The Queen's Necklace by Alexandre Dumas pΓ¨re (best e books to read .TXT) π
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CROSNE.
Madame de la Motte was imprisoned as the queen had threatened, and the whole affair created no little talk and excitement through France. M. de Rohan lived at the Bastile like a prince: he had everything but liberty. He demanded to be confronted with Madame de la Motte as soon as he heard of her arrest. This was done. She whispered to him, "Send every one away, and I will explain." He asked this, but was refused; they said his counsel might communicate with her. She said to this gentleman that she was ignorant of what had become of the necklace, but that they might well have given it to her in recompense for the services she had rendered the queen and the cardinal, which were well worth a million and a half. The cardinal turned pale on hearing this repeated, and felt how much they were in Jeanne's power. He was determined not to accuse the queen, although his friends endeavored to convince him that it was his only way to prove his innocence of the robbery. Jeanne said that she did not wish to accuse either the queen or the cardinal, but that, if they persisted in making her responsible for the necklace, she would do so to show that they were interested in accusing her of falsehood. Then M. de Rohan expressed all his contempt for her, and said that he began to understand much of Jeanne's conduct, but not the queen's. All this was reported to Marie Antoinette. She ordered another private examination of the parties, but gained nothing from it. Jeanne denied everything to those sent by the queen; but when they were gone she altered her tone, and said, "If they do not leave me alone I will tell all." The cardinal said nothing, and brought no accusations; but rumors began to spread fast, and the question soon became, not "Has the queen stolen the necklace?" but "Has she allowed some one else to steal it because she knew all about her amours?" Madame de la Motte had involved her in a maze, from which there seemed no honorable exit; but she determined not to lose courage. She began to come to the conclusion that the cardinal was an honest man, and did not wish to ruin her, but was acting like herself, only to preserve his honor. They strove earnestly but ineffectually to trace the necklace. All opinions were against Jeanne, and she began to fear that, even if she dragged down the queen and cardinal, she should be quite overwhelmed under the ruins she had caused; and she had not even at hand the fruits of her dishonesty to corrupt her judges with. Affairs were in this state when a new episode changed the face of things. Oliva and M. Beausire were living, happy and rich, in a country house, when one day Beausire, going out hunting, fell into the company of two of the agents of M. de Crosne, whom he had scattered all over the country. They recognized Beausire immediately, but, as it was Oliva whom they most wanted, they did not arrest him there, but only joined the chase. Beausire, seeing two strangers, called the huntsman, and asked who they were. He replied that he did not know, but, if he had permission, would send them away. On his questioning them, they said they were friends of that gentleman, pointing to M. Beausire. Then the man brought them to him, saying, "M. de Linville, these gentlemen say they are friends of yours."
"Ah, you are called De Linville now, dear M. Beausire!"
Beausire trembled; he had concealed his name so carefully. He sent away the huntsman, and asked them who they were.
"Take us home with you, and we will tell you."
"Home?"
"Yes; do not be inhospitable." Beausire was frightened, but still feared to refuse these men who knew him.
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
THE TURTLES ARE CAGED.
Beausire, on entering the house, made a noise to attract Oliva's attention, for, though he knew nothing about her later escapades, he knew enough about the ball at the Opera, and the morning at M. Mesmer's, to make him fear letting her be seen by strangers. Accordingly, Oliva, hearing the dogs bark, looked out, and, seeing Beausire returning with two strangers, did not come to meet him as usual. Unfortunately the servant asked if he should call madame. The men rallied him about the lady whom he had concealed; he let them laugh, but did not offer to call her. They dined; then Beausire asked where they had met him before. "We are," replied they, "friends of one of your associates in a little affair about the Portuguese embassy."
Beausire turned pale.
"Ah!" said he: "and you came on your friend's part?"
"Yes, dear M. Beausire, to ask for 10,000 francs."
"Gentlemen," replied Beausire, "you cannot think I have such a sum in the house."
"Very likely not, monsieur; we do not ask for impossibilities. How much have you?"
"Not more than fifty or sixty louis."
"We will take them to begin with."
"I will go and fetch them," said Beausire. But they did not choose to let him leave the room without them, so they caught hold of him by the coat, saying:
"Oh no, dear M. Beausire, do not leave us."
"But how am I to get the money if I do not leave you?"
"We will go with you."
"But it is in my wife's bedroom."
"Ah," cried one of them, "you hide your wife from us!"
"Are we not presentable?" asked the other. "We wish to see her."
"You are tipsy, and I will turn you out!" said Beausire.
They laughed.
"Now you shall not even have the money I promised," said he, emboldened by what he thought their intoxication; and he ran out of the room.
