"Ruy Blas" "But you've had a good night's sleep!" "Imagine doing a thing like that to me!" "You have no heart." "My mule!" "Hold him!" "Hold my mule!" "Stop him!" " Where are you heading for?" " Madrid." " Diable!" "And where do you come from?" " From college." "Jump up behind." "I don't want to leave my mule, she's all I have." "Don't worry about the mule, we'll ride in step." "I am delighted, my dear sir, to have made your acquaintance." "We shall travel together." " What's your name?" " Ruy Blas." "I am the Duke of Alba." "We've almost arrived at Madrid." "Do you intend to continue your studies there?" "No, Your Excellency." "Unfortunately, I imagined myself to be better than I really was." "So I renounced." "Better than you imagined you were?" "I thought I was a poet, but I wasn't." "What do you intend to do?" "I'll take the first little job which is offered to me." "Come and see me at the hôtel Alba." "I'll take care of it." "Thank you, Your Excellency." "Do you have a mistress?" "No, Your Excellency." "Diable!" "You'll be the only person in Madrid not to have a love affair." "The only one, besides the Queen." "But... what about the King?" "Oh, the King is a shadow." "He lives at the Escurial, he doesn't care about the Queen, nor about the Kingdom." "Spain is in a bad state, sir, a very bad state." "A sick King, a sick country, there is no more... don't move, put up your hands!" "Your Excellency, you must excuse this sudden interruption." "And right before the gates of Madrid, my congratulations." "You're doing me a great hounour, Your Excellency." "I suppose I'll have to hand over to you the gold I carry with me." "What do you take me for, Your Highness!" "No no!" "I only ask Your Highness to follow me." "Ah, the ransom." "I'm sure Your Highness has many friends in high places who will pay up for him." "Very well." "Let me send this young man to Madrid." "I suppose, sir, that you won't refuse to do me this favour." "You can ride?" "I can also ride, Your Excellency." "Who are you?" "A poor student the Duke met on the road." "My name's Ruy Blas." " I say!" " My pockets are empty." "I'm warning you." "That's perfect." "If His Excellency trusts this young man, I accept." "I suggest to His Excellency to await his return." "Chief, 1.000 ducats!" "Address yourself to His Excellency." "He's giving the orders." "Let His Excellency himself decide the amount." "1.000 ducats." "1.000 ducats are enough for you?" "Your price or another, Your Excellency, we never bargain." "1.000 ducats." "You'll go to the Royal Palace." "You'll ask for the Marquis Don Salluste de Bazan." "Show him my golden fleece." "It'll be your identification." "Write:" "Pay out 1.000 ducats... pay out 1.000 ducats to Ruy Blas... the young man, the bearer of this letter." "He looks as if butter wouldn't meld in his mouth." "You're great." "We'll be waiting for you, you know where." "(all three lines with the familiar "tu")" "I recommend him to you." "Don't abuse him, ever." "He's my friend." "Is everything in order?" "And it's understood, Your Excellency, that the young man shall return alone." "I wouldn't want any misfortune to happen to His Excellency." "You have my promise." "You've heard it all." "Take my groom's horse." "I'll guarantee the safekeeping of your mule." "Thank you, Your Excellency." "And where will I find you?" "We'll pick you up on the highroad." "Let's go." "Your Excellency." "Good luck." "Gallop along!" "Gentlemen." "This way, Your Excellency." "Lock up the groom in the stables." "Watch him!" "Where do I go?" "Upstairs." "To the chief's room." "We reserve it to guests of rank." "You have more soldiers than His Majesty." "We pay them better." "Excuse me, Your Excellency." "Bravo, your mule was swift, Mr. Student." "Come in, Your Excellency." "Goulatromba." " Chief!" " Leave us!" "Leave us!" " But..." " No talking back, leave us!" "Excuse me, Duke." "There is no discipline left in Spain." "Don't let yourself be disturbed, go on with your dinner." "You must be thirsty after the long ride in the sun." "It's you who must be thirsty, Your Excellency." "May I offer you a glass of Xerez?" "I am hardly to pity, I haven't left this room." "I've studied your travel route, so I sent my troops to meet you." "I preferred to meet you here." "I guess I'm a gambler, I'm beginning to find the adventure amusing." "What is your real name?" "Too many questions, Duke." "Call me Zafari." "Like everybody else." "Your health." "Your health, Zafari." "And to the health of Ruy Blas." "You know Ruy Blas?" "As well as you do." "I say!" "Duke, this is fantastic!" "I've been looking for him for a year!" "But where is he?" "He is supposed to be galloping to Madrid." "He is supposed to be there." "He is supposed to demand my ransom of Don Salluste de Bazan." "Of Don Salluste de Bazan?" "Shall I confess to you, my dear M. Zafari... that I was astonished to see your comrades agree so quickly... to my sending the first who came along to the Minister of the Police?" "So the police will be here today!" "Goulatromba is a fool!" "He was fooled for the same reason you were:" "by a resemblance." " One couldn't put it any better..." " I'm not joking, Ruy Blas exists!" "We became friend at college when we were young, because of that extraordinary resemblance." "They mistook one for the other." "Hard to believe." "Just imagine, Your Excellency, what use I could draw out of that resemblance." "What alibis!" "I adore all things incredible." "I believe you." "I you let me go, I'll try to reach Don Salluste before your look-alike." "One service rendered merits a service returned." "But you'll find Ruy Blas for me?" "You'll tell him to rejoin me ... for the evening mass at the church of Santa Mayor." "Since there exists a Ruy Blas, I'll see him... and I'll tell him, upon my word of a nobleman." " Am I free?" " One minute, Duke." "You must excuse me, but... we should exchange our clothes... if I dare say so." "It's just that I like my waistcoat a lot." "So do I." "Very well." " No, no!" " Take off his boots!" "Dirty thief!" "Murderer!" "Not the tights!" "Untie me!" "Untie me!" "Sure, we'll untie you, Your Excellency." "And the love letters?" "My pockets are full of them." "Leave