Felton had fallen; but there was still another step to be taken. He must be retained, or rather he must be left quite alone; and Milady but obscurely perceived the means which could lead to this result.
Still more must be done. He must be made to speak, in order that he might be spoken to--for Milady very well knew that her greatest seduction was in her voice, which so skillfully ran over the whole gamut2 of tones from human speech to language celestial3.
Yet in spite of all this seduction Milady might fail--for Felton was forewarned, and that against the least chance. From that moment she watched all his actions, all his words, from the simplest glance of his eyes to his gestures--even to a breath that could be interpreted as a sigh. In short, she studied everything, as a skillful comedian4 does to whom a new part has been assigned in a line to which he is not accustomed.
Face to face with Lord de Winter her plan of conduct was more easy. She had laid that down the preceding evening. To remain silent and dignified5 in his presence; from time to time to irritate him by affected6 disdain7, by a contemptuous word; to provoke him to threats and violence which would produce a contrast with her own resignation--such was her plan. Felton would see all; perhaps he would say nothing, but he would see.
In the morning, Felton came as usual; but Milady allowed him to preside over all the preparations for breakfast without addressing a word to him. At the moment when he was about to retire, she was cheered with a ray of hope, for she thought he was about to speak; but his lips moved without any sound leaving his mouth, and making a powerful effort to control himself, he sent back to his heart the words that were about to escape from his lips, and went out. Toward midday, Lord de Winter entered.
It was a tolerably fine winter's day, and a ray of that pale English sun which lights but does not warm came through the bars of her prison.
Milady was looking out at the window, and pretended not to hear the door as it opened.
"Ah, ah!" said Lord de Winter, "after having played comedy, after having played tragedy, we are now playing melancholy8?"
The prisoner made no reply.
"Yes, yes," continued Lord de Winter, "I understand. You would like very well to be a liberty on that beach! You would like very well to be in a good ship dancing upon the waves of that emerald-green sea; you would like very well, either on land or on the ocean, to lay for me one of those nice little ambuscades you are so skillful in planning. Patience, patience! In four days' time the shore will be beneath your feet, the sea will be open to you--more open than will perhaps be agreeable to you, for in four days England will be relieved of you."
Milady folded her hands, and raising her fine eyes toward heaven, "Lord, Lord," said she, with an angelic meekness9 of gesture and tone, "pardon this man, as I myself pardon him."
"Yes, pray, accursed woman!" cried the baron10; "your prayer is so much the more generous from your being, I swear to you, in the power of a man who will never pardon you!" and he went out.
At the moment he went out a piercing glance darted11 through the opening of the nearly closed door, and she perceived Felton, who drew quickly to one side to prevent being seen by her.
Then she threw herself upon her knees, and began to pray.
"My God, my God!" said she, "thou knowest in what holy cause I suffer; give me, then, strength to suffer."
The door opened gently; the beautiful supplicant12 pretended not to hear the noise, and in a voice broken by tears, she continued:
"God of vengeance13! God of goodness! wilt14 thou allow the frightful15 projects of this man to be accomplished16?"
Then only she pretended to hear the sound of Felton's steps, and rising quick as thought, she blushed, as if ashamed of being surprised on her knees.
"I do not like to disturb those who pray, madame," said Felton, seriously; "do not disturb yourself on my account, I beseech17 you."
"How do you know I was praying, sir?" said Milady, in a voice broken by sobs18. "You were deceived, sir; I was not praying."
"Do you think, then, madame," replied Felton, in the same serious voice, but with a milder tone, "do you think I assume the right of preventing a creature from prostrating19 herself before her Creator? God forbid! Besides, repentance20 becomes the guilty; whatever crimes they may have committed, for me the guilty are sacred at the feet of God!"
"Guilty? I?" said Milady, with a smile which might have disarmed21 the angel of the last judgment22. "Guilty? Oh, my God, thou knowest whether I am guilty! Say I am condemned23, sir, if you please; but you know that God, who loves martyrs24, sometimes permits the innocent to be condemned."
