WHEREIN IT IS SHOWN THAT JEALOUSY SOMETIMES ABOLISHED
TITLES EVEN BEFORE THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
"As Monsieur de Langeais had said, the Hôtel de Brézé, where Madame
Diane then lived, was in the Rue du Figuier St. Paul, only two steps
from us, and there it still stands,--this abode of disaster.
"Perrot followed his master at a distance, saw him stop at Madame
Diane's door, knock, and then go in. He drew near to the house. Monsieur
de Montgommery was speaking haughtily and with much confidence to the
valets, who were trying to prevent his entrance, declaring that their
mistress was ill in her chamber; but the count forced his way in, and
Perrot took advantage of the confusion to creep softly in behind him, as
the door remained half open. He knew his way about the house very well,
having carried more than one message to Madame Diane. He went upstairs
in the darkness behind Monsieur de Montgommery, unopposed, either
because nobody saw him, or because the squire's presence was of trifling
consequence when the master had broken through all rules.
"At the top of the staircase the count found two of the duchess's women,
terrified and weeping, who asked him what he wanted at such an
unseasonable hour. Ten o'clock was just striking on all the clocks in
the neighborhood. Monsieur de Montgommery replied firmly that he must
see Madame Diane at once; that he had something of importance to tell
her without delay, and that if she could not receive him, he would wait.
"He spoke loud enough to be heard in the duchess's bedroom, which was
close at hand. One of the women went in, and came back at once to say
that Madame de Poitiers had retired; but that she would come and speak
with the count, who was to wait for her in the oratory.
"The dauphin was not there then, or else he was acting very timorously
for a son of France. Monsieur de Montgommery followed the two women
without objection as they lighted him into the oratory.
"Perrot then who had been crouching in the darkness of the stairway,
went on to the floor above, and hid behind a high curtain in a corridor
which separated Madame de Poitiers's bedroom from the oratory where
Monsieur de Montgommery was awaiting her. At the ends of this wide
passage-way were two disused doors, one of which had formerly led into
the oratory, and the other into the bedroom. Perrot found to his great
delight that by slipping behind the hangings of one or the other of
these doors, which had been allowed to remain for symmetry's sake,
though no longer in use, and by listening attentively, he could hear
almost every word that was said in either apartment. Not that my brave
husband was influenced by mere idle curiosity, Monseigneur; but the
count's last words as he parted from us, and an undefinable instinct,
warned him that his master was running some risk, and that at this very
moment they were setting a trap for him perhaps; so he determined to
remain at hand to assist him in case of need.
"Unfortunately, as you will see, Monseigneur, not one of the words that
he heard and afterward repeated to me threw the least ray of light upon
the obscure and fatal question which is in our minds to-day.
"Monsieur de Montgommery had not waited two minutes when Madame de
Poitiers entered the oratory rather hurriedly.
"'What is the trouble, Monsieur?' said she; 'and why this nocturnal
invasion after my request that you would not come to-day?'
"'I will tell you frankly in a word, Madame; but send these women away
first. Now listen to me. I will be very brief. I have been told that I
have a rival in your affection; that my rival is the dauphin, and that
he is with you here this very evening.'
"'And you must have believed it, since you came running here to make
sure?' said Madame Diane, haughtily.
"'I was in agony, Diane, and I came here hoping to find a cure for my
suffering.'
"'Very well; and now you have seen me,' replied Madame de Poitiers, 'you
know that your informants lied to you; so leave me to get some rest. In
Heaven's name, go, Jacques!'
"'No, Diane,' said the count made suspicious, no doubt, by her haste to
get rid of him; 'for if they did lie in claiming that the dauphin was
here now, they may not have lied in assuring me that he will be here
before the evening is over; and I shall be very glad to prove them
slanderers at every point.'
"'And so you will remain, Monsieur?'
"'I will remain, Madame. Do you go and lie down if you are ill, Diane. I
will keep watch over your slumber, if you are willing.'
"'But by what right will you do this, Monsieur?' cried Madame de
Poitiers. 'What title have you? Am I not free still?'
"'No, Madame,' replied the count, steadily, 'you are no longer free to
make a loyal gentleman whose attentions you have accepted the
laughing-stock of the whole court.'
"'At all events, I will not accept this last attention,' said Madame
Diane. 'You have no more right to remain here than other people have to
laugh at you. You are not my husband, are you? And I don't bear your
name, so far as I am aware.'
"'Oh, Madame,' cried the count, in despair, 'what does it matter to me
how much they laugh at me? That is not the question? _Mon Dieu_, no! and
you know it, Diane; and it is not my honor that lies bleeding and crying
to you for pity, but my love. If I had been offended by the gibes of
those three idiots, I would have drawn my sword on them, and that would
have been the end of it. But my heart was torn, Diane, and I came flying
to you. My dignity! my reputation! it is not about those that I am
troubled, not in the least; it is because I love you, and am raving mad
with jealousy; because you have told me and proved to me that you love
me; and because I will kill any one who dares to interfere with this
love which is my all, whether he be dauphin or the king himself, Madame!
