceased persecuting her till she had driven herout of France.
As for the Viscount de Chartres, his credit was entirely ruined withher; and whether the Cardinal of Loraine had already insinuated himselfso far into her esteem as to govern her, or whether the accident ofthis letter, which made it appear that the Viscount had deceived her,enabled her to discover the other tricks he had played her, it iscertain he could never after entirely reconcile himself to her; theircorrespondence was broke off, and at length she ruined him by means ofthe conspiracy of Amboise, in which he was involved.
After the letter was sent to the Queen-Dauphin, Monsieur de Cleves andMonsieur de Nemours went away; Madam de Cleves continued alone, andbeing no longer supported by the joy which the presence of what oneloves gives one, she seemed like one newly waked from a dream; shebeheld, with astonishment, the difference between the condition she wasin the night before, and that she was in at this time: she called tomind, how cold and sullen she was to the Duke de Nemours, while shethought Madam de Themines's letter was addressed to him, and how calmand sweet a situation of mind succeeded that uneasiness, as soon as hewas satisfied he was not concerned in that letter; when she reflected,that she reproached herself as guilty for having given him theforegoing day only some marks of sensibility, which mere compassionmight have produced, and that by her peevish humour this morning, shehad expressed such a jealousy as was a certain proof of passion, shethought she was not herself; when she reflected further, that the Dukede Nemours saw plainly that she knew he was in love with her, and that,notwithstanding her knowing it, she did not use him the worse for it,even in her husband's presence; but that, on the contrary, she hadnever behaved so favourably to him; when she considered, she was thecause of Monsieur de Cleves's sending for him, and that she had justpassed an afternoon in private with him; when she considered all this,she found, there was something within her that held intelligence withthe Duke de Nemours, and that she deceived a husband who least deservedit; and she was ashamed to appear so little worthy of esteem, even inthe eyes of her lover; but what she was able to support less than allthe rest was, the remembrance of the condition in which she spent thelast night, and the pricking griefs she felt from a suspicion that theDuke de Nemours was in love with another, and that she was deceived byhim.
Never till then was she acquainted with the dreadful inquietudes thatflow from jealousy and distrust; she had applied all her cares toprevent herself from falling in love with the Duke de Nemours, and hadnot before had any fear of his being in love with another: though thesuspicions which this letter had given her were effaced, yet they lefther sensible of the hazard there was of being deceived, and gave herimpressions of distrust and jealousy which she had never felt till thattime; she was surprised that she had never yet reflected how improbableit was that a man of the Duke de Nemours's turn, who had showed so muchinconstancy towards women, should be capable of a lasting and sincerepassion she thought it next to impossible for her to be convinced ofthe truth of his love; "But though I could be convinced of it," saysshe, "what have I to do in it? Shall I permit it? Shall I make areturn? Shall I engage in gallantry, be false to Monsieur de Cleves,and be false to myself? In a word, shall I go to expose myself to thecruel remorses and deadly griefs that rise from love? I am subdued andvanquished by a passion, which hurries me away in spite of myself; allmy resolutions are vain; I had the same thoughts yesterday that I havetoday, and I act today contrary to what I resolved yesterday; I mustconvey myself out of the sight of the Duke de Nemours; I must go intothe country, however fantastical my journey may appear; and if Monseurde Cleves is obstinately bent to hinder me, or to know my reasons forit, perhaps I shall do him and myself the injury to acquaint him withthem." She continued in this resolution, and spent the whole eveningat home, without going to the Queen-Dauphin to enquire what hadhappened with respect to the counterfeited letter.
When the Prince of Cleves returned home, she told him she was resolvedto go into the country; that she was not very well, and had occasion totake the air. Monsieur de Cleves, to whom she appeared so beautifulthat he could not think her indisposition very considerable, at firstmade a jest of her design, and answered that she had forgot that thenuptials of the Princesses and the tournament were very near, and thatshe had not too much time to prepare matters so as to appear there asmagnificently as other ladies. What her husband said did not make herchange her res
olution, and she begged he would agree, that while he wasat Compiegne with the King, she might go to Colomiers, a pretty housethen building, within a day's journey of Paris. Monsieur de Clevesconsented to it; she went thither with a design of not returning sosoon, and the King set out for Compiegne, where he was to stay but fewdays.
