The Three Musketeers (The Modern Library) - Alexandre Dumas [63]
“That is quite true. But the woman is probably a friend of Aramis—”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“She must be if she lives in his apartment.”
“That is none of my business.”
“But who is she?”
“Oh, that is not my secret.”
“My dear Madame Bonacieux, you are the most attractive and the most mysterious of women.”
“Is what you call my mystery a handicap?”
“No. On the contrary, you are adorable.”
“Give me your arm, then.”
“Gladly. And now?”
“Now escort me; I have a call to make.”
“Where?”
“Where I am going.”
“But where are you going?”
“You will see because I shall ask you to leave me at the door.”
“Shall I wait for you?”
“That will be unnecessary.”
“Will you come back from there unaccompanied?”
“Maybe yes, maybe no.”
“Will the person accompanying you be a man or a woman?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“I shall find out!”
“How?”
“I shall wait until you come out.”
“In that case, good-bye.”
“Why so?”
“I do not need you.”
“But you asked me to—”
“I asked a gentleman to aid me, not a spy to shadow me.”
“The word ‘spy’ is a harsh one.”
“What do you call a man who trails people against their will?”
“I call him indiscreet.”
“The word ‘indiscreet’ is too mild.”
“Well, Madame, I see I must do as you wish.”
“Why did you forgo the merit of doing so at once?”
“Is there no merit in repentance?”
“Are you really repentant?”
“Frankly I scarce know if I am or not. But this I do know: I promise to do whatever you wish if you will allow me to accompany you where you are going.”
“And you will leave me afterward?”
“Yes.”
“Without waiting for me to come out again?”
“Yes.”
“On your word of honor?”
“By my faith as a gentleman. Take my arm and let us go.”
Half-laughing, half-trembling, she slipped her arm through his and together they strolled up the Rue de La Harpe. Reaching the end of the street, the young woman appeared to hesitate, just as she had done in the Rue de Vaugirard. Yet she seemed by certain signs to recognize a particular door and, going toward it:
“Now, Monsieur,” she said, “this is where I have business to do. A thousand thanks for your honorable company; it has saved me from all the dangers I would have faced had I come alone. But now I have reached my destination, the time has come for you to keep your word.”
“And you will have nothing to fear on your way home?”
“I shall have nothing to fear but robbers.”
“And are robbers nothing?”
“What could they take? I haven’t a sou on me.”
“You forget that beautiful embroidered handkerchief with the crest in the corner?”
“What handkerchief?”
“The one I found at your feet and put back into your pocket.”
“Hush, hold your tongue, man! You must be mad to be so foolhardy! Do you wish to destroy me?”
“You see, you are still in danger since a single word makes you tremble and you admit you would be ruined if anyone heard me saying it. Oh, come, Madame, please,” he cried, seizing her hands and gazing ardently into her eyes, “please be more generous. Confide in me. Can you not see by my eyes that my heart is filled with sympathy and devotion?”
“Truly, I can. Ask me my own secrets and I shall hold nothing back. But you are asking me to divulge the secrets of others—which is a very different matter.”
“No matter, I shall discover them. Since these secrets may have an influence over your life, they must become my secrets too.”
“Beware of doing anything of the sort!” the young woman replied so earnestly that D’Artagnan gave an involuntary start. “Please, please do not meddle in anything that concerns me; please do not seek to aid me in what I am accomplishing. I ask you this in the name of the interest I have inspired in you and in the name of the service you rendered me, which I shall never forget. Rather, believe everything that I have told you. Do not bother about me; I no longer exist for you, it is as though you had never laid eyes on me!”
“Must Aramis do so likewise?” D’Artagnan asked in an access of pique.
“You mentioned that name two or three times and I told you I did not know him, Monsieur.”
“You don’t know