Devil’s Dance
~ or ~
Louise de La Vallière
By Alexandre Dumas
Edited and Translated by Lawrence Ellsworth
In Last Week’s Episode
Love and venom at the Court of Louis XIV: In the household of Monsieur, with Buckingham gone, the Comte de Guiche began covertly wooing the prince’s new wife, Madame. This was noticed by Monsieur’s jealous favorite, the Chevalier de Lorraine, who began stirring up the prince’s own jealousy toward de Guiche.
Chapter XII
The Jealousy of Monsieur
Monsieur came in suddenly, like one of those well-intentioned people who are sure their appearance will please—or like one who hopes to surprise evidence of guilt, the sad victory of the jealous.
Madame, exhilarated by the opening measures of the music, twirled in a giddy dance, her dinner forgotten. Her partner was Monsieur de Guiche, who knelt, arms in the air, eyes half closed, like those Spanish dancers with swaying shoulders and lingering looks. The princess whirled around him with ardent glances and a provocative smile.
Montalais looked on admiringly. La Vallière, seated in a corner, seemed to see only a vision of her own.
It is impossible to express the effect that Monsieur’s entrance had upon these happy people. And it’s impossible to express the effect the sight of these happy people had upon Monsieur.
The Comte de Guiche froze, unable to find the strength to rise. Madame stopped in the middle of a spin, arms dropping, speechless.
The Chevalier de Lorraine, leaning against the doorframe, smiled like a man seeing the finest scene ever presented.
The prince’s pallor and the convulsive trembling of his limbs were all anyone else could see. A deep silence followed the sudden cessation of the music.
The Chevalier de Lorraine took advantage of this general paralysis to advance to pay his respects to Madame and then to de Guiche, bowing as deeply as if to the master of the household.
Monsieur, approaching in his turn, said hoarsely, “How delighted I am! I came hoping to console you in your sickness and sorrow—and behold, you are cured! What bliss! Why, my home must be the happiest in the universe.”
Turning to de Guiche, he said, “Count, I had no idea you were such an accomplished dancer.”
Then, back to his wife, he added, with a bitterness that barely concealed his anger, “Next time, be so kind as to think of me when enjoying such uninhibited entertainment, lest I be a prince forgotten in his own house.”
De Guiche rose, his natural confidence returning to him, and he said with pride but respect, “Monseigneur knows that my entire life is at his service, and if I must give it for him, I’m ready. But when the violins play, I dance.”
“Quite right,” the prince said coldly, “but Madame, you fail to notice that you ladies are stealing my friends from me; Monsieur de Guiche belongs not to you, but to me. If you wish to dine apart from me, you may dine with your ladies. When I must dine apart, at least I have my gentlemen. Don’t rob me of them.”
Madame, stung by this reproach, flushed up to her eyes. “Monsieur,” she replied, “I didn’t know, when I came to the Court of France, that princesses of my rank would be treated like wives in a Turkish harem. I didn’t realize I was forbidden to consort with men, but if that’s your will, then of course I must obey. Why not just put bars on my windows?”
The prince had vented most of his anger with his complaints, but the princess’s response revived it, though her speech made Montalais and de Guiche smile. “Fine!” he said with teeth gritted. “So this is how I’m respected in my own home!”
“Monseigneur! Monseigneur!” said the chevalier into his ear, so everyone could see he was trying to calm him.
“Come!” was the prince’s only reply. He spun on his heel in a pirouette, nearly striking Madame in the process.
The chevalier followed the prince back to his apartments, where he refused to sit down, instead giving free rein to his fury. The chevalier clasped his hands, looked toward heaven, and said nothing.
“Well?” Monsieur shouted. “Now what do you think?”
“About what, Monseigneur?”
“About what’s going on over there.”
“Oh, Monseigneur, I think it’s serious.”
“Serious? It’s odious! I can’t live this way.”
“I see how awful it is,” said the chevalier. “We hoped we’d have peace after the departure of that madman Buckingham.”
“And now it’s worse!”
“I wouldn’t go that far, Monseigneur.”
“Well, I would! Buckingham wouldn’t have dared to do a quarter of what we just saw.”
“What did we just see?”
“Pretending to be ill to have a private dinner, a secret dance party!”
“But no, Monseigneur!”
“But yes!” cried the prince, stamping like a spoiled child. “I won’t take any more of this! I’m going to find out what’s going on.”
“Monseigneur, no, an open break….”
“Yes, by God! Should I care about those who don’t care about me? Wait for me here, Chevalier—don’t move an inch!”
The prince marched into the château’s grand foyer and asked the usher if the queen mother had returned from the chapel.
On the whole, Anne of Austria was pleased with the state of affairs: peace was restored to the royal household, the nation’s people were charmed by their young sovereign and anticipated great things, the state’s stability promised enhanced revenues, they were at peace with their neighbors, everything augured a peaceful and prosperous future. Nonetheless, she sometimes winced at the memory of the poor young man she’d received as a mother and exiled like a stepmother, and then sighed.
