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Chapter XXX
Chapter XXX
D`Artagnan And The Englishman
D`Artagnan followed milady, without being perceived by her; he saw her
get into her carriage, and heard her order the coachman to drive to St.
Germain.
It was useless to endeavor to keep pace on foot with a carriage drawn
by two powerful horses: D`Artagnan returned then to the Rue Ferou.
In the Rue de Seine he met with Planchet, who had stopped before the
house of a pastry cook, and was contemplating with ecstasy a cake of the most
appetizing appearance.
He ordered him to go and saddle two horses in M. de Treville`s stables,
one for himself, D`Artagnan, and one for Planchet. M. de Treville, on all
common occasions, had allowed him the liberty to do so.
Planchet proceeded toward the Rue du Colombier, and D`Artagnan toward
the Rue Ferou. Athos was at home, emptying in solitary sadness one of his
bottles of the famous Spanish wine he had brought back with him from his
journey into Picardy. He made a sign for Grimaud to bring a glass for
D`Artagnan, and Grimaud obeyed, still as silently as usual.
D`Artagnan related to Athos all that had passed at the church between
Porthos and the procureuse, and how their comrade was probably by that time
in a fair way to be equipped.
"As for me," replied Athos, to this recital, "I am quite at my ease; it
will not be women that will defray the expense of my equipment."
"The more to blame you; handsome, well-bred, noble as you are, my dear
Athos, neither princesses nor queens would be secure!"
"How young this D`Artagnan is!" said Athos, shrugging his shoulders, and
making a sign to Grimaud to bring another bottle.
At that moment Planchet put his head modestly in at the half-open door,
and told his master that the horses were ready.
"What horses?" cried Athos.
"Two horses that M. de Treville lends me when I please, and with which
I am now going to take a ride to St. Germain."
"Well, and what are you going to do at St. Germain?"
Then D`Artagnan described the meeting which, on his side, he had had at
the church, and how he had found that lady who, with the seigneur in the
black cloak, and with the scar near his temple, filled his mind constantly.
"That is to say, you are in love with this lady as you were with Madame
Bonacieux," said Athos, shrugging his shoulders contemptuously, as if he
pitied human weakness.
"I? not at all!" said D`Artagnan, "I am only curious to unravel the
mystery to which she is attached. I do not know why, but I have a strong
feeling that this woman, perfectly unknown to me as she is, and unknown to
her as I am, has an influence over my life."
"Well, perhaps you are right," said Athos; "I do not know a woman that
is worth the trouble of being sought for when she is once lost. Madame
Bonacieux is lost, so much the worse for her."
"No, Athos, no, you are mistaken," said D`Artagnan; "I love my poor
Constance more than ever, and if I knew the place in which she is, were it
at the end of the world, I would go and free her from the hands of her
enemies; but I cannot find out where she is; all my researches have proved
in vain. What is to be said? I must divert my attention by something!"
"Amuse yourself, then, with milady, my dear D`Artagnan; I wish you may
with all my heart, if that will amuse you."
"Hear me, Athos," said D`Artagnan, "instead of shutting yourself up here
as if you were under arrest, get on horseback, and come and take a ride with
me to St. Germain."
"My dear fellow," said Athos, "I ride horses when I have any; when I
have none, I walk on foot."
"Well, on my part," said D`Artagnan, smiling at the misanthropy of
Athos, which from any other person would certainly have offended him, "for
my part, I ride what I can get; I am not so proud as you, Athos. So, au
revoir, my proud, melancholy friend."
"Au revoir," said the musketeer, making a sign to Grimaud to uncork the
bottle he had just brought.
D`Artagnan and Planchet got into the saddle, and took the road to St.
Germain.
As he rode along, that which Athos had said respecting Madame Bonacieux,
recurred to the mind of the young man. Although D`Artagnan was not of a very
sentimental character, the mercer`s pretty wife had made a real impression
upon his heart. As he said, he was ready to go to the end of the world to
seek her: but the world being round, it has many ends, so that he did not
know which way to turn; in the meantime, he was going to try to find out who
milady was. Milady had spoken to the man in the black cloak, therefore she
knew him. Now, in the opinion of D`Artagnan, it was certainly the man in the
black cloak who had carried off Madame Bonacieux the second time, as he had
carried her off the first. D`Artagnan then only half lied, which is lying
but little, when he said that by going in search of milady, he at the same
time went in search of Constance.
Thinking of all this, and from time to time giving a touch of the spur
to his horse, D`Artagnan completed his short journey, and arrived at St.
