Chapter 59 Chapter 57: A Classical Tragedy Approach

Milady was silent for a moment, watching the young man listening to her, and then resumed her story: For nearly three days I neither ate nor drank, and endured unbearable torment: sometimes my forehead seemed to be pressed with clouds, which floated and covered my eyes: this is the symptom of delirium. . Night came; I felt weak and faint, and when I fainted I thanked God because I believed I was not far from death. During one of these swoons I heard a door open; terror brought me back to sanity. My persecutor brought into the house a masked man, himself masked, for I could hear him walking, and I could discern the majestic look of the devil possessing him for the misfortune of mankind. A majestic air.

Hello!he asked, I asked you to swear to me, have you made up your mind? Didn't you say, the Puritans speak their minds, and you have heard mine, that on earth I sue you in the courts of men, and in heaven I sue you in the courts of God! So, are you stubborn? I swear before this God who is listening to me, I will let the whole world prove your guilt, and I will not rest until I have found my vengeance. You are a bitch!He growled loudly, you will be tortured like a bitch!You're a branded bitch in the eyes of the world you're pleading with, so you can't prove to the world that you're neither a criminal nor a lunatic!

Then he said to the man who accompanied him: Executioner, do it! ah!What's that person's name, what's that person's name!Felton yelled, please tell me the name of that person! At this time, I began to understand that this was something worse than death for me, but the executioner ignored my screams, ignored my resistance, grabbed me by force, pinned me to the floor, and strangled me. I was suffocated with tears; I almost lost consciousness, I begged God, but he was deaf; With pain and shame, I suddenly screamed, a red iron, a hot iron, that is used by the executioner The soldering iron just landed on my shoulder.

Felton gave a cry. Look, said Milady; and now she rises up with queenly dignity, look, Felton, how ingeniously he torments an innocent girl, who is How to fall victim to a villain's savage butchery.You have to learn to understand the hearts of human beings. From now on, you should not easily serve as their improper revenge tool. With swift movements Milady unbuttoned her gown, tore off the linen underclothes covering her bosom, and, flushed with feigned anger and embarrassment, revealed to the young man the indelible scar that had shamed her silky shoulders. imprint. But, exclaimed Felton, what I saw was a lily!

That's what the scumbags do, said Milady, if the brand of England!Must prove which court imposed it on me, and I'll prosecute in all the courts of the kingdom of Great Britain; but if it's the brand of France Alas!Being branded by this country, I really want to bear this brand on my back. This seemed to Felton too much. Pale and impassive, he was overwhelmed by this appalling disclosure, dazzled by the beauty of this woman who revealed to him with shame the secrets of herself which he found sublime, his Kneeling at Miledy's feet at last, as a renegade kneels before a holy martyr thrown by the emperor into the bloody arena and ravaged by the mob.

The branding is gone and the only thing left is the good looks. Forgive forgive!exclaimed Felton, Oh!Forgive! What Milady saw in his eyes was love, love. Forgive what?she asked. Forgive me for being part of the persecution of you. Milady held out her hand to him. how beautiful!How young!Felton said admiringly and kept kissing the hand. Milady looked down on Felton with a look that would make a king a slave. Felton was a Puritan, and he let go of the woman's hand to kiss her feet. He was no longer in love with her, but adored her. When the fit was over, when Milady seemed to have regained the composure which she had never lost, Felton found those jewels of love shut up again in the veil of chastity which had been so concealed from him. Just right, just to arouse his more fiery desire.Then Felton said:

ah!I have but one thing to ask you now, and that is the name of the real executioner, for I know there is only one executioner, and the other is no more than an instrument. What, brother!exclaimed Milady, do you still want me to name you?Haven't you guessed it already? What!Felton said it was him!It's him again!Always him!What!the real sinner is The real sinner, says Milady, is the destroyer of the British Isles, the persecutor of true believers, the sadist who has ruined the chastity of countless women, a man of capriciousness and conscience, who will drain both kingdoms Blood, one day he protects the Protestants, and tomorrow he is the traitor who betrays them

Buckingham!That's Buckingham!exclaimed an angry Felton. Milady covered her face with her hands, as if she could bear no more shame at the thought of the name. Buckingham, you are the executioner of this angelic woman!Felton roared, God, why didn't you kill him with a thunderbolt!Why do you still let him be noble, glorious, and powerful, and come here to destroy us all! God doesn't care about self-defeating people, Milady said. But God will bring punishment on those damned guys!Felton became more and more emotional and said that God wants to let mankind take revenge before the judgment of heaven!

Everyone was afraid of him, so they let him go. snort!But I, said Felton, I am not afraid of him, and I will not let him go! Milady felt her soul bathed in unbearable joy. But how was it that my protector, my father, Lord Winter, was involved in all this?asked Felton. Listen to me, Felton, said Milady, for there are always great and generous people as well as the vile.I had a fiancé, and I loved him, and he loved me; he had as good a heart as you, Felton, and was a true man, as you are.I found him, and told him all that had happened; he knew me well enough to doubt for a moment.He was a noble gentleman, a man equal to Buckingham in every respect.Without saying anything, he put on his sword and cloak, and went straight to Buckingham's house.