The Duke de Nemours was mightily concerned he had not seen Madam deCleves since that afternoon which he had spent so agreeably with her,and which had increased his hopes; he was so impatient to see her againthat he could not rest; so that when the King returned to Paris, theDuke resolved to go to see his sister the Duchess de Mercoeur, who wasat a country seat of hers very near Colomiers; he asked the Viscount togo with him, who readily consented to it. The Duke de Nemours did thisin hopes of visiting Madam de Cleves, in company of the Viscount.
Madam de Mercoeur received them with a great deal of joy, and thoughtof nothing but giving them all the pleasures and diversions of thecountry; one day, as they were hunting a stag, the Duke de Nemours losthimself in the forest, and upon enquiring his way was told he was nearColomiers; at that word, Colomiers, without further reflection, or somuch as knowing what design he was upon, he galloped on full speed theway that had been showed him; as he rode along he came by chance to themade-ways and walks, which he judged led to the castle: at the end ofthese walks he found a pavilion, at the lower end of which was a largeroom with two closets, the one opening into a flower-garden, and theother looking into a spacious walk in the park; he entered thepavilion, and would have stopped to observe the beauty of it, if he hadnot seen in the walk the Prince and Princess of Cleves, attended with anumerous train of their domestics. As he did not expect to meetMonsieur de Cleves there, whom he had left with the King, he thought atfirst of hiding himself; he entered the closet which looked into theflower-garden, with design to go out that way by a door which opened tothe forest; but observing Madam de Cleves and her husband were sat downunder the pavilion, and that their attendants stayed in the park, andcould not come to him without passing by the place where Monsieur andMadam de Cleves were, he could not deny himself the pleasure of seeingthis Princess, nor resist the curiosity he had to hear her conversationwith a husband, who gave him more jealousy than any of his rivals. Heheard Monsieur de Cleves say to his wife, "But why will you not returnto Paris? What can keep you here in the country? You have of latetaken a fancy for solitude, at which I am both surprised and concerned,because it deprives me of your company: I find too, you are moremelancholy than usual, and I am afraid you have some cause of grief.""I have nothing to trouble my mind," answered she with an air ofconfusion, "but there is such a bustle at Court, and such a multitudeof people always at your house, that it is impossible but both body andmind should be fatigued, and one cannot but desire repose." "Repose,"answered he, "is not very proper for one of your age; you are at home,and at Court, in such a manner as cannot occasion weariness, and I amrather afraid you desire to live apart from me." "You would do megreat wrong to think so," replied she with yet more confusion, "but Ibeg you to leave me here; if you could stay here, and without company,I should be very glad of it; nothing would be more agreeable to me thanyour conversation in this retirement, provided you would approve not tohave about you that infinite number of people, who in a manner neverleave you." "Ah! Madam," cries Monsieur de Cleves, "both your looksand words convince me that you have reasons to desire to be alone,which I don't know; I conjure you to tell them me." He urged her agreat while to inform him, without being able to oblige her to it; andafter she had excused herself in a manner which still increased herhusband's curiosity, she continued in a deep silence, with her eyescast down then, taking up the discourse on a sudden, and looking uponhim, "Force me not," said she, "to confess a thing to you which I havenot the power to confess, though I have often designed it; rememberonly, that it is not prudent a woman of my years, and mistress of herown conduct, should remain exposed in the midst of a Court." "What isit, Madam," cried Monsieur de Cleves, "that you lead me to imagine? Idare not speak it, for fear of offending you." Madam de Cleves makingno answer, her silence confirmed her husband in what he thought; "Yousay nothing to me," says he, "and that tells me clearly, that I am notmistaken." "Alas, sir," answered she, falling on her knees, "I amgoing to make a confession to you, such as no woman ever yet made toher husband; but the innocence of my intentions, and of my conduct,give me power to do it; it is true, I have reasons to absent myselffrom Court, and I would avoid the dangers persons of my age aresometimes liable to; I have never shown any mark of weakness, and Icannot apprehend I ever shall, if you will permit me to retire fromCourt, since now I have not Madam de Chartres to assist me in myconduct; however dangerous a step I am taking, I take it with pleasureto preserve myself worthy of you; I ask you a thousand pardons, if Ihave sentiments which displease you, at least I will never displeaseyou by my actions; consider, that to do what I do, requires morefriendship and esteem for a husband than ever wife had; direct myconduct, have pity on me, and if you can still love me."