them to me, Duke, they'll keep me warm." "You're a strange kind of a thief." "You'll send Ruy Blas to me, you've promised." "Promised, at tonight's mass, Santa Mayor." "You permit..." "I'll show you a secret even my men don't know about." "Follow me..." "You don't trust me, Your Excellency." "That's bad!" "Where are they?" "The Majordomo of Her Majesty the Queen." "Am I disturbing you?" "I've been waiting for you, Guritan." "I know the Queen assigns all her disagreeable tasks to you." "And besides, I haven't been invited to the audience." "I'm obeying Her Majesty's orders." "The Queen is going to exile me!" "Such big words, Salluste." "It would please the Queen if you made a long journey to your estates." "Just because of one of her ladies-in-waiting I seduced but refused to marry..." "She dragged herself and the child to the King..." "I, Marquis de Finlas, head of the house of Bazan, Minister of the Police, 20 years in office... they chase me off like a servant!" "The Queen hates me." "She has found this pretext." "The Queen hates nobody, Don Salluste." "But the girl came with her from Neubourg." "My name alone used to make all Spain tremble... and now I'm crumbling in the midst of one big laughter." "No no no no!" "Her Majesty wants to avoid all scandal." "She just advises you... she begs of you... to stay at court another week... and to announce that you're leaving for a journey." "I am at her command." "The Queen is so kind." "She'll forget." "There are things, Guritan... which can never be forgotten." "You see!" "You heard, Santa-Cruz." "I wouldn't have thought she'd dare." "You don't know that little German." "Even though you like her as little as I do." "What do you intend to do?" "Obey, leave my office to you... and take revenge." "Of the Queen!" "Why not?" "I shall need you at court, Santa-Cruz." "I'll return to power, don't forget!" "Your Excellency." "What is it?" "A messenger from the Duke of Alba." "Receive him." "He's on the King's side." "What!" "You dare come to Madrid?" "To me?" "Under the pretext of coming from the Duke of Alba, in this ridiculous disguise?" " But Your Excellency!" " Silent!" "Come nearer." " I'm the envoy of.." " Where did you steal that golden fleece?" " It the golden fleece of..." " Silent!" "I've had enough!" "This bunch of police files concerns you." " M. le Marquis, I..." " Silent!" "I am talking and I forbid you to interrupt me!" "You're a robber and kidnapper on the highroads of Spain..." "In France, you're accused among other things to have robbed the cash-box of the salt taxes." "In Flanders, you've robbed the clergy's treasure wagons under the guard of Don Paul Barthelemy." "You're consorting with whores!" "And you're a Bazan!" "And your name is Don César!" "And you're my cousin!" "And on top of it, this scandal hanging over my head!" "I've had enough, enough!" "Your Excellency, I think you're mistaken, I am..." "Shut up!" "And don't put on that astonished air which doesn't suit you at all." "The Duke of Alba, the Duke of Alba!" "What business do you have with Duke of Alba!" "Does he know at all who you are?" "But yes." "What do you mean, yes?" "Don't move, wait!" "Santa-Cruz!" "Santa-Cruz!" "Come nearer." "Take that person to your rooms, and see to it that he stays there." "And don't let him open his mouth, he's a terrible gossip." "Here's a letter for His..." "His Excellency the Duke of Alba." "Well, Salluste, people are being robbed in broad daylight right before the gates of Madrid!" "They are plundered, abducted, released..." "What are you telling me there, Duke?" "Don't act surprised?" "Where is Ruy Blas?" "Ruy Blas?" "My messenger." "There's the message." "The messenger couldn't be far away." "One of my men brought me that golden fleece which I didn't know belonged to you, and... and this message, which I was going to read just when you came in." "He's timid and they didn't let him in." "All the better." "Salluste, I'm dead tired." "I rode as fast as I could, because of a misgiving." "I've sent you my young Ruy Blas before I knew that the chief of the gang... resembled him in such an incredible way that one could mistake the one for the other." "This sounds quite like a fairytale, Duke." "Do you doubt my words?" "Your Excellency must be joking." "Let's sum it up:" "You were afraid I'd make the acquaintance of your ravisher and that I'd confront him with ..." "Ruy Blas." "Ruy Blas, and... and that I'd sack your friend without a trial." "Duke, you have a curious notion about... about my police." "I have the notion of a man arriving in Madrid and who's been held for a ransom." "Unravel this yourself, Ruy Blas, Zafari, I'm getting confused." "Zafari?" "Do you know my rascal?" "He's on my list." "Strange times." "The bandits look like Grandees of Spain." "Your Zafari has kept nothing of me but my clothes." "These are his." "My golden fleece doesn't look bad with them." "Duke, I have lied to you." "So you lie sometimes, Salluste?" "As little as possible." "Your young man's name is Don César de Bazan... and he's my cousin." "I must be dreaming!" "Under the name of Ruy Blas, I've sent him to study in Provence." "So I've been made a fool all over." "I know about that deplorable resemblance." "I'm always afraid that he's profiting from it in his dealings." "He didn't brag before you of being a nobleman?" "No, but he deserves to be one." "He's released me." "I'll hide César till he can reclaim his rank at court." "And we'll all be laughing about it." "In fact..." "Zafari knows your cousin." "What's the matter?" "Nothing." "I'm suffocating." "You ought to take some rest." "I'll do so." "Ah, I forgot, Zafari is looking for Ruy Blas." "No doubt, it would displease you now if they met each other." "Zafari has charged me to deliver a message to him, a rendez-vous at the evening mass, church of Santa Mayor" "Make use of it as you see fit." "Thank you." "A church is a place of asylum, Don Salluste." "Be careful." "I wouldn't want a misfortune to happen to my rascal through my fault." "Santa-Cruz!" "Your prisoner didn't try to escape?" "He's as obedient as a lamb, my men keep watch over him." "Take this young man to my house in town and confine him to my negroes." "Don