"PARIS UNDER LOUIS XIV..." "HER HUSBAND, JOFFREY DE PEYRAC, HAVING BEEN BURNT FOR WITCHCRAFT," "ANGELIQUE IS HUNTED BY THE POLICE AND HER MORTAL ENEMY," "THE KING'S BROTHER." "SHE HIDES WITH THE BEGGARS," "WHOSE LEADER, CALEMBREDAINE," "IS NONE OTHER THAN HER CHILDHOOD FRIEND, NICOLAS." "No, not the stake!" "It'll only hurt for a moment!" "Unlike the flames of hell, these are real!" "I'm innocent!" "You killed Count Peyrac." "He was burned because of your lies." "God take his soul!" "But not yours, it's too disgusting." "Peyrac was a sorcerer." "You set the police on his wife, too." "More wrongs than one man should be allowed to commit." "You'll all be hanged!" "Maybe." "But it's your turn first." "We sentence you to death." "Nothing else to say?" "It's harder to lie up there!" "He's gone." " Dead?" " Scared to death." "He cut our fun short!" "To the monk's death!" "And that of all traitors!" "To all cowards!" "No!" "I'm innocent!" "To the King!" "After the monk, the King." "Why not kill the King now?" "The Marquise will give the order!" " Shut up!" " You're drunk." "Speak." "Monsieur Calembredaine, you are the most powerful." "Even Rodogone's gang are afraid of you." "If the Great Coësre dies, you'll be the only chief left." "Unless you're hanged before then, with the rest of us, at Montfaucon." "Carry on." "Since she's been among us, we've done nothing but fool around." "We'll all swing from a rope at Montfaucon." "All for a smile from the beautiful Marquise!" "Go and draw some water from the well for the Marquise's bath, and heat it to the temperature she likes." "Go!" "You smell as fresh as a forest." "Leave me, Nicolas." "But we're celebrating today." "I'm afraid." "Not of the monk?" "We spent months tracking him down." "You're avenged now." "You cannot drink to a man's death." "To an enemy's death you can!" "With song, too." "No, it's too serious." "Our rough ways no longer please the Marquise, then?" "You're wrong." "I'll laugh when all my enemies are dead." " All of them?" " Yes, all of them." " Even the King's brother?" " Exactly." "You're insane!" "You'll get us all hanged." "La Polak is right." "Go back to her, then." "Heed me well." "I don't care if I swing from the gallows." " It's you I'm afraid for." " I'll follow this to the end!" "You'll never change." "Never!" "I'm the same as at Monteloup." "At Monteloup you were full of life, and I was in love with you." "And now?" "I still am." "Well, I'm here." "You're here for one thing only." "Vengeance." "After that, you'll return to your kind." "Well, I say no!" "No!" "As long as I have breath, you'll stay with me." "No, please." "I hate you." "I hate you." "I hate myself." "Yes, I know." "But I love you enough for both of us." "Leave me." "Charity, madame." "I have two widows to support." "You'll see this nowhere else!" "Fortune and health for two sous!" "Sweet wafers!" "Who wants sweet wafers?" "Take pity on an old soldier." "Marquise, a cornet of sweet wafers to help you find your sweet smile." "The only weakness in that charming and stubborn head." "A sweet tooth." "You know what, lads?" "He bought that cornet!" "He doesn't usually pay." "Well, we're rich today, aren't we, Flipot?" "Or soon will be." "That's right, lad." "It's your exam today." "Your examiners are waiting, Flipot." "Good luck!" "It's horrible!" "He'll get caught." "If he does, it means he has no talent and we don't want him." "Stop, thief!" "That's our cue!" "How did you do?" "He did well!" "You passed with flying colors, Flipot." "That calls for a drink." "Let's go and empty a bottle." " Just one bottle?" " No, the whole cellar!" "Are you sulking again?" "When I see my enemies." "There goes Brinvilliers." "The policeman's daughter?" "She was against Joffrey." "Take her jewels as a lesson!" "In broad daylight?" "We should wait for nightfall." "Are you afraid?" "We'll attack the carriage at the first street corner." "It's insane!" "Let's go!" "You, stay here." "No, I want to see." "Don't deprive me of that pleasure." " What do you want?" " This is just a start!" "The man with the dog!" "Let me go!" " Desist!" " Come!" "He won't hurt you now." " And you?" " I'm in no danger." "Come, Sorbonne." "This is for Mademoiselle Barbe, as usual." "They've all been exiled." "There's no one left at Fallot's." " My children?" " Gone, too." " But where?" " No one knows." "Fallot was too independent." "It seems he didn't vote the right way in a witchcraft trial." "And Barbe?" "At the Coq Hardi, she said." "But there's a tavern of that name at every street corner." "Come on, tell us!" " That's all." " Tell us!" "Where's Calembredaine?" "Brinvilliers' jewels?" "He's upstairs, waiting." "Where have you been?" "My sons have