Monsieur de Cleves, all the while she spoke, continued leaning his headon his hand, almost beside himself, and never thought of raising herup. When she had done speaking, and he cast his eyes upon her, and sawher on her knees with her face drowned in tears, inimitably beautiful,he was ready to die for grief, and taking her up in his arms, "Have youpity on me, Madam," says he, "for I deserve it, and pardon me, if inthe first moments of an affliction so violent as mine, I do not answeras I ought to so generous a proceeding as yours; I think you moreworthy of esteem and admiration than any woman that ever was, but Ifind myself also the most unfortunate of men: you inspired me withpassion the first moment I saw you, and that passion has never decayed;not your coldness, nor even enjoyment itself, has been able toextinguish it; it still continues in its first force, and yet it hasnot been in my power to kindle in your breast any spark of love for me,and now I find you fear you have an inclination for another; and who ishe, Madam, this happy man that gives you such apprehensions? How longhas he charmed you? What has he done to charm you? What method has hetaken to get into your heart? When I could not gain your affectionsmyself, it was some comfort to me to think, that no other could gainthem; in the meantime, another has effected what I could not, and Ihave at once the jealousy of a husband and lover. But it is impossiblefor me to retain that of a husband after such a proceeding on yourpart, which is too noble and ingenuous not to give me an entiresecurity; it even comforts me as a lover; the sincerity you haveexpressed, and the confidence you have placed in me are of infinitevalue: you have esteem enough for me to believe I shall not abuse theconfession you have made to me; you are in the right, Madam, I will notabuse it, or love you the less for it; you make me unhappy by thegreatest mark of fidelity ever woman gave her husband; but go on,Madam, and inform me who he is whom you would avoid." "I beg you notto ask me," replied she; "I am resolved not to tell you, nor do I thinkit prudent to name him." "Fear not, Madam," replied Monsieur deCleves, "I know the world too well to be ignorant that a woman's havinga husband does not hinder people from being in love with her; suchlovers may be the objects of one's hatred, but we are not to complainof it; once again, Madam, I conjure you to tell me what I so muchdesire to know." "It is in vain to press me," replied she, "I have thepower to be silent in what I think I ought not to tell; the confessionI made to you was not owing to any weakness, and it required morecourage to declare such a truth than it would have done to conceal it."
The Duke de Nemours did not lose a word of this conversation, and whatMadam de Cleves had said gave him no less jealousy than her husband; hewas so desperately in love with her, that he believed all the world wasso too; it is true, he had many rivals, yet he fancied them still more,and his thoughts wandered to find out who it was Madam de Cleves meant:he had often thought he was not disagreeable to her, but the grounds ofhis judgment on this occasion appeared so slight, that he could notimagine he had raised in her heart a passion violent enough to obligeher to have recourse to so extraordin
ary a remedy; he was sotransported, that he scarce knew what he saw, and he could not pardonMonsieur de Cleves for not having pressed his wife enough to tell himthe name of the person she concealed from him.
Monsieur de Cleves nevertheless used his utmost endeavours to know it;and having urged her very much on the subject; "I think," answered she,"that you ought to be satisfied with my sincerity; ask me no more aboutit, and don't give me cause to repent of what I have done; contentyourself with the assurance which I once more give you, that mysentiments have never appeared by any of my actions, and that noaddress hath been made to me that could give me offence." "Ah! Madam,"replied Monsieur de Cleves on a sudden, "I cannot believe it; Iremember the confusion you was in when your picture was lost; you havegiven away, Madam, you have given away that picture, which was so dearto me, and which I had so just a right to; you have not been able toconceal your inclinations, you are in love; it is known; your virtuehas hitherto saved you from the rest." "Is it possible," cried Madamde Cleves, "you can imagine there was any reserve or disguise in aconfession like mine, which I was no way obliged to? Take my word, Ipurchase dearly the confidence I desire of you; I conjure you tobelieve I have not given away my picture; it is true, I saw it taken,but I would not seem to see it, for fear of subjecting myself to hearsuch things as no one has yet dared to mention to me." "How do youknow then that you are loved," said Monsieur de Cleves? "What mark,what proof of it has been given you?" "Spare me the pain," repliedshe, "of repeating to you circumstances which I am ashamed to haveobserved, and which have convinced me but too much of my own weakness.""You are in the right, Madam," answered he, "I am unjust; always refuseme when I ask you such things, and yet don't be angry with me forasking them."
Just then several of the servants, who had stayed in the walks, came toacquaint Monsieur de Cleves, that a gentleman was arrived from theKing, with orders for him to be at Paris that evening. Monsieur deCleves was obliged to go, and had only time to tell his wife that hedesired her to come to Paris the next day; and that he conjured her tobelieve, that however afflicted he was, he had a tenderness and esteemfor her, with which she ought to be satisfied.
