Chapter 56 Chapter 54: The Third Day of House Arrest

Felton was coming; but a step was still to be made: he must be kept, or rather, must be left alone; Milady only dimly saw the means leading her to success. There was still more to be done, that in order to be able to speak to him, he had to be made to speak, for Milady knew very well that her greatest allure was in her voice, which was transmitted with such dexterity. All scales of all tones, from human speech to that of God. In spite of her allure, however, Milady might fail, for Felton had been vaccinated against the slightest danger.So from then on, she paid attention to all her actions and words, down to the most ordinary look in her eyes, her posture, and even her breathing, because breathing can also be interpreted as lamentation.In the end, like an accomplished comedian who has just accepted a new role she is not accustomed to playing, she has to research everything thoroughly.

With Lord Winter it was easier for her to show herself; so she had a set policy on the first day: to remain silent and dignified in his presence, provoking him now and then with a look of contempt or a word of contempt. , to force him to threaten, to force him to get angry, and in turn, she treats him with humility, this is her trick.Felton would see it, but he might not say anything, but he would see it. In the morning Felton came to see her, as usual; Milady let him arrange breakfast without answering him.But when he was about to go away, she had a glimmer of hope, because she felt that he wanted to speak to her; but his lips squirmed, but nothing came out of his mouth. The words that were about to blurt were stuffy in my stomach, and then I walked out the door.

It was near noon when Lord Winter entered. It was a fairly clear winter's day, and the pale sunlight that shone on the British Isles penetrated the bars of the cell without warmth. Milady watched from the window, pretending not to hear the door being opened. aha!Lord Winter said as soon as he came in, the comedy is over, the tragedy is over, let us now play the sentimental. The female prisoner did not answer. Yes, yes, Lord Winter went on, I see, you would like to live freely on this coast; you would like to ride the green sea in a beautiful ship; Lay me a sneaky little ambush, by land or by sea, that you are so good at planning.Be patient!Be patient!In four days this coast will let you be free, and the sea will open up to you, wider than you wished, for in four days England will throw off your trouble.

Milady clasped her hands, and raised her beautiful eyes to the sky. Oh, God!Oh, God!Please forgive this man, as I have forgiven him, she said, with angelic tenderness and eloquence. Yes, just pray, damned woman: cried the Baron, I swear to you that your prayers are all the more painstaking now that you are in the hands of an unforgiving man. He goes out the door. Just as Lord Winter was going out, Milady slipped a piercing glance toward the half-open door, and caught a glimpse of Felton moving quickly so as not to be seen by her. So she knelt down and began to pray. my God!my God!She prayed, You know what a holy cause I am suffering for, please give me the strength to suffer.

The door was opened quietly; the beautiful pleading woman pretended not to hear, and continued to pray in a voice full of tears: Vengeful God!Good God!You let that man's terrible plan come true! Then, and only then, she pretended to hear Felton's footsteps, and she stood up as quickly as she could, blushing, as if she were ashamed to be suddenly caught kneeling on the ground. I don't like people who interrupt prayers, ma'am," said Felton heavily. "Please don't stop praying for me, I beg you. How do you know I'm praying, sir?Milady whimpered and said, You are mistaken, sir, I am not praying.

Do you think, ma'am, that Felton's tone is milder but still serious, that I feel confident that I have the right to prevent a woman from bowing before her Maker?I hope not!Again, repentance is for all sinners; whatever a sinner may have committed, he is holy to me when he kneels at the feet of God. sinner!I!Said Milady with a smile that would have softened even the angel of the Last Judgment, sinner!God, did you know I could be a sinner?You'd better say I'm a man being punished, sir, because you know that God loves martyrs, and that's why he sometimes allows innocent people to be punished.

If you are a punished man, if you are a martyr, replied Felton, there is all the more reason to pray, and I myself will help you with my prayers. oh!You are a just man, you, cried Milady, hastily knelt at his feet, you see, I can't last long, because I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up the struggle and profess my faith; just listen Hear the cry of a desperate woman.You have been deceived, sir, but that is not the point. I only ask for your grace. If you do me this favor, I will bless you in this life and in the next. Please speak to the master, ma'am, said Felton, whether forgiveness or punishment is fortunately out of my business. God has entrusted this responsibility to someone higher than me.

No, God entrusted it to you, and you alone.Hear me, help me to be destroyed, rather help me to be disgraced. If you have deserved it, madam, if you have suffered this disgrace, you must bear it with devotion to God. what did you say?oh!You did not understand my words!When I say disgrace, you think I'm talking about punishment, prison or death!Please God!But it doesn't matter, for me, it doesn't matter whether I die or go to jail, I don't care! I don't understand your words any more now, ma'am. Maybe you're pretending you don't understand me any more, sir," said the female prisoner with a suspicious smile.

