"The sighs you spoke of just now are more than indications."
"You overwhelm me," said the young woman suddenly, as if collecting her whole strength, like a wrestler preparing for a last struggle; "you take only my evil dispositions and my weaknesses into calculation, and do not speak of my pure and generous feelings. If, at this moment, I feel instinctively attracted towards the superintendent, if I even make an advance to him, which, I confess, is very probable, my motive for it is, that M. Fouquet"s fate deeply affects me, and because he is, in my opinion, one of the most unfortunate men living."
"Ah!" said the marquise, placing her hand upon her heart, "something new, then, has occurred?"
"Do you not know it?"
"I am utterly ignorant of everything about him," said Madame de Belliere, with the poignant anguish that suspends thought and speech, and even life itself.
"In the first place, then, the king"s favor is entirely withdrawn from M. Fouquet, and conferred on M. Colbert."
"So it is stated."
"It is very clear, since the discovery of the plot of Belle-Isle."
"I was told that the discovery of the fortifications there had turned out to M. Fouquet"s honor."
Marguerite began to laugh in so cruel a manner that Madame de Belliere could at that moment have delightedly plunged a dagger in her bosom. "Dearest," continued Marguerite, "there is no longer any question of M. Fouquet"s honor; his safety is concerned. Before three days are pa.s.sed the ruin of the superintendent will be complete."
"Stay," said the marquise, in her turn smiling, "that is going a little fast."
"I said three days, because I wish to deceive myself with a hope; but probably the catastrophe will be complete within twenty-four hours."
"Why so?"
"For the simplest of all reasons,-that M. Fouquet has no more money."
"In matters of finance, my dear Marguerite, some are without money to-day, who to-morrow can procure millions."
"That might be M. Fouquet"s case when he had two wealthy and clever friends who ama.s.sed money for him, and wrung it from every possible or impossible source; but those friends are dead."
"Money does not die, Marguerite; it may be concealed, but it can be looked for, bought and found."
"You see things on the bright side, and so much the better for you. It is really very unfortunate that you are not the Egeria of M. Fouquet; you might now show him the source whence he could obtain the millions which the king asked him for yesterday."
"Millions!" said the marquise, in terror.
"Four-an even number."
"Infamous!" murmured Madame de Belliere, tortured by her friend"s merciless delight.
"M. Fouquet, I should think, must certainly have four millions," she replied, courageously.
"If he has those which the king requires to-day," said Marguerite, "he will not, perhaps, possess those which the king will demand in a month or so."
"The king will exact money from him again, then?"
"No doubt; and that is my reason for saying that the ruin of poor M. Fouquet is inevitable. Pride will induce him to furnish the money, and when he has no more, he will fall."
"It is true," said the marquise, trembling; "the plan is a bold one; but tell me, does M. Colbert hate M. Fouquet so very much?"
"I think he does not like him. M. Colbert is powerful; he improves on close acquaintance; he has gigantic ideas, a strong will, and discretion; he will rise."
"He will be superintendent?"
"It is probable. Such is the reason, my dear marquise, why I felt myself impressed in favor of that poor man, who once loved, and even adored me; and why, when I see him so unfortunate, I forgive his infidelity, which I have reason to believe he also regrets; and why, moreover, I should not have been disinclined to afford him some consolation, or some good advice; he would have understood the step I had taken, and would have thought kindly of me for it. It is gratifying to be loved, you know. Men value love more highly when they are no longer blinded by its influence."
The marquise, bewildered and overcome by these cruel attacks, which had been calculated with the greatest nicety and precision, hardly knew what to answer in return; she even seemed to have lost all power of thought. Her perfidious friend"s voice had a.s.sumed the most affectionate tone; she spoke as a woman, but concealed the instincts of a wolf.
"Well," said Madame de Belliere, who had a vague hope that Marguerite would cease to overwhelm a vanquished enemy, "why do you not go and see M. Fouquet?"
