The Princess of Cleves readily apprehended how far she was concerned in

this discourse; one while she seemed of opinion that she ought not to

suffer such an address; another, she thought she ought not to seem to

understand it, or show she supposed herself meant by it; she thought

she ought to speak, and she thought she ought to be silent; the Duke of

Nemours's discourse equally pleased and offended her; she was convinced

by it of the truth of all the Queen-Dauphin had led her to think; she

found in it somewhat gallant and respectful, but also somewhat bold and

too intelligible; the inclination she had for the Duke gave her an

anxiety which it was not in her power to control; the most obscure

expressions of a man that pleases, move more than the most open

declaration of one we have no liking for; she made no answer; the Duke

de Nemours took notice of her silence, which perhaps would have proved

no ill-presage, if the coming in of the Prince of Cleves had not ended

at once the conversation and the visit.

The Prince was coming to give his wife a further account of Sancerre,

but she was not over curious to learn the sequel of that adventure; she

was so much taken up with what had just passed, that she could hardly

conceal the embarrassment she was in. When she was at liberty to muse

upon it, she plainly saw she was mistaken, when she thought she was

indifferent as to the Duke de Nemours; what he had said to her had made

all the impression he could desire, and had entirely convinced her of

his passion; besides the Duke's actions agreed too well with his words

to leave her the least doubt about it; she no longer flattered herself

that she did not love him; all her care was not to let him discover it,

a task of which she had already experienced the difficulty; she knew

the only way to succeed in it was to avoid seeing him; and as her

mourning gave her an excuse for being more retired than usual, she made

use of that pretence not to go to places where he might see her; she

was full of melancholy; her mother's death was the seeming cause of it,

and no suspicion was had of any other.

The Duke de Nemours, not seeing her any more, fell into desperation and

knowing he should not meet with her in any public assembly, or at any

diversions the Court joined in, he could not prevail upon himself to

appear there, and therefore he pretended a great love for hunting, and

made matches for that sport on the days when the Queens kept their

assemblies; a slight indisposition had served him a good while as an

excuse for staying at home, and declining to go to places where he knew

very well that Madam de Cleves would not be.




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