Suddenly the Duc d’Orléans burst into her chambers. “Mother!” he cried, slamming the door shut behind him. “Things can’t go on this way.”
Anne of Austria raised her beautiful eyes to him and said, determinedly gentle, “What things are these?”
“I’m talking about Madame.”
“Your wife?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Did that Buckingham fellow write her a foolish farewell letter?”
“Oh, you think this is about Buckingham, do you?”
“Who else could it be? That poor lad was the target of your jealousy, wrongful though it was, so I thought….”
“Mother, Madame has already replaced Monsieur de Buckingham with another.”
“Philippe, what are you saying? You can’t make such accusations lightly.”
“I don’t! It’s Madame’s own behavior that makes me jealous.”
“Good God, who is it this time?”
“You mean you haven’t noticed?”
“No.”
“You haven’t seen Monsieur de Guiche always at her side, always in her chambers?”
The queen mother clapped her hands together and laughed. “Really, Philippe!” she said. “This isn’t just whimsy, it’s a disease.”
“Whimsy or disease, Madame, I’m suffering!”
“And do you think we can cure a disease of the imagination? Are you looking for approval of your jealousy when there’s no basis for it?”
“Oh, now you’re going to defend this one just like you defended the other.”
“Perhaps, my son, it’s because your attack on this one is just like your attack on the last,” she said drily.
The prince seemed abashed, but then raised his chin and said, “What if I quote you facts? Will you believe it then?”
“My son, for anything other than jealousy I’d believe you without facts—but when it comes to jealousy, I promise nothing.”
“I see. Your Majesty might as well just tell me to shut up and show me the door.”
“Not at all; you are my son, and I owe you a mother’s indulgence.”
“Just say what you mean … that you owe me the indulgence of a fool.”
“Certainly not, Philippe, but I’m not about to believe that your wife is a depraved hussy.”
“But the facts…!”
“I’m listening.”
“At ten this morning, in Madame’s apartments, they were playing music.”
“That’s innocent enough.”
“While Monsieur de Guiche was conversing privately with her! Ah, I forgot to mention that for the past week he’s scarcely left her side.”
“If they meant harm, my son, they wouldn’t do it in the open.”
“Exactly!” cried the prince. “That’s my next point! Keep in mind what you just said. This morning, I surprised them at their private concert, and expressed my stern dissatisfaction.”
“I’m sure that will be quite enough, perhaps even more than enough. These young ladies are sensitive; to blame them for something they haven’t done might persuade them to actually do it.”
“Fine, fine, but wait. Remember what you said: ‘If they meant harm, they wouldn’t do it in the open.’”
“That’s what I said.”
“Well, this afternoon, feeling sorry about my strong words in the morning, and hearing that de Guiche was sulking at home, I paid a visit to Madame to apologize. And guess what I found there? More music, plus wild dancing, and with de Guiche—and all in secret!”
Anne of Austria frowned. “That does sound imprudent,” she said. “And what did Madame have to say about it?”
“Nothing.”
“And de Guiche?”
“The same, plus some muttered impertinence.”
“And what do you think this means, Philippe?”
“That I’ve been played for a fool, that Buckingham was just a distraction, and that de Guiche is the real culprit.”
Anne shrugged. “So, now?”
“I want de Guiche exiled like Buckingham, and I’ll demand it of the king, unless….”
“Unless?”
“Unless you take care of it yourself, Madame—you, who are so wise and so good.”
“I won’t do it.”
“What? Mother!”
“Listen, Philippe, I can’t constantly be ordering people around. I have some authority over the young nobility, but if I use it too much, I lose it. And in any case, there’s no proof that Monsieur de Guiche is guilty.”
“He has displeased me.”
“That’s your problem to solve.”
“Fine, then, I will solve it,” said the prince impetuously.
Anne looked at him anxiously. “What will you do?” she asked.
“The next time I catch him in my home, I’ll have him drowned in the fountain!” he said fiercely, and then waited for her reaction.
The queen mother was calm. “Go ahead,” she said.
Philippe, his bluff called, began to weep and cry. “Everyone betrays me! Nobody loves me! Even my mother sides with my enemies!”
“Your mother sees farther than you do, but she declines to advise you because you won’t listen to her.”
“I’ll go to the king.”
“That’s what I was going to advise. I’d come home expressly to meet His Majesty, and he should be here at any moment. You can tell him yourself.”
She had scarcely finished when Philippe heard the door of the anteroom loudly opened. Fear gripped him; he could hear the king’s firm footsteps approaching across the carpet. Philippe fled out a side door, leaving the queen mother to herself.
Anne of Austria laughed, and was still laughing when the king came in. He entered and asked affectionately after her health, which was known to be failing. He also came to inform her that the preparations for the movement of the Court to Fontainebleau for the summer were completed.
Seeing her laughing calmed his anxieties, and he asked her why she laughed. Anne of Austria took his hand and said cheerfully, “You know, I’m proud to be Spanish.”
“Why, Madame?”
“Because it’s better than being English.”
“Please explain that.”
