"Live for France or die for the king." "Your choice." "How much are they paying you, gentlemen?" "I can assure you it is not enough." "I'm happy to return home, but you are troubled, Husband?" "When I was young, 10 years old, I suddenly learned what fear was." "I saw my mother scared to death." "The nobles were coming for us, and she truly thought she was about to die." "Ever since, I've had a plan to make sure that does not happen again." "But you are protected." "You have a guard and a palace and an army who march at your command." "They obey me, but they do not fear me." "What power does any man have over you?" "Whoo!" "Are we there yet?" "I am bored, decidedly so." "We've no wine, if that's what you're looking for." "I'm looking for conversation." "When you've killed as many Spaniards as I have, it's difficult to talk about the weather." "Why are we stopped?" "The rains, perhaps." "The storm destroyed parts of the road at Chaville." "Chaville?" "Then we're close." "Stay here." "A shipment from Paris, Sire, stripped of its valuables." "Coachman and outriders killed." "You know that man?" "I do not, Sire." "It pains me to say." "There is breath in him." "What is this?" "This one's alive!" "Deliver him to a doctor." "If he speaks again, it will be to me." "Congratulations, Sire." "For what?" "The treaty." "Our war has ended." "Has it?" "So beautiful, so pure." "Are you in the habit of loitering around ladies' dressing rooms?" "Every chance I get." "I live for it." "There's nothing more appealing than a lady at her toilette." "Is that so?" "No, I'm lying." "There are five things more appealing I can think of right now." "Let's see." "A warm fire, new stockings, a down pillow, a gentle breeze on a summer's day..." "Cabbages, they're fun." "Talking of which, I love your hair." "You are a kind and gentle soul." "I am." "I only hope he's worth the trouble." "Leave." "He?" "Who would that be, he?" "Why, your husband, of course." "What other gentleman could possibly inspire you so?" "The mind boggles." "It does, doesn't it?" "Or rattles, in your case, like a dead mouse in a box." "I do enjoy your tongue, Madame." "So do I." "I'm a great admirer of its edge, so honed, and keen." "A lacerating organ if ever I saw one." "Oh, no doubt you've seen a few." "You do remind me of a swan on a river, did you know that?" "So graceful up on top, but underneath, two fat flippers, just thrashing away." "Oh, and a beak that can break your arm." "I'd rather you didn't." "It's been a long campaign, but they're coming home now." "I do hope you were patient." "Oh, I adore waiting." "Just think of what it does for wine." "Personally, I think it all comes down to the grapes." "We have won the peace." "Now we must use it." "We shall unite the country in celebration, right here." "We shall host a grand entertainment to be seen by the world." "Every noble family shall be represented because our victory is their victory." "Has Cassel replied to our invitation?" "Not yet, Sire, no." "Send another!" "And have Louvois tell my armies there is work for them here as builders, for any man who wants to." "The king grows impatient." "The nobles, the building, the road." "Your failure in this regard begins to reflect on all of us, Monsieur." "The king shall have justice." "The builders, I think." "Welcome home." "I brought you a gift." "It's a book." "I'd never have guessed." "I rescued it from a burning monastery." "A volume of sacred anthems written by men of chastity." "Naturally, I thought of you." "You know me so well." "Someone scribbled in it, on every page." "Then give it back, then." "You shall have no present." "Here." "Have a psalm." "I have been waiting months for this." "Lies!" "You wait for no one." "What on earth has gotten into you?" "That is the interesting thing about war." "You learn so much about yourself." "Do you know what I discovered on the line, my sweet Chevalier?" "When the enemy attacked, when the fighting was close and urgent and the blood was flowing bright and red?" "In the glorious moments nearest my death, my heart would thunder... and my breeches would grow tight because the sword inside them was hard and full like a baby's arm clenching his fist." "Can you imagine?" "Being in the the middle of a battle and your prick is set to burst?" "I never knew a Scotsman, but now I know what a sporran's really for." "Let me be!" "No!" "You ever tasted champagne before?" "You may be about to." "Honestly, I don't know what you see in him." "You are home, but have not arrived." "The body travels on wheels." "The soul travels on foot." "You're not a faithful man, I