"Decidedly, marquise, you have made me reflect. No, it would be unbecoming for me to make the first advance. M. Fouquet no doubt loves me, but he is too proud. I cannot expose myself to an affront.... besides, I have my husband to consider. You tell me nothing? Very well, I shall consult M. Colbert on the subject." Marguerite rose smilingly, as though to take leave, but the marquise had not the strength to imitate her. Marguerite advanced a few paces, in order that she might continue to enjoy the humiliating grief in which her rival was plunged, and then said, suddenly,-"You do not accompany me to the door, then?" The marquise rose, pale and almost lifeless, without thinking of the envelope, which had occupied her attention so greatly at the commencement of the conversation, and which was revealed at the first step she took. She then opened the door of her oratory, and without even turning her head towards Marguerite Vanel, entered it, closing the door after her. Marguerite said, or rather muttered a few words, which Madame de Belliere did not even hear. As soon, however, as the marquise had disappeared, her envious enemy, not being able to resist the desire to satisfy herself that her suspicions were well founded, advanced stealthily like a panther, and seized the envelope. "Ah!" she said, gnashing her teeth, "it was indeed a letter from M. Fouquet she was reading when I arrived," and then darted out of the room. During this interval, the marquise, having arrived behind the rampart, as it were, of her door, felt that her strength was failing her; for a moment she remained rigid, pale and motionless as a statue, and then, like a statue shaken on its base by an earthquake, tottered and fell inanimate on the carpet. The noise of the fall resounded at the same moment as the rolling of Marguerite"s carriage leaving the hotel.
Chapter XXVII. Madame de Belliere"s Plate.
The blow had been the more painful on account of its being unexpected. It was some time before the marquise recovered herself; but once recovered, she began to reflect upon the events so heartlessly announced to her. She therefore returned, at the risk even of losing her life in the way, to that train of ideas which her relentless friend had forced her to pursue. Treason, then-deep menaces, concealed under the semblance of public interest-such were Colbert"s maneuvers. A detestable delight at an approaching downfall, untiring efforts to attain this object, means of seduction no less wicked than the crime itself-such were the weapons Marguerite employed. The crooked atoms of Descartes triumphed; to the man without compa.s.sion was united a woman without heart. The marquise perceived, with sorrow rather than indignation, that the king was an accomplice in the plot which betrayed the duplicity of Louis XIII. in his advanced age, and the avarice of Mazarin at a period of life when he had not had the opportunity of gorging himself with French gold. The spirit of this courageous woman soon resumed its energy, no longer overwhelmed by indulgence in compa.s.sionate lamentations. The marquise was not one to weep when action was necessary, nor to waste time in bewailing a misfortune as long as means still existed of relieving it. For some minutes she buried her face in her cold fingers, and then, raising her head, rang for her attendants with a steady hand, and with a gesture betraying a fixed determination of purpose. Her resolution was taken.
"Is everything prepared for my departure?" she inquired of one of her female attendants who entered.
"Yes, madame; but it was not expected that your ladyship would leave for Belliere for the next few days."
"All my jewels and articles of value, then, are packed up?"
"Yes, madame; but hitherto we have been in the habit of leaving them in Paris. Your ladyship does not generally take your jewels with you into the country."
"But they are all in order, you say?"
"Yes, in your ladyship"s own room."
"The gold plate?"
"In the chest."
"And the silver plate?"
"In the great oak closet."
The marquise remained silent for a few moments, and then said calmly, "Let my goldsmith be sent for."
Her attendants quitted the room to execute the order. The marquise, however, had entered her own room, and was inspecting her casket of jewels with the greatest attention. Never, until now, had she bestowed such close attention upon riches in which women take so much pride; never, until now, had she looked at her jewels, except for the purpose of making a selection according to their settings or their colors. On this occasion, however, she admired the size of the rubies and the brilliancy of the diamonds; she grieved over every blemish and every defect; she thought the gold light, and the stones wretched. The goldsmith, as he entered, found her thus occupied. "M. Faucheux," she said, "I believe you supplied me with my gold service?"
"I did, your ladyship."
