Louise de la Valliere

by Alexandre Dumas

  Chapter XVIII. The Physician.

  M. Valot entered. The position of the different persons present wasprecisely the same: the king was seated, Saint-Aignan leaning over theback of his armchair, D'Artagnan with his back against the wall, andManicamp still standing.

  "Well, M. Valot," said the king, "did you obey my directions?"

  "With the greatest alacrity, sire."

  "You went to the doctor's house in Fontainebleau?"

  "Yes, sire."

  "And you found M. de Guiche there?"

  "I did, sire."

  "What state was he in?--speak unreservedly."

  "In a very sad state indeed, sire."

  "The wild boar did not quite devour him, however?"

  "Devour whom?"

  "De Guiche."

  "What wild boar?"

  "The boar that wounded him."

  "M. de Guiche wounded by a boar?"

  "So it is said, at least."

  "By a poacher, rather, or by a jealous husband, or an ill-used lover,who, in order to be revenged, fired upon him."

  "What is it that you say, Monsieur Valot? Were not M. de Guiche's woundsproduced by defending himself against a wild boar?"

  "M. de Guiche's wounds are the result of a pistol-bullet that brokehis ring-finger and the little finger of the right hand, and afterwardsburied itself in the intercostal muscles of the chest."

  "A bullet! Are you sure Monsieur de Guiche was wounded by a _bullet?_"exclaimed the king, pretending to look much surprised.

  "Indeed, I am, sire; so sure, in fact, that here it is." And hepresented to the king a half-flattened bullet, which the king looked at,but did not touch.

  "Did he have that in his chest, poor fellow?" he asked.

  "Not precisely. The ball did not penetrate, but was flattened, as yousee, either upon the trigger of the pistol or upon the right side of thebreast-bone."

  "Good heavens!" said the king, seriously, "you said nothing to me aboutthis, Monsieur de Manicamp."

  "Sire--"

  "What does all this mean, then, this invention about hunting a wild boarat nightfall? Come, speak, monsieur."

  "Sire--"

  "It seems, then, that you are right," said the king, turning roundtowards his captain of musketeers, "and that a duel actually tookplace."

  The king possessed, to a greater extent than any one else, the facultyenjoyed by the great in power or position, of compromising and dividingthose beneath him. Manicamp darted a look full of reproaches at themusketeer. D'Artagnan understood the look at once, and not wishingto remain beneath the weight of such an accusation, advanced a stepforward, and said: "Sire, your majesty commanded me to go and explorethe place where the cross-roads meet in the Bois-Rochin, and to reportto you, according to my own ideas, what had taken place there. Isubmitted my observations to you, but without denouncing any one. It wasyour majesty yourself who was the first to name the Comte de Guiche."

  "Well, monsieur, well," said the king, haughtily; "you have done yourduty, and I am satisfied with you. But you, Monsieur de Manicamp, havefailed in yours, for you have told me a falsehood."

  "A falsehood, sire. The expression is a hard one."

  "Find a more accurate, then."

  "Sire, I will not attempt to do so. I have already been unfortunateenough to displease your majesty, and it will, in every respect, be farbetter for me to accept most humbly any reproaches you may think properto address to me."

  "You are right, monsieur, whoever conceals the truth from me, risks mydispleasure."

  "Sometimes, sire, one is ignorant of the truth."

  "No further falsehood, monsieur, or I double the punishment."

  Manicamp bowed and turned pale. D'Artagnan again made another stepforward, determined to interfere, if the still increasing anger of theking attained certain limits.

  "You see, monsieur," continued the king, "that it is useless to deny thething any longer. M. de Guiche has fought a duel."

  "I do not deny it, sire, and it would have been truly generous on yourmajesty's part not to have forced me to tell a falsehood."

  "Forced? Who forced you?"

  "Sire, M. de Guiche is my friend. Your majesty has forbidden duels underpain of death. A falsehood might save my friend's life, and I told it."

  "Good!" murmured D'Artagnan, "an excellent fellow, upon my word."

  "Instead of telling a falsehood, monsieur, you should have prevented himfrom fighting," said the king.

