Madam de Martigues came to Colomiers according to her promise, and

found Madam de Cleves living in a very solitary manner: that Princess

affected a perfect solitude, and passed the evenings in her garden

without being accompanied even by her domestics; she frequently came

into the pavilion where the Duke de Nemours had overheard her

conversation with her husband; she delighted to be in the bower that

was open to the garden, while her women and attendants waited in the

other bower under the pavilion, and never came to her but when she

called them. Madam de Martigues having never seen Colomiers was

surprised at the extraordinary beauty of it, and particularly with the

pleasantness of the pavilion. Madam de Cleves and she usually passed

the evenings there. The liberty of being alone in the night in so

agreeable a place would not permit the conversation to end soon between

two young ladies, whose hearts were enflamed with violent passions, and

they took great pleasure in conversing together, though they were not

confidants. Madam de Martigues would have left Colomiers with great reluctance had

she not quitted it to go to a place where the Viscount was; she set out

for Chambort, the Court being there.

The King had been anointed at Rheims by the Cardinal of Loraine, and

the design was to pass the rest of the summer at the castle of

Chambort, which was newly built; the Queen expressed a great deal of

joy upon seeing Madam de Martigues again at Court, and after having

given her several proofs of it, she asked her how Madam de Cleves did,

and in what manner she passed her time in the country. The Duke de

Nemours and the Prince of Cleves were with the Queen at that time.

Madam de Martigues, who had been charmed with Colomiers, related all

the beauties of it, and enlarged extremely on the description of the

pavilion in the forest, and on the pleasure Madam de Cleves took in

walking there alone part of the night. The Duke de Nemours, who knew

the place well enough to understand what Madam de Martigues said of it,

thought it was not impossible to see Madam de Cleves there, without

being seen by anybody but her.

He asked Madam de Martigues some

questions to get further lights; and the Prince of Cleves, who had eyed

him very strictly while Madam de Martigues was speaking, thought he

knew what his design was. The questions the Duke asked still more

confirmed him in that thought, so that he made no doubt but his

intention was to go and see his wife; he was not mistaken in his

suspicions: this design entered so deeply into the Duke de Nemours's

mind, that after having spent the night in considering the proper

methods to execute it, he went betimes the next morning to ask the

King's leave to go to Paris, on some pretended occasion.




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