Le collier de la reine. English
Page 66
CHAPTER LXIV.
THE RENDEZVOUS.
When Charny arrived at his estates, the doctor ordered him to keepwithin doors, and not receive visitors; orders which he rigorouslyobeyed, to the great disappointment of all the young ladies in theneighborhood, who were most anxious to see this young man, reputed to beat once so brave and so handsome. His malady, however, was more mentalthan bodily; he was devoured by regrets, by longings, and by ennui; so,after a week, he set off one night on horseback, and, before themorning, was at Versailles. He found a little house there, outside thepark, which had been empty for some time; it had been inhabited by oneof the king's huntsmen, who had cut his throat, and since then the placehad been deserted. There Charny lived in profound solitude; but he couldsee the queen from afar when she walked in the park with her ladies, andwhen she went in again he could see her windows from his own, and watchher lights every evening until they disappeared; and he even fancied hecould see her shadow pass before the window. One evening he had watchedall this as usual, and after sitting two hours longer at his window, waspreparing to go to bed, for midnight was striking from a neighboringclock, when the sound of a key turning in a lock arrested hisattention. It was that of a little door leading into the park, onlytwenty paces from his cottage, and which was never used, exceptsometimes on hunting-days. Whoever it was that entered did not speak,but closed it again quietly, and entered an avenue under his windows. Atfirst Charny could not distinguish them through the thick wood, thoughhe could hear the rustling of dresses; but as they emerged into an openspace, and bright moonlight, he almost uttered a cry of joy inrecognizing the tournure of Marie Antoinette, and a glimpse of her face;she held in her hand a beautiful rose. Stifling his emotion, he steppeddown as quietly as possible into the park, and hid behind a clump oftrees, where he could see her better. "Oh!" thought he, "were she butalone, I would brave tortures, or death itself, that I might once fallon my knees before her, and tell her, 'I love you!'" Oh, were she butmenaced by some danger, how gladly would he have risked his life to savehers. Suddenly the two ladies stopped, and the shortest, after saying afew words to her companion in a low voice, left her. The queen,therefore, remained alone, and Charny felt inclined to run towards her;but he reflected that the moment she saw him she would take fright, andcall out, and that her cries would first bring back her companion, andthen the guards; that his retreat would be discovered, and he should beforced to leave it. In a few minutes the other lady reappeared, but notalone. Behind her came a man muffled up in a large cloak, and whose facewas concealed by a slouch hat.
This man advanced with an uncertain and hesitating step to where thequeen stood, when he took off his hat and made a low bow. The surprisewhich Charny felt at first soon changed into a more painful feeling. Whywas the queen in the park at this time of night? Who was this man whowas waiting for her, and whom she had sent her companion to fetch? Thenhe remembered that the queen often occupied herself with foreignpolitics, much to the annoyance of the king. Was this a secretmessenger from Schoenbrunn, or from Berlin? This idea restored him tosome degree of composure. The queen's companion stood a few steps off,anxiously watching lest they should be seen; but it was as necessary toguard against spies in a secret political rendezvous as in one of love.After a short time Charny saw the gentleman bow to the ground, and turnto leave, when the companion of the queen said to him, "Stop." Hestopped, and the two ladies passed close to Charny, who could evenrecognize the queen's favorite scent, vervain, mixed with mignonette.They passed on, and disappeared. A few moments after the gentlemanpassed; he held in his hand a rose, which he pressed passionately to hislips. Did this look political? Charny's head turned; he felt a strongimpulse to rush on this man and tear the flower from him, when thequeen's companion reappeared, and said, "Come, monseigneur." He joinedher quickly, and they went away. Charny remained in a distracted state,leaning against the tree.