Before starting on her journey, Cosel summoned the faithful Zaklika.
"All have forsaken me," said she; "I have none on whom I can rely."
Zaklika looked gloomy.
"Will you also leave me?"
"I? Never!" he replied shortly.
"I think I can rely on your noble character, and your devotion to me."
"Always!" said Zaklika, raising two fingers, as though he were taking
an oath.
"I wish to entrust you with the most precious thing that I possess,"
said the Countess, lowering her voice, "but you must promise me that
you will sacrifice your life, rather than give up that which I am about
to give you; that you will guard my honour as--"
"As a holy relic," said Zaklika, raising his fingers a second time.
"You may rely on me!"
"No one must know that you possess this thing."
"Do you wish me to swear?"
"No; I believe your word. But you must know what it is you have to
guard. I said you would be the guardian of my honour. When the King
granted me a divorce from my husband, he gave me a written and sealed
promise that he would marry me, otherwise I should never have consented
to such a life. They will try to take this promise from me. They may
torture me, but I will never tell them where it is. I cannot conceal it
here, for they can banish me, and it would not be safe to carry it with
me."
She opened a mahogany box ornamented with gold, and took from it a
small leather bag with a silk cord.
"You will not betray me!" said she, looking into his eyes.
Tears rolled down Zaklika's cheeks, as he knelt down before her and
kissed her hands; then, suspending the bag round his neck, he said, in
a voice full of emotion,--
"This shall only be taken from me with my life."
"We are going on a journey," said Cosel. "Things may turn out worse for
us than we expect. You must have money."
She handed him a bag of gold.
A few hours later Cosel set forth, taking with her the loaded pistols
which she always kept at hand.
Everything went well until they reached Widawa, a small town on the
borders of Silesia. Here they were obliged to rest. Cosel put up at the
best hostelry, at which there was a detachment of cavalry. Zaklika was
at the door of the Countess's room, when Montargon and La Haye came to
him with the request that he would announce them to the Countess, to
whom, having met her on the road, they were anxious to pay their
respects.
Cosel was much surprised at receiving such a message, as now every one
seemed anxious to avoid her, still she suspected no danger, and ordered
Zaklika to bring them in.
The Countess received the officers courteously, and as it was the hour
for dinner, she invited them to share her modest repast.
Conversation flowed easily during the meal; Montargon told the Countess
all the latest news from Warsaw; at length he said,--
"It seems to me that your journey is futile. So far as we know, it may
make the King angry. You may meet with unpleasantness."
Cosel frowned.
"What!" she exclaimed, "you dare to give me your advice? You pretend to
know the King better than I do, and to be a better judge than myself of
what is fitting for me to do?"
Montargon looked confused.
"Pray excuse me!" he muttered.
"I will not excuse you!" exclaimed the Countess, "for it was
impertinent, as well as in bad taste. Keep your advice for those that
need it."
Montargon made a grimace.
"It is true," said he, "that you do not need advice from me, but
suppose I have the King's order?"
"An order from the King?" cried Cosel.
"Yes."
"Even in that case I am not bound to obey," replied the Countess. "The
King is overpowered by my enemies, he is doing that which he has no
right to do, and he will regret it afterwards. I am sure he will be
glad that I have not obeyed him."
Montargon was a polite man, but the Countess's tone offended him, so he
replied in a soft tone that made his words all the more offensive,--
"I should be greatly obliged to you, Countess, if you would spare
me the unpleasantness of employing that most simple of all
arguments--force."
"What?" exclaimed Cosel. "You would dare employ force against me?"
"I have a formal order to compel you to return to Dresden," said
Montargon, "and I shall obey it."
Then the Countess's anger burst forth.
"Leave the room!" she cried, seizing a pistol. "If you do not go, I
will shoot you through the head."
Zaklika stood ready on the threshold.
Montargon, who knew well that the Countess would keep her word, slipped
out quickly. La Haye, who up to the present had not uttered a word,
remained. The lesson his comrade had received had been good for him,
and he now began very delicately,--
"Countess," said he, "ambassadors are never fired on; I pray you, calm
yourself. We are not responsible for bringing such an unpleasant
message. I should be in despair, should I incur your displeasure; but
for Heaven's sake, consider; to a military man, the King's order is a
sacred thing, and must be accomplished."
"Have you seen the King?" inquired Cosel.
"Yes; I received my orders from his own lips. I beseech you to give
heed to it!"
This soft tone completely disarmed Cosel, she sank trembling into an
arm-chair.
"Be calm," continued La Haye. "It seems to me that there is nothing
serious for you in all this."
"And that Denhoff?"
"That is only a passing fancy," said La Haye; "something like the amour
with Duval, which he has already forgotten. Moreover, Denhoff is
married, her husband is in the country, and knows nothing of all this;
should he learn the truth, there would be no chance of his allowing her
to come to Dresden. But the King must return thither, then you will see
him, and regain your former influence over him."
Cosel began to ask questions about everything, and La Haye laid the
whole story before her in such a light, that he considerably modified
the appearance of danger to herself. After a quarter of an hour's
conversation, the Countess was persuaded that it would be better for
her to return to Pillnitz.
Montargon did not show himself again, but sent a messenger immediately
to the King with the good news. Being afraid, however, that Cosel might
change her mind, he followed her with La Haye and the soldiers from
afar, till they were sure she would not return.
