She broke off a little branch of cypress and offered it to the King, intoxicated with hope.
“Humph!” said Aramis to d’Artagnan; “the present is but a sad one, for that cypress shades a tomb.”
“Yes, and the tomb is that of Raoul de Bragelonne,” said d’Artagnan, aloud; “of Raoul, who sleeps under that cross with Athos his father.”
A groan was heard behind them. They saw a woman fall fainting to the ground. Mademoiselle de la Valliere had seen and heard all.
“Poor woman!” muttered d’Artagnan, as he helped the attendants to carry back to her carriage her who from that time was to suffer.
That evening d’Artagnan was seated at the King’s table, near M. Colbert and M. le Duc d’Alameda. The King was very gay. He paid a thousand little attentions to the Queen, a thousand kindnesses to Madame, seated at his left hand, and very sad. It might have been supposed to be that calm time when the King used to watch the eyes of his mother for assent or dissent to what he had just spoken.
Of mistresses there was no question at this dinner. The King addressed Aramis two or three times, calling him Monsieur the Ambassador, which increased the surprise already felt by d’Artagnan at seeing his friend the rebel so marvellously well received at court.
The King, on rising from table, gave his hand to the Queen and made a sign to Colbert, whose eye watched that of his master. Colbert took d’Artagnan and Aramis on one side. The King began to chat with his sister, while Monsieur, very uneasy, entertained the Queen with a preoccupied air, without ceasing to watch his wife and brother from the corner of his eye. The conversation between Aramis, d’Artagnan and Colbert turned upon indifferent subjects. They spoke of preceding ministers; Colbert related the feats of Mazarin, and had those of Richelieu related to him. D’Artagnan could not overcome his surprise at finding this man, with heavy eyebrows and a low forehead, contain so much sound knowledge and cheerful humor. Aramis was astonished at that lightness of character which permitted a serious man to retard with advantage the moment for a more important conversation, to which nobody made any allusion, although all three interlocutors felt the imminence of it.
It was very plain from the embarrassed appearance of Monsieur how much the conversation of the King and Madame annoyed him. The eyes of Madame were almost red; was she going to complain? Was she going to commit a little scandal in open court? The King took her on one side, and in a tone so tender that it must have reminded the Princess of the time when she was loved for herself, “Sister,” said he, “why do I see tears in those beautiful eyes?”
“Why- Sire-” said she.
“Monsieur is jealous, is he not, Sister?”
She looked towards Monsieur,- an infallible sign that they were talking about him. “Yes,” said she.
“Listen to me,” said the King; “if your friends compromise you, it is not Monsieur’s fault.”
He spoke these words with so much kindness that Madame, encouraged,- she who had had so many griefs for so long a time,- was near bursting into tears, so full was her heart.
“Come, come, dear sister,” said the King, “tell me your griefs. By the word of a brother, I pity them; by the word of a King, I will end them.”
She raised her fine eyes, and in a melancholy tone, “It is not my friends who compromise me,” said she. “They are either absent or concealed; they have been brought into disgrace with your Majesty,- they, so devoted, so good, so loyal!”
“You say this on account of De Guiche, whom I have exiled at the desire of Monsieur?”
“And who, since that unjust exile, has endeavored once every day to get himself killed!”
“Unjust, do you say, Sister?”
“So unjust, that if I had not had the respect mingled with friendship that I have always entertained for your Majesty-”
“Well?”
“Well! I would have asked my brother Charles, upon whom I can always-”
The King started. “What then?”
“I would have asked him to have it represented to you that Monsieur and his favorite, M. le Chevalier de Lorraine, ought not with impunity to constitute themselves the executioners of my honor and my happiness.”