"All is fair in love and war. My love compels me to use force. What
if this document had fallen into D'Hérouville's hands? He would have
gone about it less gently."

Madame bent her head upon her arms, and the candles threw a golden
sparkle into her hair. The vicomte's heart beat fast, and his hand
stole forth and hovered above that beautiful head but dared not touch
it. Presently madame looked up. There were tears in her eyes, but the
vicomte did not know that they were tears of rage.

"Think, Madame," he said eagerly; "is a dungeon more agreeable to you
than I am, and would not a dungeon be worse than death?"

Madame roughly brushed her eyes. "You speak of love; I doubt your
sincerity."

"I love you so well that I would kill D'Hérouville and De Saumaise and
Du Cévennes, all of them, rather than that one of them should possess
the right to call you his."

"But can you not see how impossible life with you would be after this
night? I should hold you in perpetual fear."

"I will find a way to overcome that fear."

"But each time I look at you would recall this humiliating moment. I
am a proud woman, Monsieur, and I suffer now from humiliation as I
never suffered before;" all of which was true. "I am a Montbazon; it
is very close to royal blood. If I were forced to marry you, you would