No, ma'am, I pledge my honor as a soldier, and my faith as a Christian. how!Do you really not know Lord Winter's intentions with regard to me? I have no idea. Impossible, you are his confidant! I never lie, ma'am. oh!But he concealed too little, anyone can guess. I guess nothing, ma'am; I wait to be told, and Lord de Winter has never said anything to me except what he has said before you. But Milady exclaimed with incredible truth, are you not his accomplice?Don't you know what disgrace he wants to do to me?This shame is so terrible that no punishment in the world can compare with it!

You are mistaken, ma'am," said Felton, blushing. "It is impossible for Lord Winter to commit such a crime. Well, said Milady to herself, he doesn't know what it is, and he calls it a crime! Then she said aloud: A friend of Shameless is capable of anything. Who do you call a shameless person?Felton asked. Are there two persons in England who deserve such a title? You want to say George Villiers?Felton asked with eyes burning. The pagans, the nobles, and the infidels call him the Duke of Buckingham, replied Milady, and I did not believe there was an Englishman in all England who had to go to so much trouble to hear it. Name the person I want to talk about!

The hand of God was reaching out to him, Felton said, and he could not escape the punishment he deserved. Regarding the Duke of Buckingham, Felton expresses only the emotional distaste for him that is felt by all Englishmen, explaining that while Catholics call him Extortionist, Embezzler, Bohemian, Puritans simply call him Satan . oh!God!God!Milady exclaimed, When I beg you to send him the punishment he deserves, you know that I am not seeking personal revenge, but the emancipation of the whole people. So you know him?asked Felton. He asked me at last, Milady said to herself, delighted to have achieved such a great effect so quickly. oh!You ask me if I know him, oh!know!know!It is my misfortune, my eternal misfortune! Milady writhed her arms as if in agony.Felton no doubt felt that his strength was gone too, so he took a few steps towards the door; the prisoner kept her eyes on him, then jumped up to catch up and stop him. gentlemen!"Be good," she exclaimed, "please be merciful, please listen to me, the Baron is narrow-minded, and he took the knife from me, because he knew I was going to use it; oh!Please hear me out!Please forgive me!Please have mercy!Just give me that knife back for a minute!I hug your knees; here, you must shut the door, it is not you I hate!Oh, God!You are the only fair, kind, compassionate person I have ever met, how could I hate you!You may be my savior!One minute, that knife!A minute, just a minute, and I'll return it to you through the doorway; just a minute, Mr. Felton, and you'll save my honor! You kill yourself!Felton cried out in horror, forgetting to take his hand out of the female prisoner's hand, you commit suicide! I have spoken, sir,' murmured Milady, collapsing on the floor with her, and I have spoken my secret!He knows everything!God, I'm done! Felton remained standing, motionless, bewildered. He also suspects, thought Milady, that I'm not real enough. Footsteps were heard in the corridor; Milady recognized Lord Winter's walking.Felton also recognized Lord Winter's footsteps, and walked towards the door. Milady rushed up. Hello!Don't say a word, she said in a low voice, don't tell this man a word of what I said to you, or I'll be screwed, but then you, you Then the footsteps approached, and Milady stopped, lest anyone should hear her, and covered Felton's mouth with a beautiful hand with a gesture of infinite terror.Felton gently pushed Milady away, and Milady took advantage of the situation and fell into a bench. Lord Winter passed the door without stopping, and they heard the footsteps receding. Felton was so frightened that his face was ashen, and he stood there with his ears upright listening for a while, and then, when the sound of footsteps disappeared completely, he took a breath like a person who just woke up from a big dream, and then rushed out of the room . ah!Milady said she could hear Felton's footsteps going away in the opposite direction of Lord Winter's footsteps, you are mine after all! Then her forehead darkened. If he told the baron, she said, I would be all over, because the baron knew very well that I would not kill myself, and he would put a knife in my hand in front of Felton, and Felton would look It turns out that the whole show of despair is just a gimmick. She went to the mirror, sat down, and took a look. She had never been so beautiful as she is now. oh!right!She said with a bright smile that he would not tell the Baron. That evening, Lord Winter came with the meal-man. Sir, Milady said to him, is your presence a necessary addition to my captivity?Can you spare me the extra pain your visit has caused me? Why do you talk like that, dear sister-in-law!Lord Winter said, your beautiful and powerful mouth, why didn't you tell me affectionately today that the only purpose of your return to England was to see me with joy, because you told me that you were very lacking The joy of seeing me is why you risk seasickness, storms, and imprisonment for it.That's great!I am here before your eyes, please be satisfied; besides, I have another reason for visiting you this time. Milady shuddered at the idea that Felton had denounced; the