disappeared along with Barbe, their nanny." "There's only one way our kind disappear." "On the gallows!" "They can't all have been hanged." "Don't worry." "My fellows will find them." "Calembredaine, it's Rodogone!" "What?" "Rodogone?" "He's below." "What is this?" "A challenge?" "I come in friendship." "A message from our chief." " The Great Coësre?" " The same." "It would be a shame..." "It would be a great shame if, one day, your fellows were to be burned at the stake, because you forgot our code." "Speak more clearly." "Ask your dwarf how he escaped the policeman's dog this morning." "Yes, the Marquise saved my life." "She knew how to call off the dog." " Let me explain..." " No, this is between us men." "So, Calembredaine, what shall I tell the Great Coësre?" "Don't bristle so." "I'm on a mission, and if I don't leave here alive, you know what'll happen to you." "It's quite simple." "We're not going to come to blows over some hussy." "The Marquise will speak to Coësre." "With her beauty, she'll have no trouble convincing him." "Are they Coësre's orders?" "Exactly." "Come, I'll take you." "Don't try anything!" "No weapons!" "One shot and the Great Coësre would sentence you to death." "How about with bare fists?" "Let him go!" "Are you mad?" "Let him go!" "Now that that scum has gone, can you explain, Marquise?" "If she's betrayed us..." "We don't like traitors here." "Yes, I know the man with the dog, and so do you." "He was my husband's lawyer." "My husband, whom you tried to save." "Your lawyer has swapped his robe for a policeman's uniform." "He and his dog are our worst enemies." "If I'm on his side, why did I save Barcarolle?" "In the world you come from, people are charitable!" "Oh, Marquise!" "Alms, please!" "Enough!" "She stopped me killing Rodogone." "So there'll be no war between our two gangs." "She has saved us from madness and bloodshed." "Always these fancy speeches!" "We've had enough." "To hell with the dog, you're one of us!" "You saved my life." " What's going on?" " It's a surprise." "Out, beggars!" "Madame!" ""Madame" no longer exists." "Oh, nanny!" "Where are my children, Barbe?" "Have no fear, Madame." "Where are they?" "I couldn't keep them here, your sister had to flee, so I placed them with a woman in Neuilly." "Get out of here, you filthy beggars!" " Where was I?" " My boys." "As plump and pink as ever, the little darlings!" "They're with Mother Bolduc, in Neuilly." "A real paradise." "My darlings!" "My sweethearts!" "My little tramps!" "Let's go." "Now you've finished all that, let's talk business." "You owe me five louis." "Pay her, Barcarolle." "Yes, Marquise." "You said five louis?" "Two will do!" "The smaller they are, the more they cost me!" "Once upon a time there were a green fish and a yellow fish, and their children were all blue..." "Here's your hot water." "But don't blame me if they catch their death of cold." "Fancy bathing such little creatures!" "Do you see us lot bathing?" "But you can't keep them here!" "I'm too unhappy without them." "If I'm killed, Jean Pourri will take them to the Cour des Miracles and..." "No, no..." "I can't take him and his evil trade!" "Let's go and see the Great Coësre." "He's very nice, you know." "A really kind old gentleman." "When Calembredaine takes over, we'll see to Jean Pourri." "Calembredaine is a snake in the grass." "Good merchandise, Jean Pourri." "You can go." "Carry on, Rodogone." "He cares too much for his hussy." "A villain falling in love?" "I've never heard the like!" "When I tried to bring her to you, he saw red." "He'll see red soon enough!" "It was only by a miracle that I managed to escape, and I heard what they were shouting," ""Calembredaine is the strongest!" ""He'll unseat the Great Coësre!"" "We'll see about that." "The Pont Neuf fair is in two days." "Attack that fool and you'll be my lieutenant and take over the Tour de Nesle." "Be careful, Rodo." "They're a tricky lot." "Watch out." "Get off, get off!" "I haven't done anything wrong!" "Desist, Sorbonne!" " I wanted to talk to you." " That's handy." "I swear, Desgrez, I have great news for you." "If you want Calembredaine's gang, I'll hand them to you on a platter." "The day after tomorrow on the Pont Neuf, but bring a lot of men." "We'll see..." "Sorbonne..." "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen!" "I draw teeth without pain and without mystery..." "Thanks to the Egyptian serum, she hasn't slept for 40 years." "She's only 16!" "Here we go..." "Pull!" "There!" "This man will swallow this rabbit whole!" "Stop beating him!" "One more and I'll take you away, my beauty!" "Thank you, sire!" "Do you know him?" "My cousin, Philippe de Plessis-Belliere." "As boorish as