“Since you’ve been married, have you had a single reason to complain about your queen?”
“No, of course not.”
“And you’ve been married for some time. But your brother, who’s been married only two weeks….”
“Well?”
“Has already lodged a second complaint against Madame.”
“What! Buckingham again?”
“No, another.”
“Who?”
“De Guiche.”
“Oh, so he thinks Madame is a flirt?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“My poor brother!” said the king, laughing.
“You think flirting is a laughing matter?”
“In Madame? Yes, I do. Madame doesn’t mean it.”
“True—but your brother thinks she does.”
“What does he intend to do about it?”
“Drown de Guiche in the fountain.”
“Such violence!”
“Don’t laugh, he’s fed up. It needs to be dealt with.”
“To save de Guiche? Happily.”
“Oh! If your brother heard you talk like that, he’d conspire against you, like your uncle, the elder Monsieur, did against the king your father.”33
“No, Philippe loves me too well, and I love him. I think we’ll always be friends. What is it that he wants?”
“For you to stop Madame being a flirt and de Guiche being lovable.”
“Is that all? My brother has an exaggerated idea of the power of royalty. Change the nature of a woman? Let alone a man!”
“So, what will you do?”
“I’ll have a word with de Guiche—he has sense and will listen to reason.”
“And Madame?”
“That’s harder; a word won’t be enough. I’ll have to read her a lesson that will actually get through to her.”
“And quickly, too.”
“I’ll give it my immediate attention. I’ll see her at the court ballet rehearsal34 this afternoon.”
“You’re going to read her a lesson while dancing?”
“Yes, Madame.”
“You’re sure you can convert her?”
“I shall extirpate all heresy by conviction or by fire!”
“The sooner, the better. And don’t mention me in all this, Madame would never forgive me for meddling. We have to live together as daughter-in-law and mother.”
“Madame, this will be the business of no one but the king. And now that I think of it….”
“What?”
“Maybe it would be better if I went and paid Madame a visit.”
“That’s a bit formal.”
“Yes, but formality is better suited to a lesson than the violins of a ballet. And if I’m going to settle this affair before my brother gets violent, I should hurry. Is Madame at home?”
“I think so.”
“Please list the grievances.”
“As follows: frivolous music; de Guiche devoted; secrecy suspected, even conspiracy.”
“The evidence?”
“None.”
“Well, then, I shall pay a visit to Madame.” The king glanced in the mirror to check his outfit, which was rich and glittering, and his face, which shone like his diamonds. “I suppose Monsieur will stay away for a while?” he said.
“Like fire fears water.”
“Fine. Adieu, Mother, I kiss your hands, the most beautiful hands in all France.”
“May you succeed, Sire, and bring peace to our household.”
“I shall be my own ambassador,” said Louis, “so you can be sure I’ll succeed.”
He went out laughing and straightening his lace.
Notes on the Text of Devil’s Dance
33. HE’D CONSPIRE AGAINST YOU, LIKE YOUR UNCLE, THE ELDER MONSIEUR, DID AGAINST THE KING YOUR FATHER: Prince Gaston de Bourbon, Duc d’Orléans (1608–1660), the “Monsieur” of the previous reign, conspired repeatedly against his brother King Louis XIII. Gaston seems to have had no redeeming characteristics whatsoever. Proud, greedy, ambitious for the throne but an arrant coward, he was the figurehead in one conspiracy after another against Louis XIII and Richelieu. These plots failed every time, after which Gaston invariably betrayed his co-conspirators in return for immunity from consequences—because as the healthy heir to a chronically unhealthy king, he knew his life was sacrosanct.
34. COURT BALLET REHEARSAL: In this period a royal ballet was a musical spectacle that told a story through singing, acting, and dance; typically, leading members of the Court took roles as performers. Louis XIV, like his father before him, loved to take part in his royal ballets, usually in the leading role.
ALEXANDRE DUMAS’ MUSKETEERS CYCLE
Devil’s Dance is part of a series. Everyone has heard of The Three Musketeers and its heroes d’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, but what’s less well known nowadays is that Dumas followed up his greatest novel with a series of sequels that are just as great. Your Cheerful Editor Lawrence Ellsworth has been compiling all-new contemporary translations of these novels, and the entire series, when complete, will fill nine volumes:
- The Three Musketeers, Book One
- The Red Sphinx, Book Two
- Twenty Years After, Book Three
- Blood Royal, Book Four
- Between Two Kings, Book Five
- Court of Daggers, Book Six
- Devil’s Dance, Book Seven
- Shadow of the Bastille, Book Eight
- The Man in the Iron Mask, Book Nine
The first five volumes are already in print and available from Pegasus Books, while Court of Daggers is available as an independent publication. Each week now brings a new episode in the serialization of Book Seven, Devil’s Dance. If you’re interested in more of my work, you can find out about it at swashbucklingadventure.com. So welcome, fellow cavaliers, and enjoy the ride!
—Lawrence Ellsworth
Copyright © 2023 Lawrence Schick. All rights reserved.