Well done, well done, said Felton, and I understand; but it is not the sword that should be thrown at such a man, but the dagger. Buckingham had been sent to Spain the day before as ambassador, to propose to the Princess of Spain on behalf of Charles I, who was then still Prince. My fiancé is back. Please listen to me, my fiancé said to me, that man is gone, so at present he escapes my revenge on him, but we should unite for a while, because we should have done so; and then you send word to Wendt Lord, to preserve his and his wife's honor. Lord Winter!cried Felton. Yes, said Milady, Lord Winter, you understand it all now, don't you?Buckingham stayed in Spain for more than a year and did not return.Eight days before his return, my husband, Lord Winter, died suddenly, leaving me as his sole heir.Where did this bolt from the blue come from?God knows, maybe God knows, but who am I to blame

oh!How strange!How strange!cried Felton. My husband, Lord Winter, died without saying anything to his brother.This terrible secret must be kept from everyone until the thunderbolt explodes on the criminal's head.Your protector has painfully seen his brother marry a poor girl.Feeling that I could not expect any support from a man who had lost all hope of inheriting an inheritance, I came to France with the intention of staying there for the rest of my life.But all my property is still in England; now the two countries are at war, and the traffic is closed, cutting off all my sources of support, so I was forced to return to England, and I reached Portsmouth six days ago. and after?asked Felton. Afterwards, Buckingham no doubt learned of my return, and he told the news to Lord Winter, who was already prejudiced against me, by telling him that his sister-in-law was a whore, a branded whore.The loud and lofty voice of my late husband no longer protects me.My brother-in-law, Lord Winter, believed everything he said, and he believed it all the more because of his rhetoric.He sent someone to catch me and bring me here to you to watch over me.You know what happened after that, the day after tomorrow he will drive me out and send me into exile; the day after tomorrow he will send me to the low pile of prisoners.oh!What a well-planned ruse, it works!The conspiracy is ingenious, and my reputation is gone.You see clearly that I must die, Felton; give me that knife, Felton! After saying this, Milady seemed exhausted, his whole body was limp, his spirit was depressed, and he fell into the arms of the young officer involuntarily; the young officer was intoxicated by love, righteous anger, and sensuality he had never known. , caught her with excitement all over his body, and hugged her tightly to his chest, smelling the breath from that beautiful mouth, his whole body trembled; when he touched the ups and downs and beating breasts, he panicked chaos. No, no, said the young officer, no, you must live a glorious and pure life, and you must live to defeat your enemies. Milady pushed him slowly away with her hands, and seduced him with dangling eyes; but Felton held her tightly, as if imploring a goddess to entreat her. ah!let me die!let me die!She squinted her eyelids and murmured, ah!Better to die than to be ashamed; Felton, my brother, my friend, let me die, I beseech you! No, cried Felton, no, you will live and you will have your revenge! Felton, I will bring disaster to all around me!Felton, leave me alone!Felton, let me die! Well, let's die together!Felton pressed his lips against the prisoner's lips and yelled. There were several knocks at the door; this time Milady actually pushed Felton away. Listen, she said, someone has heard us; someone is coming!This is too bad, we are all screwed! No, said Felton, it was just the guard on duty telling me the patrol was coming. Then go to the door and open it yourself. Felton obediently obeyed; the woman had become his whole mind, his whole soul. Before him stood a sergeant leading a patrol. What, what's the matter?asked the young lieutenant. You once told me that if I heard the call for help I would open the door, said the soldier, but you forgot to give me the key; I heard you call just now, and I didn't understand what you were calling, so I wanted to open the door, but The door was locked from the inside, so I called the sergeant. I'm coming, said the sergeant. Felton looked bewildered, his manner was dull, and he stayed there in a daze, speechless. Milady understood that it was up to her to salvage the situation.She ran to the table and picked up the knife that Felton had placed on it. What right do you have to stop me from dying?she said. Great God!Felton yelled when he saw the gleaming knife in her hand. At this moment, there was a burst of mocking laughter in the corridor. As a result of the noise, the Baron, in his dressing-gown and with his sword under his arm, came and stood at the door. aha!He said, We have seen the last tragedy; you see, Felton, that the tragedy follows all the scenes I have pointed out, but don't worry, there will be no bloodshed. Milady knew that if she did not show Felton at once a terrible proof of her bravery, she would be all over. You are mistaken, my lord, for blood must flow, and it may splash on those who let it flow! With a cry Felton rushed at her; but it was too late, for Milady had driven the knife into her body.But we should take this opportunity to add that the knife happened to come across the iron corset that all women had in those days like a man's breastplate to protect the front, and the knife pierced the skirt When it slipped down, it plunged obliquely between the muscles and ribs. In an instant, Milady's skirt also seeped a lot of blood. Milady fell on her back, as if in a faint. Felton drew his knife. You see, my lord, he said gloomily, this is the woman under my guard, and she has killed herself! Don't worry, Felton, said Lord Winter, she is not dead, the devil does not die so easily, don't worry, you will wait for me in my room. but lord Go, I command you. Hearing this order from his superior, Felton obeyed; but on going out he hid the knife in his bosom. As for Lord Winter, he merely called for Milady's maid; and when she came, he handed over the prisoner, still unconscious, to be alone with her. But although he was full of doubts, the injury was serious after all, and he immediately sent a man to go to the doctor on horseback.