César de Bazan" "You could be betrayed quite easily, my cousin." "Why are you hiding under this hood?" "Come with me." "We are being observed." "You were waiting for your friend Ruy Blas?" "I'm replacing him." "Hoho!" "It's a crime to look like me." "You've put him under the wheels." "Not at all." "He's entered my service." "He knows I only want to help you." "Help me?" "Which help?" "Careful!" "Kneel." "César!" " You've stolen the Duke of Alba's waistcoat." " I?" "He gave it to me as a present." "I'll free you from the troubles you're in." "May God be thanked." "Take this purse." "May God return it to you." "I'll get you out of this swamp on one condition." "Which?" "The collection." "Let's get lost." "Enter, my son." "In there?" "In there." "Your condition?" "You know all the scum of Madrid." "I'm proud of it." "Could you start an uprising?" "If necessary." "And work beside me in the dark?" "I wouldn't have thought you were scrupulous." "What is it about?" "About taking my revenge." "Of whom?" "Of a woman." "That, no!" " César!" " Don't look any further, my cousin." "I steal, I plunder, I kill... but I don't attack women!" "Bravo, César!" "I just wanted to find out whether you were worthy to resume your rank at court." "Really?" "Really." "You'll pay my debts which forced me to leave Madrid?" "The money will be sent to you tomorrow, same time, same place." "When you're ready, you'll present yourself at my hôtel." "You're supposed to have returned from the Indies." "Rich!" "Rich." "Go now." "I'm staying." "We mustn't be seen leaving together." "Up there!" "Thief!" "Not in church!" "Right of sanctuary!" "Lower the chandeliers." "Quick!" "He'll escape over the roofs." "Surround the building!" "Whose turn is it now?" "Whose turn is it?" "Mine!" "He's good for galleys now." "Did I frighten you?" "I've finished the mail, Your Excellency." "Excellent handwriting." "Mine is like that of a cat." "My congratulations." "You're engaged as my secretary." "Ruy Blas, my young friend... and we won't leave it at that." "I'll take you to court." "But Your Excellency..." "What's the matter?" "You'll be a member of my suite." "And a young man living in the year 1695 ought to know the palace of Charles V." "A pity, under Charles II it's almost in ruins." "But you'll find it interesting all the same." "I couldn't possibly join Your Excellency' suite..." "Ah, if it's only that!" "Take the gentleman with you, he shall have his hair dressed and be given new clothes." "Obey me, the Duke of Alba wanted to find you an employment, I've found it for you." "Let me guide you, I'll make your fortune." "But where is Don Salluste?" "He's leaving for a voyage." "We're waiting for him, he's going to pay his farewell to the court." "A long voyage?" "Longer than he'd wish." "Don Salluste is in trouble, Santa-Cruz?" "Family troubles, Your Excellency, just some matter of a succession." "In Andalusia?" "In Andalusia." "He's leaving tomorrow." "Everybody has some troubles." "Everybody has some troubles." "I want to join the King at the hunt tomorrow, at Aranjuez." "His Majesty is tiring himself out." "He's killing very little, and he's sleeping a lot." "His Majesty leaves quite a heavy burden to the Queen." "She has you." "You'll carry it for her." "His Excellency Don Salluste de Bazan." "Don César, let me kiss you." "We're old friends." "Marquis, let me present to Your Excellency the Count Garofa." "Don César, my cousin." "You're the image of Madame your mother... whom I loved dearly." "Ten years of absence." "But we thought he'd died." "Don César, Alvaro de Bazan y Benavides, Marquis de Santa-Cruz" " Your Excellency." " Call him my cousin." "We are." "You are Aragon, I'm Portugal." "At court, you're everybody's cousin." "You'll have lots of fun." " You recognize him?" " I've seen him being born." "I've paid his debts." "He's just returned from the Indies." "On a mule!" "That voyage had been incognito." "One mustn't travel on the highroads in full finery." "I'm sure Your Excellency knows what I mean better than anybody else." "And I thought I'd send him to you." "If you didn't leave Madrid you'd organize one of your sensational balls." "One must find him an employment with the Queen, Santa-Cruz." "I'll mention it at the council of Castile, won't I, Arrias?" "He's a ninny." "The Queen." "Cover yourself." "Don César, your hat!" "You are a Grandee of Spain." "Casilda!" "Casilda!" "Calm yourself, Madame." "Calm yourself." "I can't stand it anymore, I can't stand it anymore." "Don Salluste hates me, Don Guritan bores me to death... all those old men are stifling me, I can't stand it anymore!" "But the King won't stay at the Escurial forever, Madame." "The King doesn't care about the throne or his wife, either he hunts or he's ill." "What a King!" "What a husband!" "I can't stand it anymore!" "But you're the Queen of Spain." "I didn't ask for it." "They came to take me away from Neubourg." "I was just a child." "I didn't understand anything, I had been gay, free... and now I'm dying." "What am I to do, Casilda?" "What am I to do?" " Waiting." "Waiting for what?" "No, that Madrid palace, that dust, those intrigues... those absurd ceremonies, those old men..." "I'm going crazy." "My God, Madame, don't work yourself into such a state!" "Leave me alone, Casilda, leave me alone." "I'll never be able to free myself of it." "Never." "The Council of the Ministers is waiting for Your Majesty." "You see." "Wipe your eyes." "Blow your nose." "Hold yourself upright." "I'm going." "Whose fault is it?" "If the Duke of Alba hadn't called you "Don César", you'd still be Ruy Blas, my secretary." "You profit by the resemblance." "And now you're my cousin." "Do sit down." "I am sorry, Your Excellency." "I cannot play this part." "I thought you were under my orders." "I must ask you back my freedom." "I must leave Madrid." "But you've come here..." "It wasn't the same, Your Excellency." "You have a secret?" "Yes, Your Excellency." "I have a secret... which keeps me from obeying you." "A secret..." "A refusal to obey..." "This is a bit strong for a Minister of the Police." "My God!" "Come, come, I'm not a monster you know." "I'm your protector." "This secret - couldn't