In the meantime the Countess Denhoff began to attract attention by
receiving the too frequent visits of the King. The respectable people
were scandalized at the behaviour--at her dishonouring the good name of
a married woman, during her husband's absence. They were much more
shocked at the fact that her own mother was an intermediary agent, that
her own sister was a witness, that they boasted of such conduct. Count
Denhoff's whole family began to press him to call his wife to his
country estate; and Denhoff sent her imperative letters, urging her to
leave Warsaw immediately.
But the young woman sent her mother instead. When she came to her
son-in-law's chateau, she said to him pointedly,--
"You must not plague us with these demands to return, for it cannot be
done. We are not going to give up the happiness of our whole family for
your fancies; the King is in love with Marie, and we intend to keep
him. Do you wish me to bring her here for the sake of stupid prudery,
and neglect our interests?"
Denhoff was a man of the old school, and he had already heard of his
wife's flightiness.
"Madam," said he, "I am not inclined to share my wife's heart with the
King; and, frankly speaking, there would remain very little of it for
me, for, as it seems, many people court your daughter."
"Then," said the Countess, "you must either be silent, and thus assure
for yourself the King's favour, or else consent to a divorce. The papal
nuncio, Monsignor Grimani, is quite friendly towards us; he will secure
the divorce in Rome."
"Deliver me from the King's favours; but if you would free me from my
wife, I shall be only too thankful to you for it," said the Count.
The Countess was greatly astonished that her son-in-law should so
readily give up all chances of the King's favour; but having received
his written consent to the divorce, she returned with it to Warsaw. The
nuncio wrote to Rome, and Clement XI. ordered the divorce to be
granted.
There was thus no longer any objection to Countess Denhoff accompanying
the King to Dresden; except, to be sure, that Cosel would be in her
way.
In order to get rid of her rival, Countess Denhoff feigned that she
lived in continual fear of her, and she incited the King to send her
from Pillnitz, so that she would not be able to return to Dresden. Then
Flemming helped her, reminding the King that he should take from her
his promise of marriage, so that she would not be able to compromise
the King. Augustus found he was right, and ordered Count Watzdorf to be
written to, to try and obtain that document from Cosel and persuade her
to leave Pillnitz.
Cosel was obliged to receive him, knowing that he came on an errand
from the King.
"The best proof," said he, "that I wish you well is my coming here. I
would like to help you to come to some understanding with the King; but
you must show some goodwill, and finish peacefully like Aurore and
Teschen."
Cosel blushed.
"Aurore and Teschen," exclaimed she, "were his favourites, while I am
his wife. I have his written promise."
Watzdorf laughed.
"Ah! dear Countess," said he, with offensive familiarity, "it is an old
story. You know well how tyrannical passion is; a man is not master of
himself under its influence. Our King also signed the peace at
Altranstadt, but does not consider himself bound by it; it is the same
with his promise to marry you."
Cosel could hardly contain her indignation.
"No! I still believe he is an honest man who knows what he does, and
deceives neither himself nor any one else."
She began to pace to and fro.
"Tell me, then, frankly," said Watzdorf, "what are your conditions? The
King is willing to grant them to you, only you must not ask anything
impossible or attach too much weight to trifles. You will give me back
that paper."
Cosel turned towards him excitedly.
"Did you come for that?" she asked.
"Well, yes."
"Then return," said Cosel angrily; "for as long as I have life I shall
not surrender that paper; it is a defence of my honour, and that is
more precious to me even than life. Do you think I had consented, for
all the King's riches, to stretch out my hand to him if he had not
given me the promise of marriage?"
"But you well understand," said Watzdorf, "that it is of no value, for
the Queen is living."
"Then why do you want it back?" asked Cosel. "You must be ashamed that
the King has deceived me."
"I cannot hear any reproaches against the King," said Watzdorf.
"Then return from whence you came," said Cosel, leaving the room.
The Count stopped her.
"Think of what you are doing; you are forcing the King to be severe
with you. He can use force! You cannot hide the paper so that it cannot
be taken from you."
"Let him try, then," said the Countess.
"It would be a very sad extremity," rejoined Watzdorf, "and we would
like to avoid it. If you oblige us to use force, you cannot expect
anything else."
Cosel did not let him finish, but said to him,--
"You wish me, then, to sell my honour? I assure you that there is not
money enough in the King's treasury to pay for the honour of such a
woman as I am. I shall not return that document for anything! I wish to
let the world know how I have been deceived."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"No!" she exclaimed suddenly, "you lie; it cannot be the King's will;
you blacken the King, wishing to defend him. I have not yet doubted his
noble heart, although I believe he is occasionally thoughtless. The
King cannot ask for it."
The messenger silently took from his pocket the King's letter and
handed it to the Countess.
She glanced at it contemptuously.
"If that which he signed for me has no value now," she said, "what
weight can I give this letter? Tomorrow the King may ask you to return
that to him."
Watzdorf, in confusion, replaced the letter in his pocket and said,--
"Countess, I pity you--you may believe me or not, but I am sincere. For
God's sake, think of what you expose yourself to! remember the lot of
many people. It is dangerous to oppose the King."
"I know him better than you," she answered.
"I beseech you!"
"Spare yourself the time and trouble," said Cosel quietly. "It is in
vain; you can do less with me by threatening than by persuasion."
She threw a contemptuous glance at him and left the room.