Belle Rose: A Romance of the Cloak and Sword — page 234: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

218 THE DARK SIDE OF THE PICTURE. **T have an idea of what it is,’’ Suzanne answered him, *fand I am ready to follow you.’’ A carriage was at the door bearing the arms of Monsieur de Louvois. Suzanne took her seat within and the coachman drove away. ‘The horses went at a pace to prove that the orders of the Secretary of State were precise. They ar- rived at the minister’s hotel in five minutes; the officer showed Madame d’Albergotti to Monsieur de Louvois’ apartment and announced her. Monsieur de Louvois was pacing his room with contracted lips and sparkling eyes; he stopped from time to time before the chimney to drink at pleasure from a great jugful of water, for he had already contracted that habit, which twenty years later was to cost him his life. At Madame d’Albergotti’s name he turned quickly toward the door and made three steps toward the young woman. ‘*T have learned everything, madame!’’ he said to her. “It is a care with which I intended to charge myself during the day,’’ replied Suzanne, ‘‘I regret that another has anticipated me.’’ ‘‘My informant is the police officer whom your accom- plices have bound, maltreated, and imprisoned; an officer of the king, madame.’’ ‘*When one tortures an officer of the king, monseigneur, one can well imprison one of the king’s police,’’ said Su- zanne. Monsieur de Louvois broke the blade of a penknife which he was holding between his fingers. ‘*This may lead you farther than you think, madame,”’ said he, ‘*Not always farther than the king knows.”’ ‘The king is in Flanders, and I am at Paris; the king is the king, and Iam his minister!’’ exclaimed Monsieur de Louvois. Suzanne was silent; she began to undarstand that her action might have results which she had not even sus- pected; with a minister like Monsieur de Louvois, no one was sheltered from his anger, neither the old man, the child, the weak, nor the powerful. But these dangers which she now divined, Suzanne would have braved if she had known them. She resigned herself, then, and — Monsieur de Louvois threw his penknife upon the oor. ‘‘Tam grieved, madame,’’ said he, in a brusque tone, ‘*but you will have a severe account to render of all this, ”’ ‘‘I am your prisoner, monseigneur.”’ i¢books (E(@) =) (E(0) Raa ar