No sooner was Madam de Cleves recovered from the confusion which the

thought of receiving a visit from the Duke had given her, but all the

reasons which had made her refuse it vanished; she was even satisfied

she had been to blame; and had she dared, or had it not been too late,

she would have had him called back.

Madam de Nevers and Madam de Martigues went from the Princess of Cleves

to the Queen-Dauphin's, where they found Monsieur de Cleves: the

Queen-Dauphin asked them from whence they came; they said they came

from Madam de Cleves, where they had spent part of the afternoon with a

great deal of company, and that they had left nobody there but the Duke

de Nemours. These words, which they thought so indifferent, were not

such with Monsieur de Cleves: though he might well imagine the Duke de

Nemours had frequent opportunities of speaking to his wife, yet the

thought that he was now with her, that he was there alone, and that he

might speak to her of his life, appeared to him at this time a thing so

new and insupportable, that jealousy kindled in his heart with greater

violence than ever. It was impossible for him to stay at the Queen's;

he returned from thence, without knowing why he returned, or if he

designed to go and interrupt the Duke de Nemours: he was no sooner come

home, but he looked about him to see if there was anything by which he

could judge if the Duke was still there; it was some comfort to him to

find he was gone, and it was a pleasure to reflect that he could not

have been long there: he fancied, that, perhaps, it was not the Duke de

Nemours of whom he had reason to be jealous; and though he did not

doubt of it, yet he endeavoured to doubt of it; but he was convinced of

it by so many circumstances, that he continued not long in that

pleasing uncertainty.

He immediately went into his wife's room, and

after having talked to her for some time about indifferent matters, he

could not forbear asking her what she had done, and who she had seen,

and accordingly she gave him an account: when he found she did not name

the Duke de Nemours he asked her trembling, if those were all she had

seen, in order to give her an occasion to name the Duke, and that he

might not have the grief to see she made use of any evasion. As she

had not seen him, she did not name him; when Monsieur de Cleves with

accents of sorrow, said, "And have you not seen the Duke de Nemours, or

have you forgot him?" "I have not seen him indeed," answered she; "I

was ill, and I sent one of my women to make my excuses." "You was ill

then only for him," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "since you admitted the

visits of others: why this distinction with respect to the Duke de

Nemours? Why is not he to you as another man? Why should you be

afraid of seeing him? Why do you let him perceive that you are so? Why

do you show him that you make use of the power which his passion gives

you over him?




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