They followed and caught him; he cried out, and at the sound a door opened, and a woman looked out with a frightened air. On seeing her, the men released Beausire, and gave a cry of exultation, for they recognized her immediately who resembled the Queen of France so strongly.
Beausire, who believed them for a moment disarmed by the sight of a woman, was soon cruelly undeceived.
One of the men approached Oliva, and said:
"I arrest you."
"Arrest her! Why?" cried Beausire.
"Because it is M. de Crosne's orders."
A thunderbolt falling between the lovers would have frightened them less than this declaration.
At last Beausire said, "You came to arrest me?"
"No; it was a chance."
"Never mind, you might have arrested me, and for sixty louis you were about to leave me at liberty."
"Oh no, we should have asked another sixty; however, for one hundred we will do so."
"And madame?"
"Oh, that is quite a different affair."
"She is worth two hundred louis," said Beausire.
They laughed again, and this time Beausire began to understand this terrible laugh.
"Three hundred, four hundred, a thousand--see, I will give you one thousand louis to leave her at liberty!"
They did not answer.
"Is not that enough? Ah, you know I have money, and you want to make me pay. Well, I will give you two thousand louis; it will make both your fortunes!"
"For 100,000 crowns we would not give up this woman. M. de Rohan will give us 500,000 francs for her, and the queen 1,000,000. Now we must go. You doubtless have a carriage of some kind here; have it prepared for madame. We will take you also, for form's sake; but on the way you can escape, and we will shut our eyes."
Beausire replied, "Where she goes, I will go; I will never leave her."
"Oh, so much the better; the more prisoners we bring M. de Crosne, the better he will be pleased."
A quarter of an hour after, Beausire's carriage started, with the two lovers in it. One may imagine the effect of this capture on M. de Crosne. The agents probably did not receive the 1,000,000 francs they hoped for, but there is reason to believe they were satisfied. M. de Crosne went to Versailles, followed by another carriage well guarded. He asked to see the queen, and was instantly admitted. She judged from his face that he had good news for her, and felt the first sensation of joy she had experienced for a month.
"Madame," said M. de Crosne, "have you a room here where you can see without being seen?"
"Oh yes--my library."
"Well, madame, I have a carriage below, in which is some one whom I wish to introduce into the castle unseen by any one."
"Nothing more easy," replied the queen, ringing to give her orders.
All was executed as he wished. Then she conducted M. de Crosne to the library, where, concealed from view behind a large screen, she soon saw enter a form which made her utter a cry of surprise. It was Oliva, dressed in one of her own favorite costumes--a green dress with broad stripes of black moiree, green satin slippers with high heels, and her hair dressed like her own. It might have been herself reflected in the glass.
"What says your majesty to this resemblance?" asked M. de Crosne, triumphantly.
"Incredible," said the queen. She then thought to herself, "Ah! Charny; why are you not here?"
"What does your majesty wish?"
"Nothing, sir, but that the king should know."
"And M. de Provence see her? shall he not, madame?"
"Thanks, M. de Crosne, you hold now, I think, the clue to the whole plot."
"Nearly so, madame."
"And M. de Rohan?"
"Knows nothing yet."
"Ah!" cried the queen; "in this woman, doubtless, lies all his error."
"Possibly, madame; but if it be his error it is the crime of some one else."
"Seek well, sir; the honor of France is in your hands."
"Believe me worthy of the trust. At present, the accused parties deny everything. I shall wait for the proper time to overwhelm them with this living witness that I now hold."
"Madame de la Motte?"
"Knows nothing of this capture. She accuses M. de Cagliostro of having excited the cardinal to say what he did."
"And what does M. de Cagliostro say?"
"He has promised to come to me this morning. He is a dangerous man, but a useful one, and attacked by Madame de la Motte, I am in hopes he will sting back again."
"You hope for revelations?"
"I do."
"How so, sir? Tell me everything which can reassure me."
"These are my reasons, madame. Madame de la Motte lived in the Rue St. Claude, and M. de Cagliostro just opposite her. So I think her movements cannot have been unnoticed by him; but if your majesty will excuse me, it is close to the time he appointed to meet me."
"Go, monsieur, go; and assure yourself of my gratitude."
When he was gone the queen burst into tears. "My justification begins," said she; "I shall soon read my triumph in all faces; but the one I most cared to know me innocent, him I shall not see."