When he was gone, and Madam de Cleves being alone, considered what shehad done, she was so frightened at the thought of it, she could hardlybelieve it to be true. She found she had deprived herself of the heartand esteem of her husband, and was involved in a labyrinth she shouldnever get out of; she asked herself why she had ventured on sodangerous a step, and perceived she was engaged in it almost withouthaving designed it; the singularity of such a confession, for which shesaw no precedent, made her fully sensible of her danger.
But on the other hand, when she came to think that this remedy, howeverviolent it was, was the only effectual one she could make use ofagainst Monsieur de Nemours, she found she had no cause to repent, orto believe she had ventured too far; she passed the whole night full ofdoubts, anxiety and fear; but at last her spirits grew calm again; sheeven felt a pleasure arise in her mind, from a sense of having givensuch a proof of fidelity to a husband who deserved it so well, who hadso great a friendship and esteem for her, and had so lately manifestedit by the manner in which he received the confession she had made him.
In the meantime Monsieur de Nemours was gone away from the place, inwhich he had overheard a conversation which so sensibly affected him,and was got deep into the forest; what Madam de Cleves said of herpicture had revived him, since it was certain from thence that he wasthe person she had an inclination for; at first he gave a leap of joy,but his raptures were at an end as soon as he began to reflect, thatthe same thing that convinced him he had touched the heart of Madam deCleves, ought to convince him also that he should never receive anymarks of it, and that it would be impossible to engage a lady who hadrecourse to so extraordinary a remedy; and yet he could not but besensibly pleased to have reduced her to that extremity; he thought itglorious for him to have gained the affections of a woman so differentfrom the rest of her sex; in a word, he thought himself very happy andvery unhappy at the same time. He was benighted in the forest, and wasvery much put to it to find his way again to his sister's the Duchessof Mercoeur; he arrived there at break of day, and was extremely at aloss what account to give of his absence, but he made out the matter aswell as he could, and returned that very day to Paris with the Viscount.
The Duke was so taken up with his passion, and so surprised at theconversation he had heard, that he fell into an indiscretion verycommon, which is, to speak one's own particular sentiments in generalterms, and to relate one's proper adventures under borrowed names. Asthey were travelling he began to talk of love, and exaggerated thepleasure of being in love with a person that deserved it; he spoke ofthe fantastical effects of this passion, and at last not being able tocontain within himself the admiration he was in at the action of Madamde Cleves, he related it to the Viscount without naming the person, orowning he had any share in it; but he told it with so much warmth andsurprise, that the Viscount easily suspected the story concernedhimself. The Viscount urged him very much to confess it, and told himhe had known a great while that he was violently in love, and that itwas unjust in him to show a distrust of a man who had committed to hima secret on which his life depended. The Duke de Nemours was too muchin love to own it, and had always concealed it from the Viscount,though he valued him the most of any man at Court; he answered that oneof his friends had told him this adventure, and made him promise not tospeak of it; and he also conjured the Viscount to keep the secret: theViscount assured him he would say nothing of it but notwithstandingMonsieur de Nemours repented that he had told him so much.
In the meantime Monsieur de Cleves was gone to the King, with a heartfull of sorrow and affliction. Never had husband so violent a passionfor his wife, or so great an esteem; what she had told him did not takeaway his esteem of her, but made it of a different nature from that hehad had before; what chiefly employed his thoughts, was a desire toguess who it was that had found out the secret to win her heart; theDuke de Nemours was the first person he thought of on this occasion, asbeing the handsomest man at Court; and the Chevalier de Guise, and theMareschal de St. Andre occurred next, as two persons who had made ittheir endeavour to get her love, and who were still very assiduous incourting her, so that he was fully persuaded it must be one of thethree. He arrived at the Louvre, and the King carried him into hiscloset to inform him he had made choice of him to conduct Madame intoSpain, and that he believed nobody could acquit himself better of thatcharge, nor that any lady would do France greater honour than Madam deCleves. Monsieur de Cleves received the honour the King had done himby this choice with the respect he ought, and he considered it also aswhat would take his wife from Court, without leaving room to suspectany change in her conduct; but the embarrassment he was under requireda speedier remedy than that journey, which was to be deferred a greatwhile, could afford; he immediately wrote to Madam de Cleves toacquaint her with what the King had told him, and gave her tounderstand he absolutely expected she should return to Paris. Shereturned according to his orders, and when they met, they found oneanother overwhelmed with melancholy.