"Were you condemned, were you innocent, were you a martyr," replied Felton, "the greater would be the necessity for prayer; and I myself would aid you with my prayers."
"Oh, you are a just man!" cried Milady, throwing herself at his feet. "I can hold out no longer, for I fear I shall be wanting in strength at the moment when I shall be forced to undergo the struggle, and confess my faith. Listen, then, to the supplication25 of a despairing woman. You are abused, sir; but that is not the question. I only ask you one favor; and if you grant it me, I will bless you in this world and in the next."
"Speak to the master, madame," said Felton; "happily I am neither charged with the power of pardoning nor punishing. It is upon one higher placed than I am that God has laid this responsibility."
"To you--no, to you alone! Listen to me, rather than add to my destruction, rather than add to my ignominy!"
"If you have merited this shame, madame, if you have incurred26 this ignominy, you must submit to it as an offering to God."
"What do you say? Oh, you do not understand me! When I speak of ignominy, you think I speak of some chastisement27, of imprisonment28 or death. Would to heaven! Of what consequence to me is imprisonment or death?"
"It is I who no longer understand you, madame," said Felton.
"Or, rather, who pretend not to understand me, sir!" replied the prisoner, with a smile of incredulity.
"No, madame, on the honor of a soldier, on the faith of a Christian29."
"What, you are ignorant of Lord de Winter's designs upon me?"
"I am."
"Impossible; you are his confidant!"
"I never lie, madame."
"Oh, he conceals31 them too little for you not to divine them."
"I seek to divine nothing, madame; I wait till I am confided32 in, and apart from that which Lord de Winter has said to me before you, he has confided nothing to me."
"Why, then," cried Milady, with an incredible tone of truthfulness33, "you are not his accomplice34; you do not know that he destines me to a disgrace which all the punishments of the world cannot equal in horror?"
"You are deceived, madame," said Felton, blushing; "Lord de Winter is not capable of such a crime."
"Good," said Milady to herself; "without thinking what it is, he calls it a crime!" Then aloud, "The friend of THAT WRETCH35 is capable of everything."
"Whom do you call 'that wretch'?" asked Felton.
"Are there, then, in England two men to whom such an epithet36 can be applied37?"
"You mean George Villiers?" asked Felton, whose looks became excited.
"Whom Pagans and unbelieving Gentiles call Duke of Buckingham," replied Milady. "I could not have thought that there was an Englishman in all England who would have required so long an explanation to make him understand of whom I was speaking."
"The hand of the Lord is stretched over him," said Felton; "he will not escape the chastisement he deserves."
Felton only expressed, with regard to the duke, the feeling of execration38 which all the English had declared toward him whom the Catholics themselves called the extortioner, the pillager39, the debauchee, and whom the Puritans styled simply Satan.
"Oh, my God, my God!" cried Milady; "when I supplicate40 thee to pour upon this man the chastisement which is his due, thou knowest it is not my own vengeance I pursue, but the deliverance of a whole nation that I implore41!"
"Do you know him, then?" asked Felton.
"At length he interrogates42 me!" said Milady to herself, at the height of joy at having obtained so quickly such a great result. "Oh, know him? Yes, yes! to my misfortune, to my eternal misfortune!" and Milady twisted her arms as if in a paroxysm of grief.
Felton no doubt felt within himself that his strength was abandoning him, and he made several steps toward the door; but the prisoner, whose eye never left him, sprang in pursuit of him and stopped him.
"Sir," cried she, "be kind, be clement43, listen to my prayer! That knife, which the fatal prudence44 of the baron deprived me of, because he knows the use I would make of it! Oh, hear me to the end! that knife, give it to me for a minute only, for mercy's, for pity's sake! I will embrace your knees! You shall shut the door that you may be certain I contemplate45 no injury to you! My God! to you--the only just, good, and compassionate46 being I have met with! To you--my preserver, perhaps! One minute that knife, one minute, a single minute, and I will restore it to you through the grating of the door. Only one minute, Mr. Felton, and you will have saved my honor!"