I don't worry about the shape my vengeance shall take, I assure you. But
as God lives, I will be revenged!'
"'And revenged for what, pray? and why?' demanded an imperious voice
behind Monsieur de Montgommery.
"Perrot shivered with fear of what was to come; for across the dimly
lighted corridor he saw Monsieur le Dauphin, who is to-day king, and in
his wake the harsh and mocking features of Monsieur de Montmorency.
"'Heaven help me!' cried Madame Diane, falling upon a couch and wringing
her hands; 'this is just what I feared.'
"Monsieur de Montgommery at first gave only a short sharp cry of dismay.
Then Perrot heard him say with a marvellously calm voice,--
"'Monseigneur le Dauphin, just one word, by your leave! Tell me that you
have not come here because you love Madame de Poitiers, and because
Madame de Poitiers loves you.'
"'Monsieur de Montgommery,' replied the dauphin, restraining his rising
anger, 'just one word, by my command! Tell me that I do not find you
here because Madame Diane loves you, and because you love Madame Diane.'
"Matters having reached this stage, the actors were no longer the heir
of the mightiest throne in the world and a simple gentleman, his
subject, but two men, angered and jealous rivals, two suffering hearts,
two distraught minds.
"'I was Madame Diane's chosen and accepted husband, as everybody knew,
and as you knew,' replied Monsieur de Montgommery, altogether omitting
the title by which the prince had a claim to be addressed.
"'A mere promise in the air, a forgotten promise,' cried Henri; 'and
although perhaps of more recent date than yours, the rights of my love
are no less sure, and I will maintain them.'
"'Ah, the villain! he speaks of his rights!' cried the count, already
drunk with rage and jealousy. 'Do you dare to say, then, that this woman
belongs to you?'
"I say that she doesn't belong to you, at all events,' replied Henri; 'I
say that I am at Madame's house with Madame's approbation, and I fancy
that you can hardly say the same. So I am impatiently awaiting your
departure, Monsieur.'
"'If you are so impatient, well and good! let us go together; that's
very simple.'
"'A challenge!' cried Montmorency, coming forward at this. 'Do you dare,
Monsieur, to offer a challenge to the Dauphin of France?'
"'There is no Dauphin of France in the case at all,' replied the count;
'there is only a man who claims to be beloved by the woman whom I love,
that's all.'
"He must have made a pass at Henri at this juncture, for Perrot heard
Diane cry out,--
"'He means to insult the prince! he will murder the prince! Help!'
"Embarrassed, no doubt, by the strange part she was playing, she rushed
out of the room, notwithstanding Monsieur de Montmorency's efforts to
detain her by assuring her that she need not be afraid, for they were
two against one, and had a strong escort below. Perrot saw Madame Diane
cross the corridor and burst into her own room, weeping violently and
calling aloud for her women and the dauphin's people.
"But her flight had no tendency to allay the heat of the two
adversaries, far from it; and Monsieur de Montgommery repeated with
bitter meaning the word 'escort' which had just been uttered.
"'It is with the swords of his retainers, doubtless,' said he, 'that
Monseigneur le Dauphin intends to avenge these insults?'
"'No, Monsieur,' replied Henri, proudly, 'my sword alone will suffice to
punish an insolent villain.'
"Each already had his hand upon his sword-hilt, when Monsieur de
Montmorency interposed.
"'Pardon, Monseigneur,' said he; 'but he who may be king to-morrow has
no right to put his life in jeopardy to-day. You are not a man,
Monseigneur; you are a whole nation. A dauphin of France draws his sword
only for France herself.'
"'But in that case,' cried Monsieur de Montgommery, 'a dauphin of
France, who has everything at command, should not filch from me the one
on whom my whole life depends, who is in my eyes dearer than my honor,
than my native country, than my child in its cradle, even than my
immortal soul itself; for she had made me forget all these,--this woman
who has perhaps been false to me. But no, she is not false to me; it
cannot be, for I love her too dearly! Monseigneur, pardon my violence
and my madness, I beg, and condescend to tell me that you do not love
Diane. Of course you would not come to the house of one you loved
accompanied by Monsieur de Montmorency and a mounted escort of eight or
ten! I ought to have thought of that.'
"'I chose,' said Monsieur de Montmorency, 'to attend Monseigneur with an
escort this evening, despite his objections, because I had been secretly
warned that a trap would be laid for him to-day. However, I meant to go
no farther than the door of the house; but your loud voice, Monsieur,
reached my ears, and was the cause of my coming farther than I intended,
and thus becoming convinced of the accuracy of the intelligence afforded
by the unknown friends who put me upon my guard so opportunely.'
"'Ah, I know who they are, these unknown friends!' said the count,
laughing bitterly. 'They are the same ones, no doubt, who notified me
also that the dauphin would be here this evening; and their plans have
succeeded to admiration, to their delight no doubt, and to hers who set
them about it. For Madame d'Étampes, I presume, had no object except to
compromise Madame de Poitiers by a public scandal. So Monsieur le
Dauphin, in coming to pay his visit with an army in attendance, has
marvellously helped on this marvellous scheme! Aha! so you have no
longer to show the least discretion, Henri de Valois, in your relations
with Madame de Brézé? So you label her publicly as your declared
favorite, do you? She is really yours by a certified and authenticated
title; and I can no longer doubt or hope? You have surely stolen her
from me beyond recall, and with her my happiness and my life? Well,
then, by heaven and earth! I have no more occasion to be discreet
either'. Because you are the son of France, Henri de Valois, is no
reason why I should cease to be a gentleman; and you shall give me
satisfaction for this insult, or you are nothing but a coward!"
