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“Leave me, Mademoiselle,” said Milady, “I dislike personal remarks.”

D’Artagnan heard the door close again, then the sound of two bolts that Milady slid shut in order to lock herself in. On her own side, but as softly as she could, Kitty turned the key in the lock. D’Artagnan then pushed open the door of the wardrobe.

“Oh, my God!” Kitty said softly. “What’s the matter with you? How pale you are!”

“The abominable creature!” murmured d’Artagnan.

“Silence! silence! leave now!” said Kitty. “There’s only one partition between my room and Milady’s; in the one you hear everything that’s said in the other.”

“That’s just why I won’t leave,” said d’Artagnan.

“What?” said Kitty, blushing.

“Or at least I’ll leave…later.”

And he drew Kitty to him. There was no way to resist; resistance makes so much noise! And so Kitty yielded.

This was an impulse of vengeance on Milady. D’Artagnan found it was right to say that vengeance is the pleasure of the gods. And so, with a little heart, he would have been content with this new conquest; but d’Artagnan only had his ambition and his pride.

However, it must be said in praise of him, the first use he made of his influence over Kitty was to try to find out from her what had become of Mme Bonacieux, but the poor girl swore to d’Artagnan on the crucifix that she had no idea, that her mistress never let her into more than half of her secrets; only she believed she could guarantee that she was not dead.

As for what it was that had nearly made Milady lose her credit with the cardinal, Kitty knew no more about that; but this time d’Artagnan was ahead of her: as he had seen Milady on a detained ship the moment he himself was leaving England, he suspected that this time it was a question of the diamond pendants.

But what was clearest of all here was that the real hatred, the deep hatred, the inveterate hatred Milady felt for him came from the fact that he had not killed her brother-in-law.

D’Artagnan returned to Milady’s the next day. She was in a very bad humor. D’Artagnan suspected it was the lack of a response from M. de Wardes that vexed her so. Kitty came in, but Milady received her very harshly. A glance she cast at d’Artagnan was meant to say: you see what I suffer on your account.

However, towards the end of the evening, the beautiful lioness softened; she listened smiling to d’Artagnan’s sweet talk; she even gave him her hand to kiss.

D’Artagnan left no longer knowing what to think. But as he was a lad who could not be made to lose his head easily, while paying court to Milady he had contrived a little plan in his mind.

He found Kitty at the door, and, as the evening before, went up to her room in order to get news. Kitty had been severely scolded; she had been accused of negligence. Milady simply could not understand M. de Wardes’s silence, and had ordered her to come to her room at nine o’clock in the morning to take a third letter.

D’Artagnan made Kitty promise to bring him that letter the next morning. The poor girl promised to do everything her lover wanted: she was mad.

Things went as the evening before: d’Artagnan locked himself in his wardrobe, Milady called, did her nightly preparations, sent Kitty away, and locked her door again. As the evening before, d’Artagnan did not return home until five o’clock in the morning.

At eleven o’clock, he saw Kitty arrive. She was holding a new note from Milady. This time the poor girl did not even try to keep it from d’Artagnan; she let him do as he liked; she belonged body and soul to her handsome soldier.

D’Artagnan opened the note and read the following:

This is the third time I am writing to you to tell you that I love you. Take care that I do not write you a fourth time to tell you that I detest you.

If you repent of the way you have behaved with me, the young girl who hands you this letter will tell you how a gallant man may obtain his pardon.

D’Artagnan flushed and paled several times while reading this note.

“Oh, you love her still!” said Kitty, who had