第86章

Whenwehadconversedtogetherforsome

minutes，Ibesoughtofhimtoleavetheplaceasearlyaspossible；

“TakemadamedeForcalquierwithyou，“saidI，“yourpresence

justnowatTrianonwouldbetoomuchcommentedupon。“

Hemadesomedifficultiesinobeyingme，butIinsistedandhe

went。

Afterhisdeparture，theducdeRichelieu，themarechale

andmyselfwalkedtogetherinthegarden。

Ourwalkwassodirected

thatwecouldseethroughthecolonnadeeverypersonwhoarrived

uptheavenue。

Wespokebutlittle，andanindescribablefeeling

ofsolemnitywasmingledwiththefewwordswhichpassed，when，

allatonce，ourattentionwasattractedbythesightofcomte

Jean，whorushedtowardsmeinastateoffrenzy。

“Accursedday，“criedhe，stoppingwhenhesawus，“thatwretched

girlfromVersailleshasbroughtthesmall-poxwithher。“

AtthisfatalnewsIheavedadeepsighandfainted。

Iwas

carriedundertheportico，whilethepoormarechale，scarcely

moreinhersensesthanmyself，stoodovermeweepinglikea

child，whileeveryendeavourwasbeingmadetorestoremeto

life。

Bordeu，whochancedtobeatVersailles，arrived，and

supposingitwasonmyaccounthehadbeensummoned，hastened

tomyassistance。

TheducdeRichelieuandcomteJeaninformed

himofallthathadpassed，uponwhichherequestedtoseethe

unfortunatefemaleimmediately；whilehewasconductedthither，

IremainedalonewiththemarechaleandHenriette，whohadcome

toTrianonwithmysuite。

Myfirstimpulseuponregainingthe

useofmysenses，wastothrowmyselfinthearmsofthemarechale。

“Whatwillbecomeofme？“

exclaimedI，weeping，“iftheking

shouldtakethisfatalmalady，hewillneversurviveit。“

“Letushopeforthebest，“answeredmadamedeMirepoix；“it

wouldbeencouraginggrieftobelieveamisfortune，whichwehave

atpresentnoreasontosuspect。“

ComteJeannowrejoinedus，accompaniedbyBordeuandtheducde

Richelieu；theircountenancesweregloomyanddejected。

The

miserablevictimofambitionhadthesymptomsofthemostmalignant

sortofsmall-pox；thiswasafinishingstroketomyprevious

alarms。

However，comteJeanwhisperedinmyear，“Bordeuwill

arrangethatthekingshallremainhere。“

Thisassurancerestoredmetosomethinglikecomposure；but

thesehopeswerespeedilydissipatedbythearrivalofLaMartiniere。

“Whatisthematter？“

inquiredhe，“isthekingveryill？“

“Thatremainsforyoutodecide“；repliedtheducdeRichelieu；

“buthoweveritmaybe，madameduBarryentreatsofyounotto

thinkofremovingthekingtoVersailles。“

“Andwhyso？“

askedLaMartiniere，withhisaccustomedabruptness。

“Hismajestywouldbemuchbettertherethanhere。“

“HecannowherebebetterthanatTrianon，monsieur，“saidI。

“That，madam，“answeredLaMartiniere，“istheonlypointupon

whichyoumustexcusemyconsultingyou，unless，indeed，you

arearmedwithaphysician’sdiploma。“

“MonsieurlaMartiniere，“criedtheducdeRichelieu，“youmight

employmo