The Three Musketeers (Translated by Richard Pevear) - Alexandre Dumas [292]
Milady smiled at herself and at the idea that had come to her, that this young woman might be her former chambermaid. Mixed with the memory of that young girl was the memory of wrath, and a desire for vengeance had distorted Milady’s features, which, however, recovered almost at once the calm and benevolent expression that this woman of a hundred faces had momentarily lost.
“And when might I see this young woman, for whom I already feel so great a sympathy?” asked Milady.
“Why, this evening,” said the abbess, “or even this afternoon. But you have been traveling for four days, you told me so yourself. This morning you got up at five o’clock. You must need rest. Lie down and sleep; we will wake you at dinner time.”
Though Milady could very well have done without sleep, sustained as she was by all the excitement that a new adventure aroused in her intrigue-loving heart, she nonetheless accepted the mother superior’s offer: in the past twelve or fifteen days she had lived through so many different emotions that, if her iron body could still sustain fatigue, her soul had need of rest.
She thus took leave of the abbess and went to bed, gently lulled by the ideas of vengeance to which the name of Kitty had quite naturally led her. She recalled the almost unlimited promise that the cardinal had made her, if she succeeded in her undertaking. She had succeeded; she could thus be revenged on d’Artagnan.
Only one thing frightened Milady: the memory of her husband, the comte de La Fère, whom she had thought dead or at least out of the country, and whom she had found again in Athos, d’Artagnan’s best friend.
But, if he was d’Artagnan’s friend, then he must also have assisted him in all the maneuvers by means of which the queen had foiled His Eminence’s plans. If he was d’Artagnan’s friend, he was the cardinal’s enemy, and she would no doubt manage to wrap him in the folds of that vengeance in which she intended to smother the young musketeer.
All these hopes were sweet thoughts for Milady, and, lulled by them, she fell asleep at once.
She was awakened by a gentle voice that came from the foot of her bed. She opened her eyes and saw the abbess, accompanied by a young woman with blond hair and a delicate complexion, who fixed upon her a gaze filled with benevolent curiosity.
The face of this young woman was completely unknown to her. The two studied each other with scrupulous attention, all the while exchanging the usual compliments: they were both very beautiful, but their beauty was of entirely different sorts. However, Milady smiled on recognizing that she outshone the young woman considerably in her noble air and aristocratic ways. It is true that the novice’s habit which the young woman was wearing was not very advantageous for sustaining a contest of that kind.
The abbess introduced them to each other; then, once this formality had been performed, as her duties called her to the church, she left the two young women alone.
The novice, seeing Milady lying down, was about to follow the mother superior, but Milady held her back.
“What, Madame,” she said to her, “I have barely glimpsed you, and you already want to deprive me of your presence, which I was somewhat counting on, I confess to you, for the time I am to spend here?”
“No, Madame,” replied the novice, “only I was afraid I had chosen the wrong moment: you were sleeping, you must be tired.”
“Well,” said Milady, “what more can sleepers ask for than a good awakening? You have granted me that awakening; let me enjoy it at my ease.”
And, taking her hand, she drew her to an armchair that was next to her bed.
The novice sat down.
“My God,” she said, “how unlucky I am! For six months now I’ve been here without the shadow of a distraction, then you come, your presence would be charming company for me, and here, in all probability, I’ll be leaving the convent any moment!”
“What?” said Milady. “You’re leaving soon?”
“At least I hope so,” said the novice, with an expression of joy that she did not try to disguise in the least.
“I believe