woman had perhaps had too many powerful bouts of hostility in her life to feel her heart beat more violently than it did now. She was seated; Lord Winter took an arm-chair, drew it beside her, sat down beside her, and took a sheet of paper from his pocket, and slowly opened it. Here, he said to Milady, I have been meaning to show you this passport which I have drawn up with my own hand, which will serve as your identity card for the rest of my life in which I agree to let you go. Then he turned his eyes from Milady to the paper, and read: The order to escort the prisoner arrived, and the place of escort was blank. Lord Winter stopped and said, if you prefer a place, you can tell me; it doesn't matter if it is four thousand kilometers away from London, and your request will definitely be met.I continued to read: This decree escorts the prisoner to a female prisoner named Charlotte Baxon who was branded by the judicial organs of the Kingdom of France, but has been released after being punished; she will stay in a designated residence and will never leave for ten days Two kilometers away.If there is more escape, it will be sentenced to death.The prisoner shall receive five shillings a day for board and lodging. This order has nothing to do with me, said Milady dryly, because it's not my real name. Name!Do you have a name? I have your brother's name. You are mistaken, my brother is only your second husband while the first is still alive.Please tell me his name and I will replace Charlotte Baxon with it.Is it not good?You don't want to?Why don't you speak?That's fine too!You are entered on the prison roll as Charlotte Baxon. Milady remained silent; only this time it was no longer a feint, but a silence of terror, because she believed that the order was about to be carried out, and it occurred to her that Lord Winter had brought her departure forward. ; She even thought she was going to be taken away that night.As a result, everything in her mind was stranded.At this moment, she suddenly found that there was no signatory on the order. She was so happy with this discovery that she couldn't help it. Yes, yes, Lord Winter saw what was going on in her heart, yes, you are looking for an autograph, and you are thinking to yourself: It is not over, because there is no signer's name on that paper, and I am showing you just to frighten you You, that's all.You are mistaken. To-morrow this order will be sent to the Duke of Buckingham; and the day after tomorrow, it will come back with the duke's own signature and seal. In another twenty-four hours, it will come into force, I assure you.Goodbye, madam, and that's all I have to tell you. I answer you too, sir, that this abuse of power, this exile under a false name, is a despicable act. Would you rather be hanged with your real name, Milady?You know that the laws of England are merciless against the desecration of marriage, and please reply frankly: although my name, or rather my brother's, is mixed up in this, to make sure I get rid of You, and I, would risk the humiliation of a public prosecution. Milady did not answer, but her face was ashen. Oh, I see, you prefer to travel long distances.Well done, madam, there is an old adage that goes well, travel makes youth.Truth be told, you are not wrong in the end, life is beautiful.Just because of this, I don't have to worry about you taking my life.Let's settle the five shillings for the rest.I'm acting a little too petty, aren't I?If I insist on doing this, I won't worry about you corrupting the guard.Besides, you always have your charm to seduce them.If your failure at Felton has not turned your appetite for such tricks, try again. Felton said nothing, Milady thought to herself, so nothing had failed. Now, madam, goodbye.Tomorrow I will tell you the date of my messenger's trip. Lord Winter rose, bowed ironically to Milady, and went out the door. Milady gasped.She still has four days before her, and these four days are used to complete the temptation of Felton, which may be enough for her. Then the dreadful thought occurred to her that Lord Winter might well send Felton to Buckingham to sign the order; in doing so, she would lose Felton, and the convict would have to succeed in succession by casting The magic of seduction. But, as we have said, one thing she was relieved of was that Felton hadn't said it. Unwilling to appear agitated by Lord Winter's threat, she sat down to eat. At the end of the meal, she knelt down on her knees and repeated her prayers aloud as she had done the day before. The soldiers on duty also stopped walking like the day before, and stood there listening. Soon, she heard footsteps slightly lighter than the guard coming from the end of the corridor, standing in front of her door. It's him.she says. So she began to sing the same pious chant that had so excited Felton the night before. But, though her sweet, round, crisp voice was more harmonious and heartrending than ever, the door remained closed.Milady stole a glance at the little window, and through the tight iron bars, she seemed to see the burning eyes of the young man; but, whether real or hallucinatory, this time the young man had the strength to restrain himself from entering the house. But not long after her reverent chorus, Milady thought she heard a long sigh; and then the same footsteps, which she had just heard, receded slowly, as if reluctantly.