you tell me?" "No, Your Excellency." " Never!" " Never?" "Then I'll have to guess." "This is part of my office." "Let's guess together." "It can only be a love affair which is capable of putting a man in such a state." "I've hit the target." "Ruy Blas, don't you trust me?" "I do, Your Excellency." "So?" "Let's see.." "A love affair which your new role would complicate?" "You're torturing me." "Good God, no!" "So you're in love." "With whom?" "With whom?" "With whom?" "With whom... you want to know?" "What do I care, after all." "With the Queen." "With the Queen!" "But Ruy Blas, you've seen her for the first time this morning!" "Just for one minute." "No Your Excellency, I've know the Queen for a long time." "You mean that you nourish for her the feelings which exalts all the youth of Spain?" "Don't look down!" "Look at me!" "Explain yourself." "I was born in Neubourg." "Are you German?" "No, Your Excellency." "I've spent my childhood in Neubourg, my father was a huntsman there." "I've played with the Queen as a child." "And when she left Neubourg to marry the King Charles II..." "You couldn't live anywhere else but in Spain." "Perfect." "And you're complaining because now, you can be near the Queen, because of me?" " I'd be unmasked, chased away." " By whom?" "The reign is crumbling." "Everybody plunders, intrigues, depraves himself, looks after his own interests..." "I'm pushing you even." "The Queen is bored." "The Queen is a woman, Ruy Blas." "And a very young woman." "You're beautiful, profit of your chance." "Your Excellency!" "What would you do for the Queen?" "I'd sell my soul." "I don't ask that of you, just to redeem the honour of a family." "I'm leaving for Andalusia." "I'm obliterating myself." "I'll hand over my house to you, my servants." "I'll leave a Bazan at court." "Impossible!" "It's you who are impossible!" "Let's not talk about it any longer." "Sit down." "I'll dictate a letter to you." "Quite brief." "Help!" "Exclamation mark." "That's all." "I no longer have your youth, nor your looks." "And the ladies like it when a man of my power calls them for help." "Sign it, Your Excellency." "You sign for me." ""César"." "César?" "All Bazan men are called César." "You've still a lot to learn." "Perfect." "One last formality..." "I'm dictating..." "I, Ruy Blas... undertake to serve the Marquis of Bazan... like a good domestic servant." ""Domestic servant" surprises you?" "This is the expression used at court." "We are all His Majesty's domestic servants." "The date.... sign." "Now our affairs are put in order." "Can you swim?" "Yes." "In the ravines of Caramanchel there grow the blue flowers of Germany." "They aren't easy to pick." "The Queen adores them." "Your Excellency, have pity..." "I am a coward." "I'll have to help you against your will." "And since you're begging to receive orders from me..." "I'll give you one." "Are you listening?" "Yes, Your Excellency." "Will you obey me?" "Yes, Your Excellency." "Reasonable at last!" "And you'll get a compensation." "You're expecting the worse." "What a child you are!" "Would you like to know which order I'll give you?" "I'll obey." "I order you to make the Queen fall in love with you." "And to become her lover." "The blue flowers of Caramanchel." "This is too beautiful." "It's known that we come here every evening." "But nobody in Madrid knows that I love these flowers." "Nobody but the man who put them on this bank." "A young man, Casilda, look!" "Blood?" "None our old men would risk his life for picking flowers." "Risk his life?" "He has to cross the Caramanchel torrent." "But this is marvelous." "A young unknown man, without any hope... has risked his life to bring the flowers she loves to the Queen of Spain." "I'd give much to know who he is." "Leave me to my dreams." "Citizens of Madrid." "Midnight has rung." "Sleep in peace." "May your sleep be auspicious to you." " Good evening, Sereno!" " Good evening." "Adore the Lord." "Venerate the King and Queen." "May the devil keep away from your path." "Be happy." "Say it, Madame, say it!" "Ladies, bring me a table and a lansquenet (card game)." "I want to play a game." "Don't move, ladies." "Her Majesty knows very well that she can only play games with members of the Royal family." " Then have them sent here." " The Lord hasn't provided them to the King Charles II." "This could make one die of rage." "Casilda, put those flowers in my hair." "Only the Marchionesses of Del Basto and Santa-Cruz are allowed to touch the Queen's hair." "When the Queen is out hunting... and if she falls off her horse... and is dragged by the stirrups... nobody has to right to assist her." "This has happened to a Queen of Spain, Madame." "She died of it." "I want to be dead." "What's this?" "A Queen of Spain doesn't look out of the window." "Madame!" "Madame, I'm only the Camerara Mayor and I fulfill my duty." "A letter from the King." "Madame, it is customary that I read it first." "Very well, read it." "Aranjuez, this Tuesday." "Madame, it's very windy, I've killed six wolves... signed Carlos." "It that all?" "Yes, Count." " If Her Majesty would like to read..." " No!" "Did you bring the letter, sir?" "This is Don César de Bazan, the Count Garofa." "He's the new squire the King presents to the Queen, recommended by M. de Santa-Cruz." "Step nearer, sir." "Step near." "Welcome to the palace of Madrid." "I hope you..." "He's wounded!" "Wounded?" "But sir, you're going to faint!" "He can't stand on his feet." "Oh my God!" "This is horrible!" "Don't stand there like idiots!" "Bring me some bandages, a handkerchief, anything!" "Take him away." "One doesn't faint before the Queen." "What about the bandages?" "Madame!" "Take the young man away!" "This young man will be left alone and rest here, I insist!" "I'll retire to my oratory." "Well young man, so you're recovered." "You've made a sensational entrance." "This is ridiculous." "I've galloped... galloped under the sun..." "I've hurt myself while hunting." "And the wound reopened." "I must have lost a lot of blood." "I don't care much for those young fops who pretend to faint because of a scratch... in front of women." "Monsieur!" "You understand what I mean." "You call yourself