M. de Crosne drove back to Paris, where M. de Cagliostro waited for him. He knew all; for he had discovered Beausire's retreat, and was on the road to see him, and induce him to leave France, when he met the carriage containing Beausire and Oliva. Beausire saw the count, and the idea crossed his mind that
Madame de la Motte was imprisoned as the queen had threatened, and the whole affair created no little talk and excitement through France. M. de Rohan lived at the Bastile like a prince: he had everything but liberty. He demanded to be confronted with Madame de la Motte as soon as he heard of her arrest. This was done. She whispered to him, "Send every one away, and I will explain." He asked this, but was refused; they said his counsel might communicate with her. She said to this gentleman that she was ignorant of what had become of the necklace, but that they might well have given it to her in recompense for the services she had rendered the queen and the cardinal, which were well worth a million and a half. The cardinal turned pale on hearing this repeated, and felt how much they were in Jeanne's power. He was determined not to accuse the queen, although his friends endeavored to convince him that it was his only way to prove his innocence of the robbery. Jeanne said that she did not wish to accuse either the queen or the cardinal, but that, if they persisted in making her responsible for the necklace, she would do so to show that they were interested in accusing her of falsehood. Then M. de Rohan expressed all his contempt for her, and said that he began to understand much of Jeanne's conduct, but not the queen's. All this was reported to Marie Antoinette. She ordered another private examination of the parties, but gained nothing from it. Jeanne denied everything to those sent by the queen; but when they were gone she altered her tone, and said, "If they do not leave me alone I will tell all." The cardinal said nothing, and brought no accusations; but rumors began to spread fast, and the question soon became, not "Has the queen stolen the necklace?" but "Has she allowed some one else to steal it because she knew all about her amours?" Madame de la Motte had involved her in a maze, from which there seemed no honorable exit; but she determined not to lose courage. She began to come to the conclusion that the cardinal was an honest man, and did not wish to ruin her, but was acting like herself, only to preserve his honor. They strove earnestly but ineffectually to trace the necklace. All opinions were against Jeanne, and she began to fear that, even if she dragged down the queen and cardinal, she should be quite overwhelmed under the ruins she had caused; and she had not even at hand the fruits of her dishonesty to corrupt her judges with. Affairs were in this state when a new episode changed the face of things. Oliva and M. Beausire were living, happy and rich, in a country house, when one day Beausire, going out hunting, fell into the company of two of the agents of M. de Crosne, whom he had scattered all over the country. They recognized Beausire immediately, but, as it was Oliva whom they most wanted, they did not arrest him there, but only joined the chase. Beausire, seeing two strangers, called the huntsman, and asked who they were. He replied that he did not know, but, if he had permission, would send them away. On his questioning them, they said they were friends of that gentleman, pointing to M. Beausire. Then the man brought them to him, saying, "M. de Linville, these gentlemen say they are friends of yours."
"Ah, you are called De Linville now, dear M. Beausire!"
Beausire trembled; he had concealed his name so carefully. He sent away the huntsman, and asked them who they were.
"Take us home with you, and we will tell you."
"Home?"
"Yes; do not be inhospitable." Beausire was frightened, but still feared to refuse these men who knew him.
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
THE TURTLES ARE CAGED.
Beausire, on entering the house, made a noise to attract Oliva's attention, for, though he knew nothing about her later escapades, he knew enough about the ball at the Opera, and the morning at M. Mesmer's, to make him fear letting her be seen by strangers. Accordingly, Oliva, hearing the dogs bark, looked out, and, seeing Beausire returning with two strangers, did not come to meet him as usual. Unfortunately the servant asked if he should call madame. The men rallied him about the lady whom he had concealed; he let them laugh, but did not offer to call her. They dined; then Beausire asked where they had met him before. "We are," replied they, "friends of one of your associates in a little affair about the Portuguese embassy."
Beausire turned pale.
"Ah!" said he: "and you came on your friend's part?"
"Yes, dear M. Beausire, to ask for 10,000 francs."
"Gentlemen," replied Beausire, "you cannot think I have such a sum in the house."
"Very likely not, monsieur; we do not ask for impossibilities. How much have you?"
"Not more than fifty or sixty louis."
"We will take them to begin with."
"I will go and fetch them," said Beausire. But they did not choose to let him leave the room without them, so they caught hold of him by the coat, saying:
"Oh no, dear M. Beausire, do not leave us."
"But how am I to get the money if I do not leave you?"
"We will go with you."
"But it is in my wife's bedroom."
"Ah," cried one of them, "you hide your wife from us!"
"Are we not presentable?" asked the other. "We wish to see her."
"You are tipsy, and I will turn you out!" said Beausire.
They laughed.
"Now you shall not even have the money I promised," said he, emboldened by what he thought their intoxication; and he ran out of the room.