Monsieur de Cleves spoke to her, as a man of the greatest honour in theworld, and the best deserving the confidence she had reposed in him; "Iam not alarmed as to your conduct," said he, "you have more strengthand virtue than you imagine; I am not alarmed with fears of what mayhappen hereafter; what troubles me is that I see you have thosesentiments for another which you want for me." "I don't know what toanswer you," said she, "I die with shame when I speak of this subjectspare me, I conjure you, such cruel conversations; regulate my conduct,and never let me see anybody; this is all I desire of you; but take itnot ill of me, if I speak no more of a thing which makes me appear solittle worthy of you, and which I think so unbecoming me." "You are inthe right, Madam;" replied he, "I abuse your goodness and yourconfidence in me; but have some compassion also on the condition youhave brought me to, and think that whatever you have told me, youconcea
l from me a name, which creates in me a curiosity I cannot livewithout satisfying; and yet I ask you not to satisfy it; I cannot,however, forbear telling you, that I believe the man I am to envy isthe Mareschal de St. Andre, the Duke de Nemours, or the Chevalier deGuise." "I shall make you no answer," says she blushing, "nor give youany ground from what I say, either to lessen or strengthen yoursuspicions; but if you endeavour to inform yourself by observing me,you will throw me into a confusion all the world will take notice of,for God's sake," continued she, "allow me under pretence of anindisposition to see nobody." "No, Madam," said he, "it will quicklybe discovered to be a feigned business; and besides, I am unwilling totrust you to anything but yourself; my heart tells me this is the bestway I can take, and my reason tells me so also, considering the temperof mind you are in, I cannot put a greater restraint upon you than byleaving you to your liberty."
Monsieur de Cleves was not mistaken; the confidence he showed he had inhis wife, fortified her the more against Monsieur de Nemours, and madeher take more severe resolutions than any restraint could have broughther to. She went to wait on the Queen-Dauphin at the Louvre as sheused to do, but avoided the presence and eyes of Monsieur de Nemourswith so much care, that she deprived him of almost all the joy he hadin thinking she loved him; he saw nothing in her actions but whatseemed to show the contrary; he scarcely knew if what he had heard wasnot a dream, so very improbable it seemed to him; the only thing whichassured him that he was not mistaken, was Madam de Cleves's extrememelancholy, which appeared, whatever pains she took to hide it; andperhaps kind words and looks would not have increased the Duke ofNemours's love so much as this severe conduct did.
One evening, as Monsieur and Madam de Cleves were at the Queen'sapartment, it was said there was a report that the King would nameanother great lord to wait on Madame into Spain. Monsieur de Cleveshad his eye fixed on his wife, when it was further said, the Chevalierde Guise, or the Mareschal de St. Andre, was the person he observedshe was not at all moved at either of those names, nor the discourse oftheir going along with her; this made him believe, it was not either ofthem whose presence she feared. In order to clear up his suspicions,he went into the Queen's closet, where the King then was, and afterhaving stayed there some time came back to his wife, and whispered her,that he had just heard the Duke de Nemours was the person designed togo along with them to Spain.
The name of the Duke de Nemours, and the thought of being exposed tosee him every day, during a very long journey, in her husband'spresence, so affected Madam de Cleves, that she could not conceal hertrouble: and being willing to give other reasons for it, "No choice,"says she, "could have been made more disagreeable for you; he willshare all honours with you, and I think you ought to endeavour to getsome other chosen." "It is not honour, Madam," replied Monsieur deCleves, "that makes you apprehensive of the Duke de Nemours's goingwith me, the uneasiness you are in proceeds from another cause; andfrom this uneasiness of yours I learn, that which I should havediscovered in another woman, by the joy she would have expressed onsuch an occasion but be not afraid; what I have told you is not true,it was an invention of mine to assure myself of a thing which I alreadybelieved but too much."
Having said this, he went out, being unwilling to increase, by hispresence, the concern he saw his wife in.