  "Oh! sire, your majesty, who is the most accomplished gentleman inFrance, knows quite as well as any of us other gentlemen that we havenever considered M. de Bouteville dishonored for having suffered deathon the Place de Greve. That which does in truth dishonor a man is toavoid meeting his enemy--not to avoid meeting his executioner!"

  "Well, monsieur, that may be so," said Louis XIV.; "I am desirous ofsuggesting a means of your repairing all."

  "If it be a means of which a gentleman may avail himself, I shall mosteagerly seize the opportunity."

  "The name of M. de Guiche's adversary?"

  "Oh, oh!" murmured D'Artagnan, "are we going to take Louis XIII. as amodel?"

  "Sire!" said Manicamp, with an accent of reproach.

  "You will not name him, then?" said the king.

  "Sire, I do not know him."

  "Bravo!" murmured D'Artagnan.

  "Monsieur de Manicamp, hand your sword to the captain."

  Manicamp bowed very gracefully, unbuckled his sword, smiling as he didso, and handed it for the musketeer to take. But Saint-Aignan advancedhurriedly between him and D'Artagnan. "Sire," he said, "will yourmajesty permit me to say a word?"

  "Do so," said the king, delighted, perhaps, at the bottom of his heart,for some one to step between him and the wrath he felt he had carriedhim too far.

  "Manicamp, you are a brave man, and the king will appreciate yourconduct; but to wish to serve your friends too well, is to destroy them.Manicamp, you know the name the king asks you for?"

  "It is perfectly true--I do know it."

  "You will give it up then?"

  "If I felt I ought to have mentioned it, I should have already done so."

  "Then I will tell it, for I am not so extremely sensitive on such pointsof honor as you are."

  "You are at liberty to do so, but it seems to me, however--"

  "Oh! a truce to magnanimity; I will not permit you to go to the Bastilein that way. Do you speak; or I will."

  Manicamp was keen-witted enough, and perfectly understood that he haddone quite sufficient to produce a good opinion of his conduct; it wasnow only a question of persevering in such a manner as to regain thegood graces of the king. "Speak, monsieur," he said to Saint-Aignan; "Ihave on my own behalf done all that my conscience told me to do; and itmust have been very importunate," he added, turning towards the king,"since its mandates led me to disobey your majesty's commands; but yourmajesty will forgive me, I hope, when you learn that I was anxious topreserve the honor of a lady."

  "Of a lady?" said the king, with some uneasiness.

  "Yes, sire."

  "A lady was the cause of this duel?"

  Manicamp bowed.

  "If the position of the lady in question warrants it," he said, "I shallnot complain of your having acted with so much circumspection; on thecontrary, indeed."

  "Sire, everything which concerns your majesty's household, or thehousehold of your majesty's brother, is of importance in my eyes."

  "In my brother's household," repeated Louis XIV., with a slighthesitation. "The cause of the duel was a lady belonging to my brother'shousehold, do you say?"

  "Or to Madame's."

  "Ah! to Madame's?"

  "Yes, sire."

  "Well--and this lady?"

  "Is one of the maids of honor of her royal highness Madame la Duchessed'Orleans."

  "For whom M. de Guiche fought--do you say?"

  "Yes, sire, and, this time, I tell no falsehood."

  Louis seemed restless and anxious. "Gentlemen," he said, turn
ing towardsthe spectators of this scene, "will you have the goodness to retire fora moment. I wish to be alone with M. de Manicamp; I know he has someimportant communication to make for his own justification, and whichhe will not venture before witnesses.... Put up your sword, M. deManicamp."

  Manicamp returned his sword to his belt.

  "The fellow decidedly has his wits about him," murmured the musketeer,taking Saint-Aignan by the arm, and withdrawing with him.

  "He will get out of it," said the latter in D'Artagnan's ear.

  "And with honor, too, comte."

  Manicamp cast a glance of recognition at Saint-Aignan and the captain,which luckily passed unnoticed by the king.

  "Come, come," said D'Artagnan, as he left the room, "I had anindifferent opinion of the new generation. Well, I was mistaken afterall. There is some good in them, I perceive."

  Valot preceded the favorite and the captain, leaving the king andManicamp alone in the cabinet.