Books: The Man in the Iron Mask

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Chapter XX:
The Morning.

In vivid contrast to the sad and terrible destiny of the king imprisoned
in the Bastile, and tearing, in sheer despair, the bolts and bars of his
dungeon, the rhetoric of the chroniclers of old would not fail to
present, as a complete antithesis, the picture of Philippe lying asleep
beneath the royal canopy. We do not pretend to say that such rhetoric is
always bad, and always scatters, in places where they have no right to
grow, the flowers with which it embellishes and enlivens history. But we
shall, on the present occasion, carefully avoid polishing the antithesis
in question, but shall proceed to draw another picture as minutely as
possible, to serve as foil and counterfoil to the one in the preceding
chapter. The young prince alighted from Aramis's room, in the same way
the king had descended from the apartment dedicated to Morpheus. The
dome gradually and slowly sank down under Aramis's pressure, and Philippe
stood beside the royal bed, which had ascended again after having
deposited its prisoner in the secret depths of the subterranean passage.
Alone, in the presence of all the luxury which surrounded him; alone, in
the presence of his power; alone, with the part he was about to be forced
to act, Philippe for the first time felt his heart, and mind, and soul
expand beneath the influence of a thousand mutable emotions, which are
the vital throbs of a king's heart. He could not help changing color
when he looked upon the empty bed, still tumbled by his brother's body.
This mute accomplice had returned, after having completed the work it had
been destined to perform; it returned with the traces of the crime; it
spoke to the guilty author of that crime, with the frank and unreserved
language which an accomplice never fears to use in the company of his
companion in guilt; for it spoke the truth. Philippe bent over the bed,
and perceived a pocket-handkerchief lying on it, which was still damp
from the cold sweat which had poured from Louis XIV.'s face. This sweat-
bestained handkerchief terrified Philippe, as the gore of Abel frightened
Cain.

"I am face to face with my destiny," said Philippe, his eyes on fire, and
his face a livid white. "Is it likely to be more terrifying than my
captivity has been sad and gloomy? Though I am compelled to follow out,
at every moment, the sovereign power and authority I have usurped, shall
I cease to listen to the scruples of my heart? Yes! the king has lain on
this bed; it is indeed his head that has left its impression on this
pillow; his bitter tears that have stained this handkerchief: and yet, I
hesitate to throw myself on the bed, or to press in my hand the
handkerchief which is embroidered with my brother's arms. Away with such
weakness; let me imitate M. d'Herblay, who asserts that a man's action
should be always one degree above his thoughts; let me imitate M.
d'Herblay, whose thoughts are of and for himself alone, who regards
himself as a man of honor, so long as he injures or betrays his enemies
only. I, I alone, should have occupied this bed, if Louis XIV. had not,
owing to my mother's criminal abandonment, stood in my way; and this
handkerchief, embroidered with the arms of France, would in right and
justice belong to me alone, if, as M. d'Herblay observes, I had been left
my royal cradle. Philippe, son of France, take your place on that bed;
Philippe, sole king of France, resume the blazonry that is yours!
Philippe, sole heir presumptive to Louis XIII., your father, show
yourself without pity or mercy for the usurper who, at this moment, has
not even to suffer the agony of the remorse of all that you have had to
submit to."

With these words, Philippe, notwithstanding an instinctive repugnance of
feeling, and in spite of the shudder of terror which mastered his will,
threw himself on the royal bed, and forced his muscles to press the still
warm place where Louis XIV. had lain, while he buried his burning face in
the handkerchief still moistened by his brother's tears. With his head
thrown back and buried in the soft down of his pillow, Philippe perceived
above him the crown of France, suspended, as we have stated, by angels
with outspread golden wings.

A man may be ambitious of lying in a lion's den, but can hardly hope to
sleep there quietly. Philippe listened attentively to every sound; his
heart panted and throbbed at the very suspicion of approaching terror and
misfortune; but confident in his own strength, which was confirmed by the
force of an overpoweringly resolute determination, he waited until some
decisive circumstance should permit him to judge for himself. He hoped
that imminent danger might be revealed to him, like those phosphoric
lights of the tempest which show the sailors the altitude of the waves
against which they have to struggle. But nothing approached. Silence,
that mortal enemy of restless hearts, and of ambitious minds, shrouded
in the thickness of its gloom during the remainder of the night the
future king of France, who lay there sheltered beneath his stolen crown.
Towards the morning a shadow, rather than a body, glided into the royal
chamber; Philippe expected his approach and neither expressed nor
exhibited any surprise.