The Duke de Nemours came in that instant, and presently observed Madamde Cleves's condition he came up to her, and told her softly, he hadthat respect for her, he durst not ask what it was made her morepensive than usual. The voice of the Duke de Nemours brought her toherself again, and looking at him, without having heard what he hadsaid to her, full of her own thoughts, and afraid lest her husbandshould see him with her, "For God's sake," says she, "leave me tomyself in quiet." "Alas, Madam," answered he, "I disturb you toolittle; what is it you can complain of? I dare not speak to you, Idare not look upon you, I tremble whenever I approach you. How have Idrawn upon myself what you have said to me, and why do you show me thatI am in part the cause of the trouble I see you in?" Madam de Cleveswas very sorry to have given the Duke an opportunity of explaininghimself more clearly than ever he had done before; she left him withoutmaking any answer, and went home with her mind more agitated than ever.Her husband perceived her concern was increased, and that she wasafraid he would speak to her of what had passed, and followed her intoher closet; "Do not shun me, Madam," says he, "I will say nothing toyou that shall displease you; I ask pardon for the surprise I gave youa while ago; I am sufficiently punished by what I have learnt from it;the Duke de Nemours was of all men he whom I most feared; I see thedanger you are in; command yourself for your own sake, and, if it ispossible, for mine; I do not ask this of you as a husband, but as a manwhose happiness wholly depends on you, and who loves you more violentlyand more tenderly than he whom your heart prefers to me." Monsieur deCleves was melted upon speaking these words, and could scarce make anend of them; his wife was so moved, she burst into tears, and embracedhim with a tenderness and sorrow that put him into a condition not verydifferent from her own; they continued silent a while, and partedwithout having the power to speak to one another.
All things were ready for the marriage of Madame, and the Duke of Alvawas arrived to espouse her; he was received with all the ceremony andmagnificence that could be displayed on such an occasion the King sentto meet him the Prince of Conde, the Cardinals of Loraine and Guise,the Dukes of Loraine and Ferrara, d'Aumale, de Bouillon, de Guise, andde Nemours; they had a great number of gentlemen, and a great manypages in livery; the King himself, attended with two hundred gentlemen,and the Constable at their head, received the Duke of Alva at the firstgate of the Louvre; the Duke would have kneeled down, but the Kingrefused it, and made him walk by his side to the Queen's apartment, andto Madame's, to whom the Duke of Alva had brought a magnificent presentfrom his master; he went thence to the apartment of Madam Margaret theKing's sister, to compliment her on the part of the Duke of Savoy, andto assure her he would arrive in a few days; there were greatassemblies at the Louvre, the show the Duke of Alva, and the Prince ofOrange who accompanied him, the beauties of the Court.
Madam de Cleves could not dispense with going to these assemblies,however desirous she was to be absent, for fear of disobliging herhusband, who absolutely commanded her to be there; and what yet moreinduced her to it, was the absence of the Duke de Nemours; he was goneto meet the Duke of Savoy, and after the arrival of that Prince, he wasobliged to be almost always with him, to assist him in everythingrelating to the ceremonies of the nuptials; for this reason Madam deCleves did not meet him so often as she used to do, which gave her somesort of ease.
The Viscount de Chartres had not forgot the conversation he had hadwith the Duke de Nemours: it still ran in his mind that the adventurethe Duke had related to him was his own; and he observed him socarefully that it is probable he would have unravelled the business, ifthe arrival of the Duke of Alva and of the Duke of Savoy had not madesuch an alteration in the Court, and filled it with so much business,as left no opportunities for a discovery of that nature; the desire hehad to get some information about it, or rather the natural dispositionone has to relate all one knows to those one loves, made him acquaintMadam de Martigues with the extraordinary action of that person who hadconfessed to her husband the passion she had for another; he assuredher the Duke de Nemours was the man who had inspired so violent a love,and begged her assistance in observing him. Madam de Martigues wasglad to hear what the Viscount told her, and the curiosity she hadalways observed in the Queen-Dauphin for what concerned the Duke deNemours made her yet more desirous to search into the bottom of theaffair.
A few days before that which was fixed for the ceremony of themarriage, the Queen-Dauphin entertained at supper the King herfather-in-law, and the Duchess of Valentinois. Madam de Cleves, whohad been busy in dressing herself, went to the Louvre later thanordinary; as she was going, she met a gentleman that was coming fromthe Queen-Dauphin to fetch her; as soon as she entered the room, thatPrincess, who was
sitting upon her bed, told her aloud, that she hadexpected her with great impatience. "I believe, Madam," answered she,"that I am not obliged to you for it, and that your impatience wascaused by something else, and not your desire to see me." "You are inthe right," answered the Queen-Dauphin, "but, nevertheless, you areobliged to me; for I'll tell you an adventure, which I am sure you'llbe glad to know."