César?" "I am Don Gaspard Guritan y Guerra," "Count d'Onate, Majordomo of Her Majesty the Queen." "Your servant." "Let's deal with this affair at once." "Get hold of Guritan when he's leaving." "Don Guritan." "Don Guritan." "Her Majesty would like to see you." "Madame." "I've been looking for you." "Her Majesty is too kind." "Did you look after the little Bazan?" "He doesn't seem strong to me." "Yes, we're looking after him, Madame, we're looking after him." "This is a generation of effeminate weaklings." "Guritan, you're right." "The slightest voyage kills them." "You, Guritan, what would you do for me?" "I'd go, Madame, to the end of the world." "This is almost what I expected of you." "I want you to go to Neubourg and to bring my father a casket." "I trust nobody else." "To Neubourg!" "600 lieues!" "You're shirking?" "Tomorrow?" "At once." "Casilda, my casket." "It's just that I..." "Madame... a matter ... a matter..." "Besides my own, do you have other matters to look after?" " Madame, I could..." " Shh!" "Be quiet one minute, Don Guritan." "Her Majesty must write a very important letter." "Retain the old fool as long as possible." "Maria" "Here you are." "My father has the other key in Neubourg." "Does Her Majesty believe that I..." "Guritan, do you want me to kiss you?" "Madame!" "I'm defeated." "I hope you are." "Bon voyage." "I'll let you have the best horses from the Royal stables." "It won't be you who'll get hurt on the roads." "What an insufferable old bore!" "He adores you, Madame." "He mustn't assassinate this young man." "Our unknown man isn't unknown anymore." "The Queen sends me off on a mission." "You're fortunate." "We're even." "Don't hurt your hands again, young man." "And take some fencing exercise." "How good it feels to disobey." "Madame de Santa-Cruz told me he'd just come back from the Indies." "He's more beautiful than the Duke of Alba." "He's something else." "What would our exquisite Camerara Mayor say... if she knew that you're going to receive that young man without her being present?" "Count Bazan belongs to my suite." "A Queen of Spain cannot receive a gentleman of her suite if she's alone... especially when he's young and beautiful." "Hurry up, and do my hair." "It is not part of my duty to touch the Queen's hair... except when I scratch her scalp." "You refuse to dress my hair?" "Look at you." "He's arrived." "Good day, sir." "I would like to hear how you are." "This is a very great honour you're doing me, Your Majesty." "It is I who must ask your forgiveness for not having shown due respect." "Let's not talk about it." "Everything is forbidden in this court." "And I am glad that your new office allows me almost to give you an audience." "I see nothing but old faces from morning till night." "Do I owe this chance to the Duke of Alba?" "The Queen is too kind." "To the Duke of Alba." "He's charming, and he's always laughing, making us laugh too." "And he knows I'm to be pitied." "If he lived in Madrid he would arrange balls... where I could dance..." "But this isn't everything." "Without doubt, the burden of regency lies heavily on Her Majesty's shoulders." "She longs for her childhood at Neubourg... where she could talk to the peasants on the road... to the workers in the vineyards.." "to the gypsies." "How do you know that there were gypsies at Neubourg." "I guessed." "They are almost everywhere." "And I speak of them because... the Queen feels herself a prisoner... the gypsies represent freedom." "You've understood me." "There were gypsies at Neubourg." "Even in our park." "I was free then." "Madame!" "I'm all alone in the world, Don César." "You're the first man I have really talked to... and you must excuse me... because a young Spaniard must find me quite sentimental... quite... quite German." "I wish I weren't the lowest of the subjects of the realm... and I could help Your Majesty in her distress." "You are a Grandee of Spain, Don César, don't forget it." "My life lies at the Queen's feet." "If you knew how simple it is to please a poor Queen of Spain." "A bunch of blue flowers reminding me of Neubourg means more to me than all the riches of the Indies." "And how is your wound healing?" "And how did you get hurt, Don César?" "Out hunting?" "You seem to be suffering still from the consequences of your fainting spell." "You may retire, rest a bit." "And let's be friends." "I don't have any friends, Don César." "I want you to know it." "I greet you, Mr. Universal Secretary." "I salute you, Marquis." "What's the meaning of this title?" "It's yours, since this morning." " Haven't you seen Her Majesty?" " I have." "I had an audience." "And she didn't tell you anything?" "By God, no." "Diable!" "She must have had passionate subjects to discuss with you for forgetting to tell you what she herself has decided this morning in the Council of the Ministers." "But I..." "I'm not worthy of this office." "It seems Her Majesty thinks otherwise." "I am happy to announce you a piece of good news:" "you'll have a seat in the Council of the Ministers." "In fact, my dear... you'll have an allowance." "You have to maintain the household staff your cousin Salluste left... at your disposition." "Adieu." "Who is this?" " No idea." "You're getting warmer." " Who's this?" " He's not a page." " So who is he?" "Guess." " Someone who passed through the hallway." "I'm asking you who it is!" "A domestic servant!" "One of Don Salluste's lackeys." "Things are running on their own, Salluste." "Bravo." "I'm listening." "First, the Queen's personal squire." "Second, Universal Secretary." " How fast?" " Eight days." "Superb." "Go on, go on." "Third, Minister." "Forth, Duke of Olmedo." "Golden Fleece." "This surpasses my expectations." "And you've helped a bit?" "As much as I could." "But frankly, it wasn't necessary." "All I had to do was follow suit." "So the Queen has exposed herself... been compromised?" "No." "Even my wife finds it natural and suspects nothing." "This only proves that your wife is an honest woman, Santa-Cruz." "How did the Queen go about it?" "She gave the impression to reward him for services rendered." "Our protagonist is very useful." "Explain." "He supervises, he controls, he