know." "You can deny it, Husband, but I see it in your eyes as only a wife can." "I had never seen you in love before, until you came to Versailles." "I had never seen it shine inside you." "And now you persuade the world to share in it, even those who'd wish you ill." "They may not all come." "You're reaching for the stick when you should offer the carrot." "After all, what is it that men truly want?" "The answer is simple if you are a woman." "How was war?" "Full of mud and death." "What men do to each other..." "What we do to each other." "Are we so harsh?" "Well, if war was run by women, what then?" "There would be no cannons." "And far fewer balls." "Please." "Not in front of the baby." "It is clear that a man can love more than one woman." "They make space for it." "That's why they can hold more hate in their heart." "She looks so sad." "Oh, I wonder why." "This is not for us to judge." "What else are we going to do all day?" "Do you recall, Athénaïs, the favour I asked of you?" "Of course." "Bontemps has told me that the king has asked for time alone in the chapel this afternoon." "Perhaps today is a good day to thank God for our victory." "Lucky me." "To have a friend like you to help me, the luck is all mine." "Cassel will come." "I assure you of that." "And if he does not, Sire?" "Yes?" "If he does not, then you can be assured neither will de Havilland, de Menthon, de Gagnac, nor any of the other northern nobles who are all clients of de Cassel's." "You will be all alone, Sire." "How kind of you to remind me." "Good God, man, watch your tongue!" "Unless you're twice the idiot I already take you for." "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we won the war." "We would have, if you had only let us." "Official business, Brother." "Let the men do their work." "And I think everyone knows the full reason why the war is over." "You are standing in it." "Sire, your brother has returned to court without remembering, perhaps, where he is." "Unlike Louvois, my brother knows exactly where he is standing." "Of that, I am sure." "Three cheers, then." "Let us dance on the broken backs of your bravest men." "Cease." "Sorry, what was that?" "Oh, you mean halt!" "Now, there's a command." "Sire, it is clear your brother is not himself." "If not himself, then who is he?" "I am the sound of distant thunder." "Leave us." "Your first act on return is to mortify me, Brother?" "You took my victory." "So I take from you your pride..." "Your victory?" "...your glory..." "Your victory?" "...and everything you hold dear." "You are not well." "I do wish you could see yourself, deaf to advice, blinded by sin, indifferent to everything but your own dreams." "No matter how great, you will have your palace." "What did I tell you, in the wood?" "Good men died in the lie that you spun!" "You said you could be trusted." "You were sure of the outcome before the first cannons fired." "A game!" "You said you would have my back!" "Where am I now?" "Now the king invites me to a party." "Those barrels are so familiar." "Oh yes, of course." "They belong to me." "Thieves, My Lord, on the road." "Is that so?" "Terrible business." "You attack a cargo in the shadow of the king's convoy and kill my driver?" "We did not have accurate information." "Has your whoring separated you from your brains?" "6,000 soldiers home from the war, new uniforms on the roads, a force to police it, all of it." "Why didn't you attack earlier?" "I gave you all the information that you needed." "And I appear to be missing a man." "Tomas is dead." "A fine and loyal servant." "And now the king may trace him back to me." "No witnesses were left alive." "Well, you better be right, because the only one that hangs for this will be you." "Cheer up, Montcourt." "You can have Tomas' share." "Just try and stay alive long enough to spend it." "The king commands you to save this man." "His heart is still beating." "Now, I'm not medically minded, but I would consider that a good omen." "He's too far gone." "It would take a miracle." "So be it." "The blue bottle on the table, the kettle, the saw." "Hand me your belt." "I meant cure him, not cook him." "He can lose his life or lose his leg." "Your choice." "Very well, then." "Hold him." "I'm sorry." "I only come here when I need to think." "I do the same." "I must confess, Sire, the thoughts that I am here to think about concern you." "And mine." "I believe you know a man of interest to me, the Duc de Cassel." "Yes, I am quite well acquainted with that person." "You have known him a long time, I am told." "When I was a young girl, I knew him very well." "I don't