"'Scoundrel!' cried the dauphin, drawing his sword and springing at the
count.
"But Monsieur de Montmorency again threw himself between them.
"'Monseigneur, once more I say that in my presence the heir to the
throne shall not cross swords about a woman with a --'
"'With a gentleman of more ancient race than you, foremost baron in
Christendom though you be!' the count burst in, fairly beside himself.
'Besides, every noble is as good as the king; and kings have not always
been so discreet, as you undertake to claim, and for very good reasons.
Charles of Naples challenged Alphonse of Arragon, and François I., not
so very long ago, challenged Charles V. "That was king against king,"
you say. 'Very well! Monsieur de Nemours, the king's nephew, called out
an humble Spanish captain. The Montgommerys are every whit as good as
the Valois; and as they have many times intermarried with the royal
children of France and England, there is no reason why they should not
fight with them. The Montgommerys of old bore the arms of France pure in
the second and third quarterings. After their return from England,
whither they followed William the Conqueror, their arms were azure, a
lion, or, armed, and _lampassé_ argent, with the motto _Garde lieu_!
and three _fleurs-de-lis_ on a field gules. Come, then, Monseigneur, our
arms are like our swords, a fitting guarantee of our knightly prowess.
Ah, if you loved this woman as I do, and if you hated me as I hate you!
But no, you are a mere timid boy, happy in being able to hide behind
your preceptor.'
"'Monsieur de Montmorency, let me go!' cried the dauphin, struggling
fiercely with Montmorency, who was holding him back.
"'No, by Heaven!' said Montmorency, 'I will not let you fight with this
madman! Below there! Help! help!' he shouted at the top of his voice.
"And Diane, too, leaning over the stairway, could be distinctly heard
crying with all her might,--
"'Help! Come up, you fellows! Are you going to let your masters be
murdered?'
"This Delilah-like perfidy--for, after all, they were two to one against
Monsieur de Montgommery--undoubtedly excited the count's blind fury to
the highest pitch. Perrot, paralyzed with terror, heard him say,--
"'Does it need, then, the last insult of all to convince you,--you and
your go-between,--Henri de Valois, that you _must_ give me
satisfaction?'
"Perrot supposed that he then approached the dauphin and threatened to
strike him with his hand, for Henri roared like a tiger. But Monsieur de
Montmorency had evidently caught the count's arm, for while he was
shrieking louder than ever, 'Help! help!' Perrot, who could see nothing,
heard the prince cry out,--
"'His glove touched my face! He must die by no other hand than mine,
now, Montmorency!'
"All this took place with the rapidity of lightning. Just at that moment
the escort came in; then ensued a savage combat, and a tremendous noise
of trampling, and clashing steel. Monsieur de Montmorency cried, 'Bind
the madman!' And the dauphin, 'Don't kill him! In Heaven's name, don't
kill him!'
"This one-sided battle didn't last a moment. Perrot hadn't time even
to rush to his master's assistance. He got as far as the threshold; and
there he saw one of the escort lying on the floor, and two or three
others covered with blood. But the count was disarmed, and already bound
and tightly held by five or six armed men who had attacked him at once.
Perrot, who was not noticed in the confusion, thought he could be of
more use to Monsieur de Montgommery by remaining free, and in condition
to let his friends know, or to rescue him on some more favorable
occasion. So he returned noiselessly to his post, and there, on the
alert and with his hand on his sword, he waited--since his master was
not killed, or even wounded--until it was time to show himself, and
perhaps save him; for you will soon see, Monseigneur, that neither
resolution nor daring was lacking in my good husband; But he was as
prudent as he was valiant, and knew how to make skilful use of his
opportunities. For the moment his cue was to watch; and that is what he
did, carefully and with perfect self-possession.
"Meanwhile Monsieur de Montgommery, tightly pinioned, was still crying
out,--
"'Didn't I tell you, Henri de Valois, that you would have to fight with
ten swords against my one, and meet my insult with the obedient courage
of your soldiers?'
"'You hear, Monsieur de Montmorency!' said the trembling dauphin.
"'Let him be gagged!' was Monsieur de Montmorency's only reply. 'I will
soon give you your instructions,' said he to the men, 'as to what is to
be done with him. Meanwhile keep careful watch on him; you shall answer
for him to me with your heads.'
"And he left the oratory, taking the dauphin with him. They passed
through the corridor, where Perrot was hiding behind the hangings, and
went into Madame Diane's apartment.
"Perrot thereupon went over to the other wall, and applied his ear to
the other disused door.
"The scene of which he had already been an auditor was on the whole less
terrible than that to which he was now to listen."