"Well, M. d'Herblay?"

"Well, sire, all is accomplished."

"How?"

"Exactly as we expected."

"Did he resist?"

"Terribly! tears and entreaties."

"And then?"

"A perfect stupor."

"But at last?"

"Oh! at last, a complete victory, and absolute silence."

"Did the governor of the Bastile suspect anything?"

"Nothing."

"The resemblance, however - "

"Was the cause of the success."

"But the prisoner cannot fail to explain himself. Think well of that. I
have myself been able to do as much as that, on former occasion."

"I have already provided for every chance. In a few days, sooner if
necessary, we will take the captive out of his prison, and will send him
out of the country, to a place of exile so remote - "

"People can return from their exile, Monsieur d'Herblay."

"To a place of exile so distant, I was going to say, that human strength
and the duration of human life would not be enough for his return."

Once more a cold look of intelligence passed between Aramis and the young
king.

"And M. du Vallon?" asked Philippe in order to change the conversation.

"He will be presented to you to-day, and confidentially will congratulate
you on the danger which that conspirator has made you run."

"What is to be done with him?"

"With M. du Vallon?"

"Yes; confer a dukedom on him, I suppose."

"A dukedom," replied Aramis, smiling in a significant manner.

"Why do you laugh, Monsieur d'Herblay?"

"I laugh at the extreme caution of your idea."

"Cautious, why so?"

"Your majesty is doubtless afraid that poor Porthos may possible become a
troublesome witness, and you wish to get rid of him."

"What! in making him a duke?"

"Certainly; you would assuredly kill him, for he would die from joy, and
the secret would die with him."

"Good heavens!"

"Yes," said Aramis, phlegmatically; "I should lose a very good friend."

At this moment, and in the middle of this idle conversation, under the
light tone of which the two conspirators concealed their joy and pride at
their mutual success, Aramis heard something which made him prick up his
ears.

"What is that?" said Philippe.

"The dawn, sire."

"Well?"

"Well, before you retired to bed last night, you probably decided to do
something this morning at break of day."

"Yes, I told my captain of the musketeers," replied the young man
hurriedly, "that I should expect him."

"If you told him that, he will certainly be here, for he is a most
punctual man."

"I hear a step in the vestibule."

"It must be he."

"Come, let us begin the attack," said the young king resolutely.

"Be cautious for Heaven's sake. To begin the attack, and with
D'Artagnan, would be madness. D'Artagnan knows nothing, he has seen
nothing; he is a hundred miles from suspecting our mystery in the
slightest degree, but if he comes into this room the first this morning,
he will be sure to detect something of what has taken place, and which he
would imagine it his business to occupy himself about. Before we allow
D'Artagnan to penetrate into this room, we must air the room thoroughly,
or introduce so many people into it, that the keenest scent in the whole
kingdom may be deceived by the traces of twenty different persons."

"But how can I send him away, since I have given him a rendezvous?"
observed the prince, impatient to measure swords with so redoubtable an
antagonist.

"I will take care of that," replied the bishop, "and in order to begin, I
am going to strike a blow which will completely stupefy our man."

"He, too, is striking a blow, for I hear him at the door," added the
prince, hurriedly.

And, in fact, a knock at the door was heard at that moment. Aramis was
not mistaken; for it was indeed D'Artagnan who adopted that mode of
announcing himself.

We have seen how he passed the night in philosophizing with M. Fouquet,
but the musketeer was very weary even of feigning to fall asleep, and as
soon as earliest dawn illumined with its gloomy gleams of light the
sumptuous cornices of the superintendent's room, D'Artagnan rose from his
armchair, arranged his sword, brushed his coat and hat with his sleeve,
like a private soldier getting ready for inspection.

"Are you going out?" said Fouquet.

"Yes, monseigneur. And you?"

"I shall remain."

"You pledge your word?"

"Certainly."

"Very good. Besides, my only reason for going out is to try and get that
reply, - you know what I mean?"

"That sentence, you mean - "

"Stay, I have something of the old Roman in me. This morning, when I got
up, I remarked that my sword had got caught in one of the _aiguillettes_,
and that my shoulder-belt had slipped quite off. That is an infallible
sign."

"Of prosperity?"