ever." "As handsome as ever, too." "You still admire those strutting peacocks?" "Don't start!" "That was when I was Nicolas." "But I'm a robber now and you're the Marquise of the Angels, and your cousins are Barcarolle, Jactance and Cul-de-Bois!" "Sparks are going to fly!" "There's not a single Gypsy at this fair." "Three more hauls like this and we can leave for America." "No more hiding, no more police." "We can set sail on a fine ship." " Three sous, Monsieur." " Start again." "Monsieur, I cannot shave what I have already shaved!" "Start again, I said!" "And now, the prayer to Isis!" "Remove your hats, unbelievers!" "Watch out, Nicolas!" "Here, Gypsies!" "Here, Gypsies!" "Look!" "It was you, you scum!" "Let's go!" "Watch out!" "Let the police through!" "Through that way!" "Nicolas!" "Nicolas!" "Go!" "Go, Angelique!" "Back to Monteloup." "Leave me, Angelique." "Go back to Monteloup." "Take the booty from the Tour de Nesle." "It's yours." "No, I'm staying." "I was always afraid you'd leave." "Now I'm the one who's going." "Nicolas!" "There'll be no America." "Nicolas!" "Everything is going dark." "Night has fallen." "Go, Angelique, they won't see you." " Stop it, Nicolas." " Go!" "Stop it, Nicolas." "Listen to me!" "I'm not one of these women." "I'm not a slattern!" "We caught her near the Tour de Nesle." "Paris is full of them!" "Put her with the others." "The women get whipped, the men go to the galleys." "I sell flowers on the Pont Neuf." "Shut up!" "You'll get us 20 more strokes of the whip!" "I'm in charge here, like in the Tour de Nesle!" "The Tour de Nesle?" "Rodogone's gang is there now." "They've taken everything." " My children?" " Everything!" "Jean Pourri has your kids now." "The spoils of war!" "He'll sell them to the Great Coësre." "Quiet, you trollops!" "There's a banquet in five days, and I have to provide all the flowers." "She's telling the truth." "Let her go." "Take me with you." "For my children!" "Your men took my servant, too." "Can she come with me?" "Charity has its limits." "She's obviously a slattern." "The whip for her!" "Just a second." "I'll deal with her." "Come!" "Always the same lucky ones!" "Whipping skin such as this..." "You're a lucky girl, aren't you?" "Saving you twenty lashes is the best price you've ever had." "Yes, you're a lucky one!" "And you smell good." "Like a lady." "I have one condition." "A condition?" "Let me go." "I swear I'll return." "That's a good one!" "I'll take the whip, then!" "You prefer the kiss of the whip to the captain's?" " You stink of alcohol!" " Don't you like it?" " Yes, give me some." " I knew it!" "Drink!" "Are you trying to get drunk?" "So I can't see you." "I don't want you senseless!" "Like all your harlots." "You say that to me?" "A man of delicacy, a sentimental soul..." "I'm no trollop." "They all have short hair." "Look at mine." "So, Captain, don't you know how to behave with your betters?" "How to talk to a lady?" "Don't you know you have to do them favors first?" "Don't you know they keep their word?" "What do you mean?" "Bandits in the Tour de Nesle have abducted my children." "I only put on this disguise in order to look for them." "I'll find them and come back." "I will come back." "If you don't, my men will find you." "And you'll get the whip, too." "Go." "And come back quick!" "Claquedent!" "See this woman out." "Thank you." "Who's in there?" "It's me." "Flipot." "Where are my children?" "Tell me!" "Jean Pourri locked us all up." " Try to get us out." " Yes." "Quiet, everyone!" "Don't make a noise now!" "Marquise." "Come here." " Don't cry out or you'll join him!" " I've had my fill of that pig!" "By the secret door..." "Here!" "Take me with you, please." "Take me with you." "Florimond, my darling." "Where's Cantor?" "Jean Pourri sold him." "Quickly!" " To whom?" " The Saint-Ouen Bohemians." "Come on!" "This way." "This way." "Quietly." "Good Lord, who are they?" "Look after them." "I'll explain later." "More!" "More milk!" "Right, right..." "My men will go to Saint-Ouen, round up your Bohemians..." "Fabulous!" "But how do I know you're telling me the truth?" "Nobody forced me to come back." "That's true, that's true..." "Ah, women!" "Sergeant!" "Take six men and go with Madame." "Your task is to rescue a child." "Then come straight back." "I'll be waiting." " Understand?" " I understand." "And be quick about it!" "I can't hold on much longer." "Women..." "A total mystery!" "Where now?" "The Coq Hardi tavern." "And after that?" "To love!" "To the night!" "To our night of love!" "To you!" " Not drinking?" " Since you ask so nicely..." "At last, love with a great lady!" " Down the hatch!" " Yes, down the hatch!" "A flirt." "And a rascal!" "You know