Twenty Years Later by Dumas, Alexandre. Part one

The queen bit her lips and moved impatiently on her chair.

“Well, what do you propose to do?” she, said at length;

“come, speak.”

“I will go this instant and consult the queen, and we will

refer the affair at once to parliament.”

“With which you are at war — is it not so? You will charge

Broussel to report it. Enough, sir, enough. I understand you

or rather, I am wrong. Go to the parliament, for it was from

this parliament, the enemy of monarchs, that the daughter of

the great, the sublime Henry IV., whom you so much admire,

received the only relief this winter which prevented her

from dying of hunger and cold!”

And with these words Henrietta rose in majestic indignation,

whilst the cardinal, raising his hands clasped toward her,

exclaimed, “Ah, madame, madame, how little you know me, mon

Dieu!”

But Queen Henrietta, without even turning toward him who

made these hypocritical pretensions, crossed the cabinet,

opened the door for herself and passing through the midst of

the cardinal’s numerous guards, courtiers eager to pay

homage, the luxurious show of a competing royalty, she went

and took the hand of De Winter, who stood apart in

isolation. Poor queen, already fallen! Though all bowed

before her, as etiquette required, she had now but a single

arm on which she could lean.

“It signifies little,” said Mazarin, when he was alone. “It

gave me pain and it was an ungracious part to play, but I

have said nothing either to the one or to the other.

Bernouin!”

Bernouin entered.

“See if the young man with the black doublet and the short

hair, who was with me just now, is still in the palace.”

Bernouin went out and soon returned with Comminges, who was

on guard.

“Your eminence,” said Comminges, “as I was re-conducting the

young man for whom you have asked, he approached the glass

door of the gallery, and gazed intently upon some object,

doubtless the picture by Raphael, which is opposite the

door. He reflected for a second and then descended the

stairs. I believe I saw him mount a gray horse and leave the

palace court. But is not your eminence going to the queen?”

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Dumas, Alexandre – Twenty Years After

“For what purpose?”

“Monsieur de Guitant, my uncle, has just told me that her

majesty had received news of the army.”

“It is well; I will go.”

Comminges had seen rightly, and Mordaunt had really acted as

he had related. In crossing the gallery parallel to the

large glass gallery, he perceived De Winter, who was waiting

until the queen had finished her negotiation.

At this sight the young man stopped short, not in admiration

of Raphael’s picture, but as if fascinated at the sight of

some terrible object. His eyes dilated and a shudder ran

through his body. One would have said that he longed to

break through the wall of glass which separated him from his

enemy; for if Comminges had seen with what an expression of

hatred the eyes of this young man were fixed upon De Winter,

he would not have doubted for an instant that the Englishman

was his eternal foe.

But he stopped, doubtless to reflect; for instead of

allowing his first impulse, which had been to go straight to

Lord de Winter, to carry him away, he leisurely descended

the staircase, left the palace with his head down, mounted

his horse, which he reined in at the corner of the Rue

Richelieu, and with his eyes fixed on the gate, waited until

the queen’s carriage had left the court.

He had not long to wait, for the queen scarcely remained a

quarter of an hour with Mazarin, but this quarter of an hour

of expectation appeared a century to him. At last the heavy

machine, which was called a chariot in those days, came out,

rumbling against the gates, and De Winter, still on

horseback, bent again to the door to converse with her

majesty.

The horses started on a trot and took the road to the

Louvre, which they entered. Before leaving the convent of

the Carmelites, Henrietta had desired her daughter to attend