"Yes, be sure of it; for every time that that confounded belt of mine
stuck fast to my back, it always signified a punishment from M. de
Treville, or a refusal of money by M. de Mazarin. Every time my sword
hung fast to my shoulder-belt, it always predicted some disagreeable
commission or another for me to execute, and I have had showers of them
all my life through. Every time, too, my sword danced about in its
sheath, a duel, fortunate in its result, was sure to follow: whenever it
dangled about the calves of my legs, it signified a slight wound; every
time it fell completely out of the scabbard, I was booked, and made up my
mind that I should have to remain on the field of battle, with two or
three months under surgical bandages into the bargain."

"I did not know your sword kept you so well informed," said Fouquet, with
a faint smile, which showed how he was struggling against his own
weakness. "Is your sword bewitched, or under the influence of some
imperial charm?"

"Why, you must know that my sword may almost be regarded as part of my
own body. I have heard that certain men seem to have warnings given them
by feeling something the matter with their legs, or a throbbing of their
temples. With me, it is my sword that warns me. Well, it told me of
nothing this morning. But, stay a moment - look here, it has just fallen
of its own accord into the last hole of the belt. Do you know what that
is a warning of?"

"No."

"Well, that tells me of an arrest that will have to be made this very
day."

"Well," said the surintendant, more astonished than annoyed by this
frankness, "if there is nothing disagreeable predicted to you by your
sword, I am to conclude that it is not disagreeable for you to arrest me."

"You! arrest _you!_"

"Of course. The warning - "

"Does not concern you, since you have been arrested ever since
yesterday. It is not you I shall have to arrest, be assured of that.
That is the reason why I am delighted, and also the reason why I said
that my day will be a happy one."

And with these words, pronounced with the most affectionate graciousness
of manner, the captain took leave of Fouquet in order to wait upon the
king. He was on the point of leaving the room, when Fouquet said to him,
"One last mark of kindness."

"What is it, monseigneur?"

"M. d'Herblay; let me see Monsieur d'Herblay."

"I am going to try and get him to come to you."

D'Artagnan did not think himself so good a prophet. It was written that
the day would pass away and realize all the predictions that had been
made in the morning. He had accordingly knocked, as we have seen, at the
king's door. The door opened. The captain thought that it was the king
who had just opened it himself; and this supposition was not altogether
inadmissible, considering the state of agitation in which he had left
Louis XIV. the previous evening; but instead of his royal master, whom he
was on the point of saluting with the greatest respect, he perceived the
long, calm features of Aramis. So extreme was his surprise that he could
hardly refrain from uttering a loud exclamation. "Aramis!" he said.

"Good morning, dear D'Artagnan," replied the prelate, coldly.

"You here!" stammered out the musketeer.

"His majesty desires you to report that he is still sleeping, after
having been greatly fatigued during the whole night."

"Ah!" said D'Artagnan, who could not understand how the bishop of Vannes,
who had been so indifferent a favorite the previous evening, had become
in half a dozen hours the most magnificent mushroom of fortune that had
ever sprung up in a sovereign's bedroom. In fact, to transmit the orders
of the king even to the mere threshold of that monarch's room, to serve
as an intermediary of Louis XIV. so as to be able to give a single order
in his name at a couple paces from him, he must have become more than
Richelieu had ever been to Louis XIII. D'Artagnan's expressive eye, half-
opened lips, his curling mustache, said as much indeed in the plainest
language to the chief favorite, who remained calm and perfectly unmoved.

"Moreover," continued the bishop, "you will be good enough, monsieur le
capitaine des mousquetaires, to allow those only to pass into the king's
room this morning who have special permission. His majesty does not wish
to be disturbed just yet."

"But," objected D'Artagnan, almost on the point of refusing to obey this
order, and particularly of giving unrestrained passage to the suspicions
which the king's silence had aroused - "but, monsieur l'eveque, his
majesty gave me a rendezvous for this morning."

"Later, later," said the king's voice, from the bottom of the alcove; a
voice which made a cold shudder pass through the musketeer's veins. He
bowed, amazed, confused, and stupefied by the smile with which Aramis
seemed to overwhelm him, as soon as these words had been pronounced.

"And then," continued the bishop, "as an answer to what you were coming
to ask the king, my dear D'Artagnan, here is an order of his majesty,
which you will be good enough to attend to forthwith, for it concerns M.
Fouquet."