"To kill yourself?" cried Felton, with terror, forgetting to withdraw his hands from the hands of the prisoner, "to kill yourself?"
"I have told, sir," murmured Milady, lowering her voice, and allowing herself to sink overpowered to the ground; "I have told my secret! He knows all! My God, I am lost!"
Felton remained standing47, motionless and undecided.
"He still doubts," thought Milady; "I have not been earnest enough."
Someone was heard in the corridor; Milady recognized the step of Lord de Winter.
Felton recognized it also, and made a step toward the door.
Milady sprang toward him. "Oh, not a word," said she in a concentrated voice, "not a word of all that I have said to you to this man, or I am lost, and it would be you--you--"
Then as the steps drew near, she became silent for fear of being heard, applying, with a gesture of infinite terror, her beautiful hand to Felton's mouth.
Felton gently repulsed48 Milady, and she sank into a chair.
Lord de Winter passed before the door without stopping, and they heard the noise of his footsteps soon die away.
Felton, as pale as death, remained some instants with his ear bent49 and listening; then, when the sound was quite extinct, he breathed like a man awaking from a dream, and rushed out of the apartment.
"Ah!" said Milady, listening in her turn to the noise of Felton's steps, which withdrew in a direction opposite to those of Lord de Winter; "at length you are mine!"
Then her brow darkened. "If he tells the baron," said she, "I am lost--for the baron, who knows very well that I shall not kill myself, will place me before him with a knife in my hand, and he will discover that all this despair is but acted."
She placed herself before the glass, and regarded herself attentively50; never had she appeared more beautiful.
"Oh, yes," said she, smiling, "but we won't tell him!"
In the evening Lord de Winter accompanied the supper.
"Sir," said Milady, "is your presence an indispensable accessory of my captivity? Could you not spare me the increase of torture which your visits cause me?"
"How, dear sister!" said Lord de Winter. "Did not you sentimentally51 inform me with that pretty mouth of yours, so cruel to me today, that you came to England solely52 for the pleasure of seeing me at your ease, an enjoyment53 of which you told me you so sensibly felt the deprivation54 that you had risked everything for it--seasickness, tempest, captivity? Well, here I am; be satisfied. Besides, this time, my visit has a motive55."
Milady trembled; she thought Felton had told all. Perhaps never in her life had this woman, who had experienced so many opposite and powerful emotions, felt her heart beat so violently.
She was seated. Lord de Winter took a chair, drew it toward her, and sat down close beside her. Then taking a paper out of his pocket, he unfolded it slowly.
"Here," said he, "I want to show you the kind of passport which I have drawn56 up, and which will serve you henceforward as the rule of order in the life I consent to leave you."
Then turning his eyes from Milady to the paper, he read: "'Order to conduct--' The name is blank," interrupted Lord de Winter. "If you have any preference you can point it out to me; and if it be not within a thousand leagues of London, attention will be paid to your wishes. I will begin again, then:
"'Order to conduct to--the person named Charlotte Backson, branded by the justice of the kingdom of France, but liberated57 after chastisement. She is to dwell in this place without ever going more than three leagues from it. In case of any attempt to escape, the penalty of death is to be applied. She will receive five shillings per day for lodging58 and food'".
"That order does not concern me," replied Milady, coldly, "since it bears another name than mine."
"A name? Have you a name, then?"
"I bear that of your brother."
"Ay, but you are mistaken. My brother is only your second husband; and your first is still living. Tell me his name, and I will put it in the place of the name of Charlotte Backson. No? You will not? You are silent? Well, then you must be registered as Charlotte Backson."
Milady remained silent; only this time it was no longer from affectation, but from terror. She believed the order ready for execution. She thought that Lord de Winter had hastened her departure; she thought she was condemned to set off that very evening. Everything in her mind was lost for an instant; when all at once she perceived that no signature was attached to the order. The joy she felt at this discovery was so great she could not conceal30 it.