care to remember it." "I want you to pay him a visit." "He refuses to attend our celebration." "Since he knows you so well, he may well receive you and listen to you." "I need you to persuade him of the error of his ways." "Well, you knew I would be here, Sire, did you not?" "Well, then you know my answer." "Take whoever and whatever you need." "There is one person I would ask to join me, Sire." "And you shall have them." "And when you return, you shall also have your reward." "Hurry up, my dear." "Henriette will be waiting for you." "It's supposed to be the other way around." "You go ahead, Mother." "Very well." "Meet me at noon in the rose garden." "I miss you." "Give that back." "Shut up!" "You will not associate with this creature!" "You cannot tell me who to speak to." "You have not a clue, not a single dust mote of an inkling what you're dealing with and what you're doing to me." "I am going to be late." "You must promise me you will never see this boy." "If you do, you will destroy everything I've worked for." "Do you understand me?" "Everything!" "What is wrong?" "The king wants proof, surely you know by now." "He's demanding we all provide our proof!" "But it is coming from Pau, Mother." "You said it." "It isn't coming, is it." "We're not who we claim to be." "I do not understand." "You were born a Huguenot, a Protestant, just like your mother." "Mother, please, just stop." "No." "I found a way to make us noble and keep us noble, but if you work against me, you will destroy everything I've worked for." "Do you understand me?" "What if the king finds out?" "We hang, like all the rest!" "Oh dear." "Are you scared?" "Is your mother scaring you?" "Let it out." "I'm sorry." "Let it out." "That's a good girl." "Oh!" "Now, never do that again." "I don't believe anything you say anymore!" "Oh, you would better, because your life now depends on doing exactly as I tell you." "There you are." "Madame de Montespan." "I need to borrow you for an errand." "Oh, my lady will not permit it." "At the king's request." "Ah, what sort of errand?" "I need you to help me deliver a message to an old acquaintance of mine, the Duc de Cassel." "I doubt I need to add that the king expects you to serve his request with full diversion." "Benoit, I'll tell you what I've learned from a lifetime is that a woman will find a way of bringing you trouble, even when she doesn't know she's doing it." "A diverting volume?" "Not in the least, I'm afraid." "I have stolen your lady." "Madame de Montespan had need of a young girl." "I see." "Well, of course." "Anything for Athénaïs." "Where did you find this?" "My husband brought it back from the front." "It was a present for the Chevalier." "A hand-me-down." "I'm used to it." "Where did you say my brother found this?" "How's Sophie settling in?" "She's shown great promise." "Then perhaps you can explain to me why she was seen leaving in a coach with Madame de Montespan?" "But I had no idea." "When she returns, I want a full daily report on how Henriette spends her time:" "who she meets, what she writes, all of it." "That's why you were so keen to place her there!" "You surprise me, my darling cousin." "I would have thought you were two steps ahead of me at all times." "If I were you, I'd make sure of it." "And for heaven's sake, put your papers in order, will you?" "Your lack of compliance is beginning to reflect poorly on me." "Our papers are to come by road." "Then I would suggest praying hard for their swift arrival." "I have identified this as a Cistercian codex from the low countries." "Very rare, almost forgotten." "Used, it appears, as an alternative to roman numerals." "So these are merely numbers?" "Which correspond to letters." "The book hails from Cambrai, Sire, in the Spanish Netherlands, which would suggest that the plot to kill you originated there as well." "The Dutch were nervous of our war and they meant to stop it by any means in their power." "Do you suppose William of Orange would send a man to kill me?" "I do not just suppose, Sire." "I believe it." "And what is more, they were sent to find a friendly face, which means that their supporters are amongst us, and they will certainly try again." "I was not expecting you tonight." "Oh, My King!" "But I recognise your caress anywhere." "It runs in the family, my dear." "Christ, have mercy!" "I will say this for my brother:" "He has great taste." "Get out!" "Get out!" "I will tell the king!" "Tell him what?" "My dear heart!" "I am his brother." "I will always be his brother." "You are merely passing through." "So if I were you, I'd enjoy it while you can, because it