“Then all goes well,” said the prelate; “there only remains one thing now—to penetrate to Versailles.”
She smiled again, more significantly than before.
“Really, you provincials,” said he, “doubt nothing; because you have seen Versailles with the doors open, and stairs to go up, you think any one may open these doors and ascend these stairs. Have you seen the monsters of brass, of marble, and of lead, which adorn the park and the terraces?”
“Griffins, gorgons, ghouls, and other ferocious beasts. Well, you will find ten times as many, and more wicked, living animals between you and the favor of sovereigns.”
“Your eminence will aid me to pass through the ranks of these monsters.”
“I will try, but it will be difficult. And if you pronounce my name, if you discover your talisman, it will lose all its power.”
“Happily, then, I am guarded by the immediate protection of the queen, and I shall enter Versailles with a good key.”
“Ah, Monsieur le Cardinal, that is my secret—or rather it is not, for if it were mine, I should feel bound to tell it to my generous protector.”
“Alas! yes, monseigneur. It is not my secret, and I must keep it. Let it suffice you to know that to-morrow I shall go to Versailles; that I shall be received, and, I have every reason to hope, well received.”
The cardinal looked at her with wonder. “Ah, countess,” said he, laughing, “I shall see if you will get in.”
“You will push your curiosity so far as to follow me?”
“Really, countess, you are a living enigma.”
“One of those monsters who inhabit Versailles.”
“Oh, you believe me a man of taste, do you not?”
“Well, here I am at your knees, and I take your hand and kiss it. Should I do that if I thought you a monster?”
“I beg you, sir, to remember,” said Jeanne coldly, “that I am neither a grisette nor an opera girl; that I am my own mistress, feeling myself the equal of any man in this kingdom. Therefore I shall take freely and spontaneously, when it shall please me, the man who will have gained my affections. Therefore, monseigneur, respect me a little, and, in me, the nobility to which we both belong.”
The cardinal rose. “I see,” said he, “you wish me to love you seriously.”
“I do not say that; but I wish to be able to love you. When that day comes—if it does comes—you will easily find it out, believe me. If you do not, I will let you know it; for I feel young enough and attractive enough not to mind making the first advances, nor to fear a repulse.”