"Yes, yes," said Lord de Winter, who perceived what was passing in her mind; "yes, you look for the signature, and you say to yourself: 'All is not lost, for that order is not signed. It is only shown to me to terrify me, that's all.' You are mistaken. Tomorrow this order will be sent to the Duke of Buckingham. The day after tomorrow it will return signed by his hand and marked with his seal; and four-and-twenty hours afterward59 I will answer for its being carried into execution. Adieu, madame. That is all I had to say to you."
"And I reply to you, sir, that this abuse of power, this exile under a fictitious60 name, are infamous61!"
"Would you like better to be hanged in your true name, Milady? You know that the English laws are inexorable on the abuse of marriage. Speak freely. Although my name, or rather that of my brother, would be mixed up with the affair, I will risk the scandal of a public trial to make myself certain of getting rid of you."
Milady made no reply, but became as pale as a corpse62.
"Oh, I see you prefer peregrination63. That's well madame; and there is an old proverb that says, 'Traveling trains youth.' My faith! you are not wrong after all, and life is sweet. That's the reason why I take such care you shall not deprive me of mine. There only remains64, then, the question of the five shillings to be settled. You think me rather parsimonious65, don't you? That's because I don't care to leave you the means of corrupting66 your jailers. Besides, you will always have your charms left to seduce67 them with. Employ them, if your check with regard to Felton has not disgusted you with attempts of that kind."
"Felton has not told him," said Milady to herself. "Nothing is lost, then."
"And now, madame, till I see you again! Tomorrow I will come and announce to you the departure of my messenger."
Lord de Winter rose, saluted68 her ironically, and went out.
Milady breathed again. She had still four days before her. Four days would quite suffice to complete the seduction of Felton.
A terrible idea, however, rushed into her mind. She thought that Lord de Winter would perhaps send Felton himself to get the order signed by the Duke of Buckingham. In that case Felton would escape her--for in order to secure success, the magic of a continuous seduction was necessary. Nevertheless, as we have said, one circumstance reassured69 her. Felton had not spoken.
As she would not appear to be agitated70 by the threats of Lord de Winter, she placed herself at the table and ate.
Then, as she had done the evening before, she fell on her knees and repeated her prayers aloud. As on the evening before, the soldier stopped his march to listen to her.
Soon after she heard lighter71 steps than those of the sentinel, which came from the end of the corridor and stopped before her door.
"It is he," said she. And she began the same religious chant which had so strongly excited Felton the evening before.
But although her voice--sweet, full, and sonorous--vibrated as harmoniously72 and as affectingly as ever, the door remained shut. It appeared however to Milady that in one of the furtive73 glances she darted from time to time at the grating of the door she thought she saw the ardent74 eyes of the young man through the narrow opening. But whether this was reality or vision, he had this time sufficient self-command not to enter.
However, a few instants after she had finished her religious song, Milady thought she heard a profound sigh. Then the same steps she had heard approach slowly withdrew, as if with regret.
收听单词发音 |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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gamut
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| n.全音阶，(一领域的)全部知识 | |
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celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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comedian
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| n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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meekness
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| n.温顺，柔和 | |
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baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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supplicant
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| adj.恳求的n.恳求者 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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prostrating
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的现在分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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conceals
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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truthfulness
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| n. 符合实际 | |
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accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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execration
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| n.诅咒，念咒，憎恶 | |
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pillager
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| n.掠夺者 | |
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supplicate
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| v.恳求；adv.祈求地，哀求地，恳求地 | |
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implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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interrogates
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| n.询问( interrogate的名词复数 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询v.询问( interrogate的第三人称单数 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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clement
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| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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compassionate
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| adj.有同情心的，表示同情的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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sentimentally
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| adv.富情感地 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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deprivation
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| n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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peregrination
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| n.游历，旅行 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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parsimonious
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| adj.吝啬的，质量低劣的 | |
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corrupting
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的现在分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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seduce
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| vt.勾引，诱奸，诱惑，引诱 | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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harmoniously
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| 和谐地，调和地 | |
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furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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