feels warm when the sun shines, but believe me,... vas soon as he is done with you, all the lights will go out." "You are bathed in sin!" "Forgive me." "I do the talking from now on." "And if he does succeed in cornering you, pretend to enjoy it." "Take it from me." "He loses interest if there's no one to fight." "Yes, My Lady." "Good girl." "You do not speak much." "I like that." "I am here to serve you, My Lady, and My King, of course." "I am in your debt." "How is your husband?" "Oh dear!" "You were doing so well." "Do you miss him?" "When I was a child, I had dysentery, typhus and rickets." "I miss them all more than I miss my husband." "Marry for power and rut for love, my dear." "If you retain one thing from this journey, let it be that." "My little fig!" "What an unexpected pleasure." "My Lord." "Delightful to see you again." "Little Athénaïs, all grown up." "So much beauty in one afternoon." "I was born under a lucky star." "I am here, sir, on the king's business." "He hasn't heard from you since his invite to his party." "Did I not reply?" "How remiss." "But I've been indisposed." "I'm so sorry." "Pass on my apologies to His Majesty." "I trust you will understand that I cannot attend his celebrations,... vas joyful as I am at our glorious ceasefire." "The gathering at Versailles is of course a celebration, but it is also a memorial to pay homage to those noble men that have given their lives for this peace." "Oh, you will thank His Majesty but I prefer to make any homage I may have quite alone." "I appreciate you coming so far to act as the king's postman." "I'd be honoured if you and your lady would be my guests at supper tonight." "But be advised my mind is made up." "I hope I might be able to persuade you otherwise." "You have done well for yourself." "I always knew you had potential." "I flatter myself that you have come so far." "Admit it, I taught you well, didn't I?" "Is it not so that Christ teaches us that only going through hell can we reach heaven?" "So I suppose, yes, I do have you to thank for that." "Sweet Athénaïs, always fighting back." "The first message is very simple:" "Kill the men who bring this map." "The second one is more intriguing, a riddle, in fact." "The end is near." "Make your peace with God." "My Lord, the king believes that without you, his celebration would be incomplete, as I am sure you are aware." "His Majesty flatters me." "But he is aware of your mind and your love of your lands, so he has an alternative proposition." "Well, if you can't come to the party, then the party will come to you." "What exactly do you mean?" "Well, you will host the party." "The king will move the court here." "He will send an army of builders to come and transform and rebuild the chateau and outbuildings to be ready to receive the many thousands of guests that will come to celebrate." "His Majesty jokes at my expense." "No, it is the party that will be at your expense." "That wouldn't be a problem, of course." "Oh, come now." "I've seen your house before." "The cushions are frayed." "The walls grow mould." "Your chateau is a bit like you, Cassel: a decent exterior, but underneath the façade, rotten to the core." "I am wealthy beyond your reckoning." "You used to be." "You would brag of your proxies and wealth in Paris, but they're not working anymore, are they?" "I expect that your staff haven't been paid in a long while." "It would be so inconvenient for His Majesty to attend." "Not as inconvenient as you being absent from Versailles at his request." "She's beautiful, isn't she?" "So pure." "She will of course be there." "I can assure you of that." "How old are you?" "Sixteen." "Come here." "Ah!" "I love it when they play hard to get." "Isn't that right, my little fig?" "Impressive." "Help me, please!" "I shall call him Lazarus." "And you,... well, I do not yet know what I shall call you." "Who is this man?" "What did he do to you?" "He has done nothing, said nothing." "Please do not undo the work." "Quiet, please." "Charlotte Parthenay died in my arms." "Your musket, was it?" "I would not try and run if I were you." "You might have a bit of a shock." "I didn't kill her!" "But you were there." "Who did?" "Who did?" "I did not see!" "You did not see?" "You were not looking." "Then I guess you won't be needing this." "Oh my God!" "For your collection." "Please!" "Please let him live!" "I just need him to answer a simple question." "Whom do you serve?" "De Cassel!" "I'm told he drank nine bumpers of the Turin Rosa Solis after supper." "And three more after arriving here." "Then he fell asleep." "When he sleeps, he could be a