puts things in order." "So much the better." "What about the King?" "He's delighted." "He thinks he's found a man at last with enough resource to let him leave as he pleases." "Let him sleep, I'm keeping the watch." "He hunts, but I'm as good a hunter." "We'll see what's in the bag." "I'll return to Madrid." "Tomorrow, Santa-Cruz." "We have time." "You're going to rest here for the night and share my exile." "I'll show you to your rooms and see about your escort." "I'll leave tomorrow morning." "He doesn't suspect you?" "On the contrary." "He confides in me." "You'll be rewarded for your services." "But how high will he rise yet?" "Let him rise, Santa-Cruz." "He must crush someone in his fall." "And I want him to fall from a high position." " It isn't clear." " It's very clear." "The Queen?" "The King lives at the Escurial with his first wife's coffin." "The Queen rules us, and César rules her." "He lives in a small townhouse, guarded by deaf-mutes." " Deaf-mutes?" " Negroes, deaf-mutes." "I think they'd have a lot to tell." "But he's of noble race, Monsieur." "But Santa-Cruz is encouraging him." "He used to be a real rogue in the old times, in Madrid." "Age has made him honest." "You're talking plain." "The Queen's household gets an annuity of 664.000 ducats." "It's a goldmine." "And he's fishing in it." "Alas!" "My late grandfather used to say:" ""Bite the King, flatter the favorite."" "Gentlemen, gentlemen!" "Let's get down to matters of state." "I've asked you for the post of Alcade (magistrate) for my nephew, to be paid out of your relics treasury." "But you've promised to nominate my cousin d'Elva Bailiff of Ebro." "But we've already paid for your niece's dowry." "I support the Alcade!" "And I support the Bailiff." "Gentlemen, councilors of Castile..." "Let's put our privileges in order... and let's distribute our parts." "Ubilla, you hold the tobacco trade." "Priego, you'll get the amber and musk trade." "Camporeal collects the taxes on the 8000, on salt and the 5% on gold." "Don't look so worried, Montazgo..." "You've got the arsenic, the maps, brass, a tithe of the sea, the rose wood..." "And I have nothing!" "Nothing?" "Except the Indies." "I repeat, I have nothing!" "You have the negroes." "I want the forests." "You'll get the negroes if you let me have the arsenic." "Bon appétit." "Gentlemen." "So this is the hour you chose to fill your pockets." "Duke!" "Try to use some restraint." "Look at Spain tumbling." "Since Philip IV... we've lost Portugal, Brazil, Brisach in Alsace the Roussillon, Ormuz, Pernambouc, Milano, Flanders" "5000 lieues (22.000 km) of coastline 300 vessels and as many galleys" "All of Europe is watching you... and laughs her head off." "The Church doesn't approve of you... and I'm warning you." "But God approves of me." "Great Britain and Holland split the kingdom among them." "Rome is cheating us." "France and Austria try to trap us." "In the interior, war between the princes, war between the convents... the war among the famished over some rubbish." "The people, gentlemen, only for your own amusements... in the last 20 years have been sweating out 408 million in gold." "Prove it!" "I have the account books." "And you dare!" "Duke, I won't admit..." "Restrict yourself to your musk and your amber, Priego!" "I'm talking now!" "The taxes are crushing those who are working." "The people only get along by cheating, and they get along very well, and why not!" "All the thieves are in your pay." "They have more troops than the King of Spain... on whose passing carriage the peasants spit." "I resign." "I resign." "I'll make a note of it." "But you'll listen to what I have to say." "Gentlemen..." "The great Spain is a like sick lion... being devoured by fleas." "Who are those fleas?" "Who?" "I'm asking you!" "You keep silent." "And Charles V watching you as you sell his sceptre by the pound." "Aren't you ashamed?" "And the Imperial Eagle, gentlemen, what have you done to him?" "Gentlemen, what have you done to the Imperial Eagle... who covered the entire world with his wings?" "He's here, on this table... with his feathers plucked off... ready for your hot stew." "Our resignations, Duke." "I accept." "You may retire, you and your suite." "You, Priego, to Andalusia." "You, Camporeal, to Castile." "If you refuse to follow me, you'd better follow those gentlemen." " We're going to have a master." " If he has enough time." "His Excellency Don Gaspar Guritan, Count Onate, wishes to see Your Excellency." "He's just arrived from Neubourg." "Tell him to call on me tonight, at my town house, I'll be there." "Gentlemen..." "From now on, we'll..." "His Excellency cannot receive you now." "Not receive me!" "He'll see you tonight at his townhouse." "This is incredible!" "Santa-Cruz!" "He refuses to receive me." "Is this how to treat the Queen's Majordomo?" "Guritan, you must abandon this duel." "Never!" "You must!" "Listen to me." "If you kill Don César... you'll spare him a scandal, you'll get rid of him for us, you'll take him away from Don Salluste...he'll see to it." "Diable!" "And if you insist on this duel, I'll have you watched." "I'd even send the police, I'm warning you." "The police!" "You love the Queen, Guritan..." "You're not going to make things difficult for us... prevent us from saving her." "Hein?" "So, let's be careful." "Promise." "Gentlemen, I suppose it's not unknown to you... which intrigues are being spun around my person." "I thank you for your trust." "We must rebuild the empire of Charles V." "You may go." "Thank you." "You were there?" "Philip II had this secret chamber built." "So this is my secret." "This is what I'm reduced to when I'm all alone." "From this hole I listened to Charles II when they stole his provinces from him." "What did he say?" "Nothing." "Why are you so strong, César?" "Why do you know so many things?" "Why are you possessed with this fury." "Because I love you." "César..." "César..." "And my hands are touching the Queen of Spain." "Don't think of the poor Queen of Spain anymore... of what she can do and what she cannot do..." "Your hands are your hands, César." "I am your queen, and you are my king." "Your hands, your beautiful hands..." "They