Germain. He had just passed by the pavilion in which ten years later Louis
XIV. was to be born. He rode up a very quiet street, looking to the right
and the left to see if he could catch any vestige of his beautiful
Englishwoman, when from the terrace in front of a pretty house, which,
according to the fashion of the time, had no window toward the street, he saw
a face peep out with which he thought he was acquainted. This person walked
along the terrace, which was ornamented with flowers. Planchet made out who
it was first.
"Eh! monsieur!" said he, addressing D`Artagnan, "don`t you remember
that face which is gaping about yonder?"
"No," said D`Artagnan, "and yet I am certain it is not the first time
I have seen it."
"Parbleu! I believe it is not," said Planchet; "why, it is poor Lubin,
the lackey of the Count de Wardes - he whom you so well accommodated a month
ago, at Calais, on the road to the governor`s country-house."
"So it is!" said D`Artagnan; "I know him now. Do you think he would
recollect you?"
"Ma foi! monsieur, he was in sucf trouble, that I don`t think he can
have retained a very clear recollection of me."
"Well, go and get into conversation with him, and make out, if you can,
whether his master is dead or not."
Planchet dismounted, and went straight up to Lubin, who did not at all
remember him, and the two lackeys began to chat with the best understanding
possible; while D`Artagnan turned the two horses into a lane, and went round
the house, coming back to watch the conference from behind a hedge of
nut-trees.
At the end of an instant`s observation he heard the noise of a carriage,
and speedily saw that of milady stop opposite to him. He could not be
mistaken - milady was in it. D`Artagnan stooped down upon the neck of his
horse, in order that he might see without being seen.
Milady put her charming fair head out of the window, and gave her orders
to her female attendant.
The latter, a pretty girl of about twenty years of age, active and
lively, the true soubrette of a great lady, jumped from the step - upon
which, according to the custom of the time, she was seated - and took her way
toward the terrace upon which D`Artagnan had perceived Lubin.
D`Artagnan followed the soubrette with his eyes, and saw her go toward
the terrace. But it happened that some one in the house called Lubin, so
that Planchet remained alone, looking in all directions for his master.
The femme de chambre approached Planchet, whom she took for Lubin, and
holding out a little billet to him -
"For your master," said she.
"For my master?" replied Planchet, in astonishment.
"Yes - and of consequence - take it quickly."
Thereupon she ran toward the carriage, which had turned round toward the
way it came, jumped upon the step and the carriage drove off.
Planchet turned the billet on all sides; then accustomed to passive
obedience, he jumped down from the terrace, ran toward the lane, and at the
end of twenty paces met D`Artagnan, who, having seen all, was coming to him.
"For you, monsieur," said Planchet, presenting the billet to the young
man.
"For me!" said D`Artagnan, "are you sure of that?"
"Pardieu! monsieur, I can`t be more sure. The soubrette said `For your
master;` I have no other master but you; so - a pretty little lass, ma foi!
is that soubrette!"
D`Artagnan opened the letter, and read these words:
"A person who takes more interest in you than she is willing to confess,
wishes to know on what day it will suit you to walk in the forest?
To-morrow, at the Hotel du Champ du Drap d`Or, a lackey in black and red will
wait for your reply."
"Oh! oh!" said D`Artagnan, "this is rather warm; it appears that milady
and I are anxious about the health of the same person. Well, Planchet, how
is the good M. de Wardes! he is not dead, then?"
"Oh, no, monsieur, he is as well as a man can be with four sword-wounds
in his body; for you, without question, inflicted four upon the dear
gentleman, and he is still very weak, having lost almost all his blood. As
I said, monsieur, Lubin did not know me, and told me our adventure from one
end to the other."
"Well done, Planchet! you are the king of lackeys. Now jump up on your
horse, and let us overtake the carriage."
They soon effected this. At the end of five minutes they perceived the
carriage drawn up by the roadside: a cavalier, richly dressed, was close to
the coach door.
The conversation between milady and the cavalier was so animated that
D`Artagnan stopped on the other side of the carriage without any one but the
pretty soubrette being aware of his presence.
The conversation took place in English - a language which D`Artagnan
could not understand; but by the accent the young man plainly saw that the
beautiful Englishwoman was in a great rage: she terminated it by an action
which left no doubt as to the nature of this conversation - this was a blow
with her fan, applied with such force that the little feminine weapon flew
into a thousand pieces.
