The Three Musketeers (The Modern Library) - Alexandre Dumas [95]
Madame Bonacieux admitted that she knew him—not personally of course, but she had often heard people cite him to the Queen as a brave and loyal gentleman. When D’Artagnan suggested that Tréville might betray her to the Cardinal, she dismissed it as impossible. D’Artagnan then proposed that she reveal her secret to Tréville:
“Ask Tréville,” he insisted, “whether I can be trusted with so urgent, precious and terrible a secret?”
“But my secret does not belong to me. I am not at liberty to divulge it.”
“You were about to divulge it to Monsieur Bonacieux,” the Gascon objected.
“Ay, Monsieur, just as a woman leaves a letter in the hollow of a tree or pins a note on a pigeon’s wing or fastens a message under the collar of a dog.”
“Yet you must know I love you.”
“So you say.”
“I am an honorable man.”
“I believe it.”
“I have pluck . . . I have initiative . . . I can shift for myself and for others, too. . . .”
“Oh, I am sure of that!”
“Then use me . . . let me help you . . . put me to the test . . . !”
As Madame Bonacieux looked at him, her last doubt vanished. There was such ardor in his eyes and such conviction in his voice that she could not but trust him. For her, it was a case of risk all, lose all; the Queen’s cause could be ruined as easily by too excessive caution as by excessive confidence. In all sincerity, her private feelings toward her young champion were what compelled her to speak frankly.
“I yield to your protestations and I accept your assurances,” she said. “But, God be my witness, I swear upon His Presence here and now that if you betray me I shall kill myself and you will be held responsible.”
“Madame, for my part, I can only swear by God that, if I die before carrying out your orders, your secret will go with me to the grave.”
Madame Bonacieux told him all that worried her now and all that had worried her when they met near the Louvre the night he had challenged her mysterious escort.
This explanation amounted to a mutual declaration of love.
D’Artagnan was radiant with joy and pride; the woman he loved had confided her deepest, purest secret! Confidence and passion made of him a very Titan.
“I go,” he vowed, “I go at once!”
“How can you go? What of your Captain and your regiment?”
“Upon my soul, you had made me forget such things. Dear Constance, you are right; I must get a furlough immediately.”
“One more obstacle!” Madame Bonacieux sighed.
“Not a serious one!” D’Artagnan assured her after a moment’s reflection, “I shall hurdle it, I promise you.”
“But how?”
“I shall call on Monsieur de Tréville this very evening and request him to obtain leave for me from his brother-in-law, Monsieur des Essarts.”
“But there is something else,” she said hesitantly.
“Namely—”
“Perhaps you have no money?”
“Perhaps is an exaggeration!”
Madame Bonacieux opened a wardrobe; out of it she drew the bag which her husband had been fondling so lovingly half an hour earlier:
“In that case, here! Take this!”
“The Cardinal’s money!” D’Artagnan roared with laughter.
“How do you know?”
“You forget I saw everything.”
“Ah, yes! Well, the Cardinal’s money is a tidy sum.”
“By God! How entertaining to save the Queen with His Eminence’s money!”
“You are a most charming and witty young man; believe me, Her Majesty will not prove ungrateful.”
“I need no reward,” D’Artagnan protested. “I love you and you allow me to tell you so; that in itself is more happiness than ever I dared hope.”
“Hush!”
“What is the matter?”
“Voices . . . in the street. . . .”
“Voices?”
“My husband’s voice . . . I recognize it. . . .”
D’Artagnan rushed to the door, bolted it:
“He shall not come in before I leave. Give me time to get away. Then you can let him in.”
“But what of me? How can I account for Bonacieux’s money if he finds me here?”
“You are right, we must both leave!”
“But he will see us.”
“Then you must come upstairs with me.”
“You say that in a tone which frightens me.” There were tears in her eyes. D’Artagnan, deeply touched, fell to his knees.
“In my rooms,” he assured her, “you will be as safe as in a church,