protect you..." "And your hands will demolish the catafalque where I have been living like someone dead... surrounded by the dead." "I love you." "You'll chase them all away." "Perhaps I've chased them away too fast." "No, César." "The men chased away will take their revenge." "They will refrain from nothing to bring about my fall." "You're the ruler." "What can they do against you?" "Perhaps you're raised me too high." "I've raised you to the position where God should have put you." "Watch the horses." "I won't be long." "I have some accounts to settle with the man who sent me to the galleys." "You're leaving us?" "The church is a place of asylum." "I advise you not to stride away too far from here." "If Zafari gets caught, his asylum will be assured." "One doesn't get away twice from the galleys." "The cheek!" "Where did you come from?" "From the galleys." "You're making fun of me." " I'm looking for Don Salluste." " And I'm looking for you." "I say!" "You're mad!" "I haven't come to you for a duel." "I have been expressly forbidden." "Who did?" "A lady?" "Monsieur!" "Look at those ribbons!" "You must please the ladies, you naughty old thing." "One doesn't insult me twice, Duke." "Duke?" "Take your position." "You're too old." "Too old?" "I've killed younger men than you." "My list is long." "Take position." "If it amuses you..." "But hurry up, I have other business to attend to..." "I've traveled 600 lieues for this duel... and I've never felt in better shape." "Your ribbons are exquisite." "Miserable!" "I'll cut them off for you." "How do you like this "botte"?" "Not bad." "And this one?" "Not bad, not bad." " I astonish you." " You do." "You look like an old windmill." "Canaille!" "You've escaped me..." "Don César." "But you won't escape..." "Salluste!" "Excuse us, Monsieur le Duc, that we've broken in here... we've been informed that there's a man on the roofs, we're searching for him." "Search, gentlemen, search." "Feel yourselves at home." "Too kind, gentlemen, too kind." "Ruy Blas!" "Ruy Blas!" "Excuse me." "Don César." "I've been chasing you for a year." "Listen, let me talk." "I've just come from your house and..." "Let me explain..." "Don't explain anything to me, I've understood." "I wouldn't want to be in your place." "We don't have the time, I must inform you about some dirty business..." "Attention!" "A bit too crowded around here..." "We'll talk later." "Zafari!" "Zafari!" "Don't trust Salluste!" "I repeat for the 20th time:" "The King doesn't read anything, the King doesn't listen to anything, the King doesn't know anything." "Besides, if the persons you're fearing would want to harm you, I'd be the first to know about it." "His Majesty doesn't even know that you're Prime Minister." "Don Salluste is a ferocious man." "He wants to cause the Queen's ruin... and by me." "But you're a Bazan, César." "Do you imagine Don Salluste would provoke a scandal inside his own family?" "Ah!" "If you weren't a Bazan..." "There's something I must tell you." "A confession, hard to make..." "You're the only one I could tell about it." "No confidences of the heart, César, one always regrets having made them." "There's only one thing I need to know about you:" "that I met you on a mule, and that your carriage is waiting for you." "I'd like to have your zest for life." "You are being loved, you are young." "Go back home." "And have a good sleep." "I'll see you at the Queen's audience tomorrow morning." "He's overstepped the limits, Your Eminence." "And I don't suppose the Church approves that, after having exiled him, he's free to assassinate in his own house the man he finds annoying." "The Church condemns duels, M. de Santa Cruz... but the court tolerates them." "I beg your pardon, Your Eminence, a duel requires witnesses." "It is no longer a duel... it's a murder." "These are the facts:" "In the Duke of Olmedo's house Don Guritan's body has been found." "The Duke of Olmedo fools the police and disappears before he can be interrogated." "The Duke of Olmedo is a great man." "He thinks he can get away with anything." "And this will cause his ruin." "How did Her Majesty take the news of her Majordomo's death?" "The Queen doesn't know about it yet." "We thought it wiser to keep it secret, until further orders." "I congratulate you on your silence." "The Queen's heart makes her very vulnerable." "So we can count on the Church?" "The Church must help to defeat the monsters of pride." "We've our hold over him, Your Eminence." "May God have his soul..." "Citizens of Madrid, it is 11 o'clock" "Sleep in peace." "May your sleep be auspicious." "Adore the Lord." "What's the matter with you?" "I couldn't wait till tomorrow." "César!" "Maria!" "A machinery of hate has been erected against us." "So this is it?" "I know them." "They want to cause your ruin... and mine." "I don't care, César." "Let them kill us, assassinate us... let them burn us together at the stake." "My little girl from Neubourg." "César... we must fight." "Crush then, defeat them." "Maria, we are guilty." "Guilty?" "Guilty of what?" "We are guilty, Maria, and they know it." "I've chased Camporeal, Priego..." "So what!" "I've chased Salluste." "He's the one who's conducting the intrigue." "They'd even create a scandal, appeal to the King..." "Let them dare!" "I am the Queen of Spain." "They'll dare." "You're sad." "Sad." "Incapable to free you, to tear you away from this court... to take you away, to the end of the world." "I'd like to follow you to the end of the world." "But we must save the kingdom first." "They don't want to kill you?" "You're not concealing anything from me?" "Kill me?" "Why?" "They want a scandal!" "Never give up the power." "You gave it to me." "You'll defend me." "Against everybody." "Like Spain." "Good evening." "I bet you didn't think of me anymore." "I hear nice things are happening here in Madrid." "You exile Priego... you chase away Camporeal..." "M. de Priego has been too heavy a burden for Spain." "I feel a bit cold, be so kind and close that window." "Thank you." "It is important, Don Salluste, to save the people." "One must rid you of those grand and hollow phrases." "Or do you want to become popular?" "That would be rather