The cavalier broke into a loud laugh, which appeared to exasperate
milady still more.
D`Artagnan thought this was the moment to interfere; he approached the
other door, and taking off his hat respectfully -
"Madame," said he, "will you permit me to offer you my services? It
appears to me that this cavalier has made you very angry. Speak one word,
madame, and I take upon myself to punish him for the want of courtesy."
At the first word, milady turned round, looking at the young man with
astonishment; and when he had finished:
"Monsieur," said she, in very good French, "I should with great
confidence place myself under your protection, if the person with whom I
quarrel were not my brother."
"Ah! excuse me, then," said D`Artagnan, "you must be aware that I was
ignorant of that, madame!"
"What is that stupid fellow troubling himself about?" cried the
cavalier, whom milady had designated as her brother, stooping down to the
height of the coach window - "why does not he go about his own business?"
"Stupid fellow yourself!" said D`Artagnan, stooping in his turn on the
neck of his horse, and answering on his side though the carriage window. "I
do not go on, because it pleases me to stop here."
The cavalier addressed some words in English to his sister.
"I speak to you in French," said D`Artagnan; "be kind enough, then, to
reply to me in the same language. You are madame`s brother, I learn - be it
so; but, fortunately, you are not mine."
It might be thought that milady, timid as women are in general, would
have interposed in this commencement of mutual provocations, in order to
prevent the quarrel from going too far; but, on the contrary, she threw
herself back in her carriage, and called out coolly to the coachman, "Go on
- home!"
The pretty soubrette cast an anxious glance at D`Artagnan, whose good
looks seemed to have made an impression upon her.
The carriage went on, and left the two men in face of each other; no
material obstacle separated them.
The cavalier made a movement as if to follow the carriage; but
D`Artagnan, whose anger, already excited, was much increased by recognizing
in him the Englishman of Amiens, who had won his horse and was very near
winning his diamond of Athos, caught at his bridle and stopped him.
"Well, monsieur!" said he; "you appear to be more stupid than I am, for
you forget there is a little quarrel to arrange between us two."
"Ah! ah!" said the Englishman; "is it you, my master? It seems you
must always be playing some game or other."
"Yes; and that reminds me that I have a revenge to take. We will see,
my dear monsieur, if you can handle a sword as skillfully as you can a
dice-box."
"You see plainly that I have no sword," said the Englishman. "Do you
wish to play the braggart with an unarmed man?"
"I hope you have a sword at home; but, at all events, I have two, and,
if you like, I will throw with you for one of them."
"Quite unnecessary," said the Englishman; "I am well furnished with such
sorts of playthings."
"Very well! my worthy gentleman," replied D`Artagnan; "pick out the
longest, and come and show it to me this evening."
"Where?"
"Behind the Luxembourg; that`s a charming spot for such amusements as
the one I propose to you."
"That will do; I will be there."
"Your hour?"
"Six o`clock."
"Apropos, you have probably one or two friends?"
"Humph! I have three who would be honored by joining in the sport with
me."
"Three! that`s fortunate! That falls out oddly! Three is just my
number!"
"Now then, who are you?" asked the Englishman.
"I am M. d`Artagnan, a Gascon gentleman, serving in the guards, in the
company of M. Dessessarts. And you?"
"I am the Lord de Winter, Baron of Scheffield."
"Well, then, I am your servant, Monsieur le Baron," said D`Artagnan,
"though you have names rather difficult to recollect."
And touching his horse with the spur, he cantered back to Paris.
As he was accustomed to do in all cases of any consequence, D`Artagnan
went straight to the residence of Athos.
He found Athos reclining upon a large sofa, where he was waiting, as he
said, for his equipment to come and find him.
He related to Athos all that had passed, except the letter to M. de
Wardes.
Athos was delighted to find he was going to fight an Englishman. We are
aware that that was his dream.
They immediately sent their lackeys for Porthos and Aramis, and, on
their arrival, made them acquainted with the affair in hand.
Porthos drew his sword from the scabbard, and made passes at the wall,
springing back from time to time, and making contortions like a dancer.
Aramis, who was constantly at work at his poem, shut himself up in
Athos` closet, and begged not to be disturbed before the moment of drawing
swords.
Athos by signs desired Grimaud to bring another bottle of wine.
And D`Artagnan employed himself in arranging a little plan, of which we
shall hereafter see the execution, and which promised him some agreeable
adventure, as might be seen by the smiles which from time to time passed over
his countenance, the thoughtfulness of which they enlivened.
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