The Three Musketeers (Translated by Richard Pevear) - Alexandre Dumas [270]
Then Milady gathered all her energy, murmuring at the back of her mind the name of Felton, the sole glimmer of light that penetrated to her in the depths of the hell she had fallen into; and like a serpent coiling and uncoiling its body in order to find out its own strength for itself, she enveloped Felton beforehand in the thousand folds of her inventive imagination.
Yet time went by, the hours seemed to awaken the clock one by one as they passed, and each stroke of the bronze clap-per echoed in the prisoner’s heart. At nine o’clock, Lord de Winter made his customary visit, checked the window and the bars, tapped the floor and the walls, examined the fireplace and the doors, without a word being spoken between him and Milady during this long and painstaking visit.
Doubtless they both understood that the situation had become too serious for wasting time in useless words and pointless anger.
“Well, well,” the baron said on leaving her, “you won’t be escaping tonight!”
At ten o’clock, Felton came to place a sentry at the door. Milady recognized his footstep. She could sense it now, the way a mistress senses that of her heart’s chosen lover, and yet Milady both detested and despised this feeble fanatic.
This was not the appointed hour; Felton did not come in.
Two hours later, just as it struck midnight, the sentry was relieved.
This time the hour had come. And so, starting from this moment, Milady waited impatiently.
The new sentry began pacing in the corridor.
After ten minutes, Felton came.
Milady pricked up her ears.
“Listen,” the young man said to the sentry, “under no pretext are you to leave this door, for you know that last night Milord punished a soldier for having left his post for a moment, and yet it was I who replaced him during his brief absence.”
“Yes, I know,” said the soldier.
“I enjoin you, then, to the closest surveillance. I myself,” he added, “am going to go and inspect this woman’s room a second time, for I’m afraid she has sinister designs on herself, and I’ve been ordered to keep watch on her.”
“Good,” murmured Milady, “the austere Puritan is telling a lie!”
As for the soldier, he contented himself with smiling.
“Damn, lieutenant,” he said, “you’re not so bad off to be given commissions like that, especially if Milord authorizes you to look till she’s in bed.”
Felton blushed. In any other circumstances, he would have reprimanded a soldier who allowed himself such a joke; but his conscience murmured too loudly for his mouth to dare open.
“If I call,” he said, “come. And if someone comes, call me.”
“Yes, sir,” said the soldier.
Felton went into Milady’s room. Milady stood up.
“You’re here?” she said.
“I promised you I would come,” said Felton, “and I have come.”
“You promised me something else as well.”
“What’s that? Oh, my God!” said the young man, who, despite his self-control, felt his knees trembling and sweat breaking out on his forehead.
“You promised to bring me a knife, and to leave me after our talk.”
“Don’t speak of that, Madame,” said Felton. “There is no situation, terrible as it might be, that authorizes a creature of God to take his own life. I reflected that I must never make myself guilty of such a sin.”
“Ah, so you reflected?” said the prisoner, sitting down in her armchair with a scornful smile. “And I have also reflected.”
“On what?”
“That I had nothing to say to a man who did not keep his word.”
“Oh, my God!” murmured Felton.
“You may leave,” said Milady, “I will not speak.”
“Here is the knife!” said Felton, taking from his pocket the weapon, which he had brought as promised, but which he had hesitated to give to his prisoner.
“Let’s see it,” said Milady.
“What for?”
“On my honor, I’ll give it back to you at once. You will put it on this table and stand between it and me.”
Felton held the weapon out to Milady, who tested its temper attentively and tried the point on the tip of her finger.
“Good,” she said, handing the knife back to the young officer, “it’s a fine one and of good steel. You are a faithful friend, Felton.”
Felton took