comical." "My handkerchief." "Spain is dying." "My handkerchief, please!" "Thank you." "Ruy Blas." "You're talking to the Duke of Olmedo." "What did you say?" "You're in exile, Salluste." "He calls me "Salluste"!" "Let's be serious." "You shall leave Madrid tomorrow." "To whom are you giving this order?" "To my domestic servant." "That's what you are, you've written it down yourself." "This ridiculous piece of paper will be destroyed." "It's in my hands." "What do you want?" "You're a dreamer!" "Did you imagine I'd leave the power, that I'd be delighted to transfer it to you!" "Did you imagine I'd get sentimental over your love affair?" "You'd dare touch the Queen?" "Why wouldn't I?" "You've used me as a trap." "Sir, what other interest could I possibly have in you?" "I'll have you arrested." "Alright." "I'll tell who you are." "I'm in a position to deny everything, and I'll be believed." "Ruy Blas, the piece of paper!" "The piece of paper!" "You have a short memory." "Sir..." "I'll obey... if the Queen will be spared this atrocious scandal." "How dare you interfere!" "Careful!" "If you don't obey, the lady will be exposed, ruined..." "And besides, I'll send to her in a minute the document which proves who you really are." "I'll kill you!" "Then you'll go to the galleys and join Don César whom I've sent there because he disobeyed me." "Casilda!" "Help!" "César/ Oh my God." "Who gave you this letter?" "A duena (chaperon)." "They'll kill him." "They'll kill him." "Madame, Madame..." "The Queen's "coucher" (retiring-for-the-night ceremony)" "Don't leave me." "I've heard the Queen is unwell." "No, Madame..." "I'm very tired." "Well, Madame, what's going on?" "There's a rumour that Don Guritan has been killed in a duel in Don César's house." "I'd have thought neither the one nor the other would give cause for such a ridiculous duel." "This is too cruel!" "Her Majesty really seems to be ill." "Shall I call for her doctor?" "I want to sleep, that's all." "Leave me alone." "Good night, ladies." "Casilda!" "Casilda!" "Give me the letter." "Quick!" "Casilda, I must go out!" "But Madame, you know very well that it's impossible." "I must, Casilda!" "The Duke of Olmedo has called me for help." " Madame!" " Help me!" "I'll get dressed." "Faster." "Faster." "Go outside and keep watch." "But Your Majesty, you cannot get dressed alone." "I?" "Out with you!" "The Duchess!" "Casilda!" "But Your Majesty, do you know where to go?" "Don't be stupid." "He wouldn't have called for me if he were in the palace." "He's in his house, in great danger." "If he calls me, it's because he knows I'll come... that I'd climb walls..." "Will you get me out of here!" "I'll try." "May God help us." "Check if the way out is clear!" "Now this simplifies things." "I wish they all were asleep." "Careful, the steps." "The service buildings are in ruins." "Poor Spain!" "Wait." "Your name is ..." "Ines." "Quick." "Who goes there?" "The Queen of Spain." "This is the fourth time tonight that I've heard that joke." "Where are you going?" "Where did the others go?" "You'll end up causing me troubles." "I accept payment in natural goods." "Run, Ines!" "He's in a rage!" "I could have died of fright." "They are young and bored." "Quick." "And be back before sunrise!" "Don't run about like a lion in a cage." "You're making me seasick." "I almost admire you... for staying with me in this empty house." "I've told my negroes to leave, but I've taken every precaution that the slightest threat against me would turn against yourself." "I'm not alone in this enterprise." "The Queen won't be fooled." "But it's your handwriting!" "Your signature!" "Your appeal for help!" "That would mean that she doesn't love you, my dear." "My God!" "If my calculations are exact... the Queen will be here any minute." "You won't keep me from meeting her on the way." "I've provided for that." "The trap isn't just set in here." "It is sufficient evidence that the Queen has left the palace." "Calm yourself." "I don't want any harm come to you, on the contrary." "There she is." "There is poison in this ring." "Kill yourself, my dear sir, the scandal will be so much the better." "Where is the Duke of Olmedo?" "He's waiting for you, Madame." "Don't come in, Madame, save yourself." "But you've called me for help." "Here I am." "You've ruined yourself." "But you've written to me." "I can't explain to you." "I insist." "This is your Queen speaking." "No, Madame de Neubourg." "You are no longer Queen of Spain." "I beg your pardon!" "You're forever tied to this man, I am holding you in my power." "Monsieur!" "I am not furious." "The Queen at midnight, alone with the Duke of Olmedo, in his house... this is sufficient grounds for an annulment at the Court of Rome." "César?" "Which threat has made you write me that letter?" "It isn't the Duke's fault, Madame, this is a very old letter... which wasn't addressed to you." "To whom?" "I admire those jealous women!" "But Madame, I don't want to take the Duke away from you, on the contrary... everything is prepared to arrange your affairs." "Sign this." "A carriage filled with gold will take you to Portugal." "You have created a duke to become a duchess." "I am neither Don César de Bazan... nor the Duke of Olmedo, Madame." "I am a domestic servant." "What?" "I am Don Salluste's domestic servant." "It's true, Madame, this man is called Ruy Blas and he's my domestic servant." "Madrid will laugh!" "You thought I wouldn't take revenge." "You have been mad!" "You've just insulted the Queen." " Do you want to challenge me?" " One doesn't fight a duel with one's servant." "César!" "Help!" "César!" "No, Madame." "Ruy Blas." "Could you forgive me?" "Never!" "Never." "No!" "César!" "Ruy Blas!" "Ruy Blas!" "I love you." "Ruy Blas." "I forgive you." "Thank you." "Madame!" "Madame!" "This is unbearable!" "Come with me!" "Leave me!" "Leave me!" "I beg of you, come with me!" "Don César is dead." "Come with me, Madame." "You must." "Citizens of Madrid" "Midnight has rung." "Sleep in peace." "May your sleep be auspicious." "Adore the Lord." "Venerate the King and Queen." "May the devil keep away from your path." "Be happy." "The End" "subtitles: serdar202  cinephage @KG"