child again." "We all could." "Oh, it's you, my brother." "The Magician." "Magician?" "Her brother in England allied with two others against you." "The prospect of a winter campaign and the supply lines of grain running thin." "Only you could sign a ceasefire and call it a victory." "We will talk in the morning." "Better now, Brother." "I do not think I will be awake tomorrow." "You've not officially replied to our invitation." "I'm assuming you intend to come." "Yes, Sir!" "I do as commanded by my superiors." "Drink your fill tonight." "I wish no repeat of this at our entertainment." "I will entertain myself, then." "But as you always say, Brother, there's no greater glory than dying for one's king and country." "But I have to disagree." "Based on personal experience, the greater glory lies in living." "What can war do to a man?" "You are no stranger to that, Sire." "But when he returns home, for example." "No man leaves a battlefield the same way as he entered." "Many see ghosts." "Even the sound of a fountain can spark memories." "Some go mad." "Some take to drink." "Some take their own lives." "Others grow orange trees for their kings." "You returned as another?" "I felt aggrieved only when I wasn't paid, Sire." "What happened then?" "I took whatever measures were necessary." "What did your family think of your choice?" "I lost my family in war." "How?" "Three sons, all dead." "Killed in your service." "My prayers are with them." "There's really no need, Sire." "There's no place for us in the house of God." "There is if you are reconciled." "I need no confession, Sire." "'Cause I know I committed no sin." "If you say so." "May your celebrations be glorious, Sire." "I will make sure of it." "I always do." "Enchanting evening, don't you think?" "Yes, Sire, delightful." "Cassel, you surprise me!" "How could I stay away?" "Sophie has done well." "Perhaps Montespan is the best place for her after all." "I'm sorry." "I must return her." "She's not mine to give away." "She's on loan." "Go." "Be free." "You cunt!" "I know you men think to shame us by calling us the name of our sex, but I am of course a cunt, and proud of it." "You, if I remember correctly, are a prick, a tiny, shrivelled prick." "You'll pay for this." "I already have, believe me." "It is done, Sire." "Bow to your king." "Psst!" "You ignored my invitation." "I could not come." "My duty called me elsewhere." "Ah, I want to believe you." "Please try." "Follow me." "No." "You want to." "I can tell." "It can never be between us." "I know." "So..." "So,..." "As children, we are told not to play with fire." "But they seem to enjoy it." "I see no merit in it, no skill." "Oh, I don't know." "A little burning is good for the soul, don't you think?" "Joan of Arc might disagree with you, or Lucifer." "I fancy that in another life, we might have been friends, Cassel." "I don't give myself to fancy." "I have no time for it." "That gives me surprise." "I don't care for those, either." "How unfortunate for you." "So soon?" "I've seen burning paper before." "I'm leaving." "Bring my horse." "I thought he'd never leave." "Drink with me." "You look splendid this evening!" "I am very grateful that you are here, Brother." "And for once, I am inclined to believe you, Brother." "I believe I was promised a walk in the garden." "We're in a garden now." "So we are." "Brother?" "Brother!" "On the field, I saw a man." "Young, like we were." "He carried his brother in a sack over his shoulder." "He told me he made a promise to their mother." "He was there to take him home." "Would you do that for me, I wondered." "I would, I know." "But you?" "I do not know." "You think because I am king, that I am not also a brother?" "That I may have all that I want and yearn for nothing?" "Even a king cannot live the life that he would want to live." "It is you who may live those moments for me." "It is you who truly lives the life yearned for by a king." "The war still rages in you." "It will never cease." "You mean halt." "You cannot resist the last word, can you?" "Brother..." "Go, leave me." "I command you." "When I was 12, Cassel took away my childhood, what was left of it." "I am grateful to you, Madame." "You understand more than all of them." "Understand what, Sire?" "That in order to rule, the first thing you must learn is sacrifice." "The king requires your papers, your noble papers, Sir, your lineage." "They are ashes." "Then you are without proof." "Only true nobles are exempt from tax." "Arrears to be repaid in full." "I have nothing." "It is all gone." "Then you are in the king's debt." "Place this man under arrest!"