D'Artagnan took the order which was held out to him. "To be set at
liberty!" he murmured. "Ah!" and he uttered a second "ah!" still more
full of intelligence than the former; for this order explained Aramis's
presence with the king, and that Aramis, in order to have obtained
Fouquet's pardon, must have made considerable progress in the royal
favor, and that this favor explained, in its tenor, the hardly
conceivable assurance with which M. d'Herblay issued the order in the
king's name. For D'Artagnan it was quite sufficient to have understood
something of the matter in hand to order to understand the rest. He
bowed and withdrew a couple of paces, as though he were about to leave.

"I am going with you," said the bishop.

"Where to?"

"To M. Fouquet; I wish to be a witness of his delight."

"Ah! Aramis, how you puzzled me just now!" said D'Artagnan again.

"But you understand _now_, I suppose?"

"Of course I understand," he said aloud; but added in a low tone to
himself, almost hissing the words between his teeth, "No, no, I do not
understand yet. But it is all the same, for here is the order for it."
And then he added, "I will lead the way, monseigneur," and he conducted
Aramis to Fouquet's apartments.

Chapter XXI:
The King's Friend.

Fouquet was waiting with anxiety; he had already sent away many of his
servants and friends, who, anticipating the usual hour of his ordinary
receptions, had called at his door to inquire after him. Preserving the
utmost silence respecting the danger which hung suspended by a hair above
his head, he only asked them, as he did every one, indeed, who came to
the door, where Aramis was. When he saw D'Artagnan return, and when he
perceived the bishop of Vannes behind him, he could hardly restrain his
delight; it was fully equal to his previous uneasiness. The mere sight
of Aramis was a complete compensation to the surintendant for the
unhappiness he had undergone in his arrest. The prelate was silent and
grave; D'Artagnan completely bewildered by such an accumulation of events.

"Well, captain, so you have brought M. d'Herblay to me."

"And something better still, monseigneur."

"What is that?"

"Liberty."

"I am free!"

"Yes; by the king's order."

Fouquet resumed his usual serenity, that he might interrogate Aramis with
a look.

"Oh! yes, you can thank M. l'eveque de Vannes," pursued D'Artagnan, "for
it is indeed to him that you owe the change that has taken place in the
king."

"Oh!" said Fouquet, more humiliated at the service than grateful at its
success.

"But you," continued D'Artagnan, addressing Aramis - "you, who have
become M. Fouquet's protector and patron, can you not do something for
me?"

"Anything in the wide world you like, my friend," replied the bishop, in
his calmest tones.

"One thing only, then, and I shall be perfectly satisfied. How on earth
did you manage to become the favorite of the king, you who have never
spoken to him more than twice in your life?"

"From a friend such as you are," said Aramis, "I cannot conceal anything."

"Ah! very good, tell me, then."

"Very well. You think that I have seen the king only twice, whilst the
fact is I have seen him more than a hundred times; only we have kept it
very secret, that is all." And without trying to remove the color which
at this revelation made D'Artagnan's face flush scarlet, Aramis turned
towards M. Fouquet, who was as much surprised as the musketeer.
"Monseigneur," he resumed, "the king desires me to inform you that he is
more than ever your friend, and that your beautiful _fete_, so generously
offered by you on his behalf, has touched him to the very heart."

And thereupon he saluted M. Fouquet with so much reverence of manner,
that the latter, incapable of understanding a man whose diplomacy was of
so prodigious a character, remained incapable of uttering a single
syllable, and equally incapable of thought or movement. D'Artagnan
fancied he perceived that these two men had something to say to each
other, and he was about to yield to that feeling of instinctive
politeness which in such a case hurries a man towards the door, when he
feels his presence is an inconvenience for others; but his eager
curiosity, spurred on by so many mysteries, counseled him to remain.

Aramis thereupon turned towards him, and said, in a quiet tone, "You will
not forget, my friend, the king's order respecting those whom he intends
to receive this morning on rising." These words were clear enough, and
the musketeer understood them; he therefore bowed to Fouquet, and then to
Aramis, - to the latter with a slight admixture of ironical respect, -
and disappeared.

No sooner had he left, than Fouquet, whose impatience had hardly been
able to wait for that moment, darted towards the door to close it, and
then returning to the bishop, he said, "My dear D'Herblay, I think it now
high time you should explain all that has passed, for, in plain and
honest truth, I do not understand anything."

"We will explain all that to you," said Aramis, sitting down, and making
Fouquet sit down also. "Where shall I begin?"

"With this first of all. Why does the king set me at liberty?"