"I do not now remember the amount of the account."
"Of the new service, madame, or of that which M. de Belliere presented to you on your marriage? for I have furnished both."
"First of all, the new one."
"The covers, the goblets, and the dishes, with their covers, the eau-epergne, the ice-pails, the dishes for the preserves, and the tea and coffee urns, cost your ladyship sixty thousand francs."
"No more?"
"Your ladyship thought the account very high."
"Yes, yes; I remember, in fact, that it was dear; but it was the workmanship, I suppose?"
"Yes, madame; the designs, the chasings-all new patterns."
"What proportion of the cost does the workmanship form? Do not hesitate to tell me."
"A third of its value, madame."
"There is the other service, the old one, that which belonged to my husband?"
"Yes, madame; there is less workmanship in that than in the other. Its intrinsic value does not exceed thirty thousand francs."
"Thirty thousand," murmured the marquise. "But, M. Faucheux, there is also the service which belonged to my mother; all that ma.s.sive plate which I did not wish to part with, on account of the a.s.sociations connected with it."
"Ah! madame, that would indeed be an excellent resource for those who, unlike your ladyship, might not be in position to keep their plate. In chasing that they worked in solid metal. But that service is no longer in fashion. Its weight is its only advantage."
"That is all I care about. How much does it weigh?"
"Fifty thousand livres at the very least. I do not allude to the enormous vases for the buffet, which alone weigh five thousand livres, or ten thousand the pair."
"One hundred and thirty," murmured the marquise. "You are quite sure of your figures, M. Faucheux?"
"The amount is entered in my books. Your ladyship is extremely methodical, I am aware."
"Let us now turn to another subject," said Madame de Belliere; and she opened one of her jewel-boxes.
"I recognize these emeralds," said M. Faucheux; "for it was I who had the setting of them. They are the most beautiful in the whole court. No, I am mistaken; Madame de Chatillon has the most beautiful set; she had them from Messieurs de Guise; but your set, madame, comes next."
"What are they worth?"
"Mounted?"
"No; supposing I wished to sell them."
"I know very well who would buy them," exclaimed M. Faucheux.
"That is the very thing I ask. They could be sold, then?"
"All your jewels could be sold, madame. It is well known that you possess the most beautiful jewels in Paris. You are not changeable in your tastes; when you make a purchase it is of the very best; and what you purchase you do not part with."
"What could these emeralds be sold for, then?"
"A hundred and thirty thousand francs."
The marquise wrote down upon her tablets the amount which the jeweler mentioned. "The ruby necklace?" she said.
"Are they balas-rubies, madame?"
"Here they are."
"They are beautiful-magnificent. I did not know your ladyship had these stones."
"What is their value?"
"Two hundred thousand francs. The center one is alone worth a hundred thousand."
"I thought so," said the marquise. "As for diamonds, I have them in numbers; rings, necklaces, sprigs, ear-rings, clasps. Tell me their value, M. Faucheux."
The jeweler took his magnifying-gla.s.s and scales, weighed and inspected them, and silently made his calculations. "These stones," he said, "must have cost your ladyship an income of forty thousand francs."
"You value them at eight hundred thousand francs?"
"Nearly so."
"It is about what I imagined-but the settings are not included?"
"No, madame; but if I were called upon to sell or to buy, I should be satisfied with the gold of the settings alone as my profit upon the transaction. I should make a good twenty-five thousand francs."
"An agreeable sum."
"Very much so, madame."
"Will you then accept that profit, then, on condition of converting the jewels into money?"
"But you do not intend to sell you diamonds, I suppose, madame?" exclaimed the bewildered jeweler.
"Silence, M. Faucheux, do not disturb yourself about that; give me an answer simply. You are an honorable man, with whom my family has dealt for thirty years; you knew my father and mother, whom your own father and mother served. I address you as a friend; will you accept the gold of the settings in return for a sum of ready money to be placed in my hands?"
"Eight hundred thousand francs! it is enormous."
"I know it."
"Impossible to find."