They followed and caught him; he cried out, and at the sound a door opened, and a woman looked out with a frightened air. On seeing her, the men released Beausire, and gave a cry of exultation, for they recognized her immediately who resembled the Queen of France so strongly.
Beausire, who believed them for a moment disarmed by the sight of a woman, was soon cruelly undeceived.
One of the men approached Oliva, and said:
"I arrest you."
"Arrest her! Why?" cried Beausire.
"Because it is M. de Crosne's orders."
A thunderbolt falling between the lovers would have frightened them less than this declaration.
At last Beausire said, "You came to arrest me?"
"No; it was a chance."
"Never mind, you might have arrested me, and for sixty louis you were about to leave me at liberty."
"Oh no, we should have asked another sixty; however, for one hundred we will do so."
"And madame?"
"Oh, that is quite a different affair."
"She is worth two hundred louis," said Beausire.
They laughed again, and this time Beausire began to understand this terrible laugh.
"Three hundred, four hundred, a thousand--see, I will give you one thousand louis to leave her at liberty!"
They did not answer.
"Is not that enough? Ah, you know I have money, and you want to make me pay. Well, I will give you two thousand louis; it will make both your fortunes!"
"For 100,000 crowns we would not give up this woman. M. de Rohan will give us 500,000 francs for her, and the queen 1,000,000. Now we must go. You doubtless have a carriage of some kind here; have it prepared for madame. We will take you also, for form's sake; but on the way you can escape, and we will shut our eyes."
Beausire replied, "Where she goes, I will go; I will never leave her."
"Oh, so much the better; the more prisoners we bring M. de Crosne, the better he will be pleased."
A quarter of an hour after, Beausire's carriage started, with the two lovers in it. One may imagine the effect of this capture on M. de Crosne. The agents probably did not receive the 1,000,000 francs they hoped for, but there is reason to believe they were satisfied. M. de Crosne went to Versailles, followed by another carriage well guarded. He asked to see the queen, and was instantly admitted. She judged from his face that he had good news for her, and felt the first sensation of joy she had experienced for a month.
"Madame," said M. de Crosne, "have you a room here where you can see without being seen?"
"Oh yes--my library."
"Well, madame, I have a carriage below, in which is some one whom I wish to introduce into the castle unseen by any one."
"Nothing more easy," replied the queen, ringing to give her orders.
All was executed as he wished. Then she conducted M. de Crosne to the library, where, concealed from view behind a large screen, she soon saw enter a form which made her utter a cry of surprise. It was Oliva, dressed in one of her own favorite costumes--a green dress with broad stripes of black moiree, green satin slippers with high heels, and her hair dressed like her own. It might have been herself reflected in the glass.
"What says your majesty to this resemblance?" asked M. de Crosne, triumphantly.
"Incredible," said the queen. She then thought to herself, "Ah! Charny; why are you not here?"
"What does your majesty wish?"
"Nothing, sir, but that the king should know."
"And M. de Provence see her? shall he not, madame?"
"Thanks, M. de Crosne, you hold now, I think, the clue to the whole plot."
"Nearly so, madame."
"And M. de Rohan?"
"Knows nothing yet."
"Ah!" cried the queen; "in this woman, doubtless, lies all his error."
"Possibly, madame; but if it be his error it is the crime of some one else."
"Seek well, sir; the honor of France is in your hands."
"Believe me worthy of the trust. At present, the accused parties deny everything. I shall wait for the proper time to overwhelm them with this living witness that I now hold."
"Madame de la Motte?"
"Knows nothing of this capture. She accuses M. de Cagliostro of having excited the cardinal to say what he did."
"And what does M. de Cagliostro say?"
"He has promised to come to me this morning. He is a dangerous man, but a useful one, and attacked by Madame de la Motte, I am in hopes he will sting back again."
"You hope for revelations?"
"I do."
"How so, sir? Tell me everything which can reassure me."
"These are my reasons, madame. Madame de la Motte lived in the Rue St. Claude, and M. de Cagliostro just opposite her. So I think her movements cannot have been unnoticed by him; but if your majesty will excuse me, it is close to the time he appointed to meet me."
"Go, monsieur, go; and assure yourself of my gratitude."
When he was gone the queen burst into tears. "My justification begins," said she; "I shall soon read my triumph in all faces; but the one I most cared to know me innocent, him I shall not see."
M. de Crosne drove back to Paris, where M. de Cagliostro waited for him. He knew all; for he had discovered Beausire's retreat, and was on the road to see him, and induce him to leave France, when he met the carriage containing Beausire and Oliva. Beausire saw the count, and the idea crossed his mind that
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