"You ought rather to ask me what his reason was for having you arrested."

"Since my arrest, I have had time to think over it, and my idea is that
it arises out of some slight feeling of jealousy. My _fete_ put M.
Colbert out of temper, and M. Colbert discovered some cause of complaint
against me; Belle-Isle, for instance."

"No; there is no question at all just now of Belle-Isle."

"What is it, then?"

"Do you remember those receipts for thirteen millions which M. de Mazarin
contrived to steal from you?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Well, you are pronounced a public robber."

"Good heavens!"

"Oh! that is not all. Do you also remember that letter you wrote to La
Valliere?"

"Alas! yes."

"And that proclaims you a traitor and a suborner."

"Why should he have pardoned me, then?"

"We have not yet arrived at that part of our argument. I wish you to be
quite convinced of the fact itself. Observe this well: the king knows
you to be guilty of an appropriation of public funds. Oh! of course _I_
know that you have done nothing of the kind; but, at all events, the king
has seen the receipts, and he can do no other than believe you are
incriminated."

"I beg your pardon, I do not see - "

"You will see presently, though. The king, moreover, having read your
love-letter to La Valliere, and the offers you there made her, cannot
retain any doubt of your intentions with regard to that young lady; you
will admit that, I suppose?"

"Certainly. Pray conclude."

"In the fewest words. The king, we may henceforth assume, is your
powerful, implacable, and eternal enemy."

"Agreed. But am I, then, so powerful, that he has not dared to sacrifice
me, notwithstanding his hatred, with all the means which my weakness, or
my misfortunes, may have given him as a hold upon me?"

"It is clear, beyond all doubt," pursued Aramis, coldly, "that the king
has quarreled with you - irreconcilably."

"But, since he has absolved me - "

"Do you believe it likely?" asked the bishop, with a searching look.

"Without believing in his sincerity, I believe it in the accomplished
fact."

Aramis slightly shrugged his shoulders.

"But why, then, should Louis XIV. have commissioned you to tell me what
you have just stated?"

"The king charged me with no message for you."

"With nothing!" said the superintendent, stupefied. "But, that order - "

"Oh! yes. You are quite right. There _is_ an order, certainly;" and
these words were pronounced by Aramis in so strange a tone, that Fouquet
could not resist starting.

"You are concealing something from me, I see. What is it?"

Aramis softly rubbed his white fingers over his chin, but said nothing.

"Does the king exile me?"

"Do not act as if you were playing at the game children play at when they
have to try and guess where a thing has been hidden, and are informed, by
a bell being rung, when they are approaching near to it, or going away
from it."

"Speak, then."

"Guess."

"You alarm me."

"Bah! that is because you have not guessed, then."

"What did the king say to you? In the name of our friendship, do not
deceive me."

"The king has not said one word to me."

"You are killing me with impatience, D'Herblay. Am I still
superintendent?"

"As long as you like."

"But what extraordinary empire have you so suddenly acquired over his
majesty's mind?"

"Ah! that's the point."

"He does your bidding?"

"I believe so."

"It is hardly credible."

"So any one would say."

"D'Herblay, by our alliance, by our friendship, by everything you hold
dearest in the world, speak openly, I implore you. By what means have
you succeeded in overcoming Louis XIV.'s prejudices, for he did not like
you, I am certain."

"The king will like me _now_," said Aramis, laying stress upon the last
word.

"You have something particular, then, between you?"

"Yes."

"A secret, perhaps?"

"A secret."

"A secret of such a nature as to change his majesty's interests?"

"You are, indeed, a man of superior intelligence, monseigneur, and have
made a particularly accurate guess. I have, in fact, discovered a
secret, of a nature to change the interests of the king of France."

"Ah!" said Fouquet, with the reserve of a man who does not wish to ask
any more questions.

"And you shall judge of it yourself," pursued Aramis; "and you shall tell
me if I am mistaken with regard to the importance of this secret."

"I am listening, since you are good enough to unbosom yourself to me;
only do not forget that I have asked you about nothing which it may be
indiscreet in you to communicate."

Aramis seemed, for a moment, as if he were collecting himself.

"Do not speak!" said Fouquet: "there is still time enough."

"Do you remember," said the bishop, casting down his eyes, "the birth of
Louis XIV.?"

"As if it were yesterday."

"Have you ever heard anything particular respecting his birth?"

"Nothing; except that the king was not really the son of Louis XIII."

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