Angelique et le roy Page #4

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I shall join you later.

Come, Athenais!

As first lady of the Queen's household,

see that she reaches Saint-Germain safely.

No, Madame! No anger, no ire, no bleating!

Please.

So, have you ruined me?

The Marquise has enriched

the French Crown by 1,000 pistoles!

That must be rewarded.

Bring a stool

for Madame of Plessis-Belliere.

What do you think of this champagne?

One could soon get used to it, Sire.

If a select number of people

were to sleep at Versailles tonight,

would you join them?

I adore Versailles, Sire.

And the King?

But, Sire, without the King,

there would be no Versailles.

Saint-Fal, there you are!

For the Marquis of Vardes.

For the Marquise of Plessis-Belliere.

A great privilege! The King is spoiling you.

And he is corrupting you!

Such a mordant wit!

- Who is it?

- It is I.

Enter.

A word of advice.

Put your dress back on and go home.

The King desired my presence.

It is that desire which worries me.

There is a new fashion from Italy

which has reached the Court.

It consists of putting poison

in the soup of the husband,

the lover, the rival,

or the mistress.

Everything is poisoned.

Drinks, sorbets, but also clothes, gloves,

handkerchiefs, nightgowns.

Who would want to kill me?

Only the stupid or the ugly

have no one to envy them.

I was in the kitchen when

tonight's meal was being prepared.

There was a sorbet for each guest.

As it is my job to be curious,

I inadvertently knocked over your sorbet.

The dog ate it and died in five minutes.

It would have taken you two days.

- So, will you leave now?

- No.

Who is it?

Bontemps, Madame.

Please forgive this nocturnal intrusion,

but His Majesty wishes

to see Your Ladyship.

A moment, please.

- You still love the Hungarian?

- No, Sire.

By agreeing to sleep here,

you agreed to spend the night with me.

So what is it?

Joffrey of Peyrac, my husband,

whom you had burnt at the stake

after a mockery of a trial.

I had no choice.

There can be no honorable motive

for murdering an innocent man.

To me, a man counts for little.

The King consumed him.

I became King when I was five.

When Mazarin died,

my power was uncertain.

A poor country,

with neither army nor navy. Nothing!

Except for a nobility

with La Fronde on their minds.

I had to win or die!

Peyrac was richer than I,

forming a state within the state.

I had to bring him down.

I would do it all again.

If I had to sacrifice a member

of my family for my realm,

I would do so.

You are all alone, Sire.

I am the King.

You took Peyrac's honor and fortune.

Did you have to take his life, too?

He did not die at the stake.

- What?

- It's true.

It wasn't your husband's body,

but that of another condemned man.

Before being taken to the stake

he was led into the inn,

on the pretext of taking a last drink.

A final pleasure

offered to the condemned man.

The swap was done,

and Peyrac was taken

through tunnels to the Seine.

Trustworthy soldiers

put him on board a boat,

headed downstream, out of Paris.

I gave Peyrac back his life,

but not his freedom.

When he realized

he was being taken into captivity,

he took advantage

of a momentary lack of attention

to attempt to flee.

Joffrey, alive! He is free!

No.

The strong currents carried him away.

His body was found

and identified the next day.

I don't believe you.

The report, alas, left no doubt.

Joffrey would not have escaped

the stake, just to drown.

You are strange.

Disloyal to the living,

but faithful to a shade.

I'm sure he's alive.

A pipedream, Madame.

He is no more.

But I did not kill him.

Sire, this has shaken me.

Allow me to return to Paris.

At this time?

There is no special time for hoping.

You lied about that shirt!

I did not.

Joffrey did not burn.

But I saw...

I know! The flames blackened his head

and consumed his whole body.

- It's the truth.

- You're lying!

He was not burnt, the King told me.

But at the stake?

Someone else, as you well knew!

No, Madame.

The King spirited him away.

Then he came here to change.

Tell me you saw him!

No, Madame.

Wasn't the shirt I bought

off the executioner his?

Where is he?

The King told you he was alive?

No.

Then he is dead, Madame.

If you knew any different,

you'd tell me, wouldn't you?

Of course, Madame.

It can't be!

Therese!

Madame is home? I thought that...

Undo me.

Hand me my nightgown.

Are you asleep?

Are you ill?

My nightgown!

Take it!

Speak!

Speak!

Have mercy, Madame!

Will you speak?

- Speak!

- It hurts!

On whose orders were you acting?

Mademoiselle Desoeillet's!

Whose?

Mademoiselle Desoeillet's!

What's going on?

- The nightgown?

- Yes.

Don't touch a thing. She's dying.

Do something!

There's nothing to do.

It's a Maltese poison

for which there is no antidote.

I'll use this one.

Madame of Montespan is in there!

We'll share.

Careful with my hair!

You!

- What's that on your thigh?

- A beauty spot.

On the thigh?

It is a natural one. The King adores it!

He cannot like such a blemish.

You're a b*tch!

And you are an angel!

Your hand, Madame.

Who is that triton, Sire?

- That madman Vardes.

- He'll be killed, Sire!

He's as solid as an oak.

Running water is home

to the bubonic plague!

You see death everywhere.

Because it is everywhere, Sire.

They'll drown!

Save them! Help them!

Never do that again.

Help!

Mademoiselle Desoeillet is drowning.

Go on, then, Vardes!

Do you know her?

She can't be anyone important.

- Who does she work for?

- No idea.

There are thousands

of minor ladies-in-waiting.

Follow her, watch what she does,

and report back to me.

As you wish, Marquise of the Angels.

Here's five pistoles.

Take me to the Barriere du Roule.

Jean Pourri.

He who sold children

in the Cour des Miracles.

- A newborn baby? What for?

- Nothing very pleasant.

The local rogues say it's the devil's house.

And the devil in question is a woman.

Voisin is her name.

She's in league

with a fellow with a burnt face.

Did they poison my nightgown?

Who could say?

All I know is that Desoeillet

came out again with Jean Pourri,

Voisin said, "Tomorrow, at midnight."

Midnight is in five hours.

Do you know her?

Impossible to say. Let's go.

Voisin, it is time.

The devil is with us!

Satan, brute force of evil, be with us.

Lucifer, superior spirit of evil, be with us.

Repeat after me.

In the name of Asmodeus,

archangel of crime,

prince of the damned.

I demand the friendship

of the King and Dauphin.

May this friendship never end.

May the Queen be sterile.

Madame of Montespan!

May my rivals perish!

May this sacrifice please you,

O Prince of Darkness!

No!

Catch them! Kill them!

Quick, don't let them escape!

Saved!

So, what do you say?

I have no power at Versailles.

And Madame of Montespan

is the King's mistress.

- We must wait.

- Wait until I'm murdered?

The King would listen.

Were it possible,

I would have told him before now.

So you knew all about Voisin?

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