how to make a man desire you." "I have you now." "That's lovely!" "We meet again!" "How are your boys?" "Safe and sound." "I'm so pleased for you." "Don't go." "Today's a holiday." "The florist corporation's bouquet." "What is it?" "These flowers." "Such joy!" "They're only flowers." "They remind me of the countryside at Monteloup when I was fifteen." "Thank you." "Who are you?" "The wind." "The wind in the hay." "I watched you come down here." "I, too, like hay." "I took advantage of your nap." "To do what?" "To look at you." "All over." "All over?" "And one thing I can tell you..." "You're beautiful all over!" "Why slap me, pray?" "One does not slap the wind." "Such a turn of phrase!" "A specialty of mine." " You're a poet?" " Yes." "Why, then, do you sigh?" "They call me the Gutter Poet." "My words do not feed me." "And my enemies besmirch what they fear." "They dread every pamphlet I write." "They lose sleep and would like me silenced." "The police are after me." "They hunt you?" "They want me hanged." "But one cannot catch the wind." "Yet you speak unguardedly to a perfect stranger?" "I feel I have known you forever." "You are so beautiful." "Beauty is never evil." "They want you hanged?" "But I shall hang only on your neck." " Do I frighten you?" " No." "Then you're afraid of yourself?" "Yes." "Life is not a joke, my good lady!" "A house is a fortress that must be defended." "Too many mouths!" "Here I am, struggling, and you bring these thirsty brats!" " Thirsty?" " Yes, and for milk!" "And I have nothing!" "Look, nothing!" "By the old lady's buttocks, just look!" "It's noon and not a customer!" "Not a pint of wine sold!" "And I'm to play wet-nurse?" "Do you believe in Saint Nicholas?" "Yes." "The corporation will be happy." "I can't believe my ears." "15 sous per person?" "Not one more." "Here's the menu." "Six soups, eight patés, three roasts and Montmartre wine." "Good deeds are always rewarded!" "And all to be served under a ceiling of paper flowers!" "Good Lord!" "Are you trying to ruin me?" "I bought it all on credit." " And that?" " On credit." " And this?" " On credit." "For one of your smiles, no doubt." "Yes, Monsieur Bourjus." "There are enough onions for 10 years!" "They're not for eating, but for decoration." "If my wife could see this!" "Barbe!" "Aprons!" "No, not them!" "White aprons are more stylish." "If my wife could see this!" "She can and she's delighted." "She's telling everyone in heaven." "Go and open up." "Go on." "If my wife could see this!" "Here, Marquise." "To pay for your new dress." "The Marquise is no more, and we no longer steal." "And no more credit, eh?" " Is it here for the dress?" " What dress?" "It's for me." "Look." "If my wife could see this!" "It's to be paid for after the banquet." "But will the banquet even take place?" "We need a man, we need a man!" "That's what we needed!" "Sweet Jesus, heaven is on our side!" "My friends!" "One, two, three, four, five, six..." "Take your hat off." "Bourjus!" "Champagne for the King's musketeers!" "Champagne!" "Yes!" "They're asking for champagne!" "But of course." "I don't have any!" "Rosine, get some on credit..." "For the last time!" "The Coq Hardi?" "It no longer exists." "It's now the Red Mask." "The Marquise is raking it in." "It's a fashionable place now." " Fashionable?" " Nowhere more so." "Since the florists' banquet it's always full of rich folk." "The Marquise is a clever one." "I always knew it." "Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen..." "It'll be a boy!" " I bet it's a girl." " 200 livres says it isn't!" "Twenty-two!" "Twenty-three!" "If the King has an heir, I'll give you 30% of the takings." "Twenty-five!" "It's a boy!" "This birth will cost you a fortune!" "But this is only the beginning." "We can't stop now." "No, no!" "Let your mama get dressed." "You're not going back to the Louvre?" "Your enemies will kill you." "I represent the master roasters." "All the corporations are offering the queen a bouquet." "You're lying, Madame!" "The truth is, you're dying to get back to Court." "You're right, Barbe." "For a little while I'll be Countess Peyrac again." "The master roasters' delegation!" "Your Majesty, they say life is but smoke." "But there's no smoke without fire, without fire, no good fare, and without good fare, no health!" "Your Majesty, please accept our modest gift." "We are only too happy if we can fortify you." "Oh, look, my friends!" "I'd willingly skewer this pretty roaster!" "Well, too bad!" "You!" "You always make me laugh." "That is my position now." "I'm the Queen's jester." "How?" "Her last dwarf ran off with a dancer." "I knew his wife." "She's going to marry me." "Come and meet her." " Alexandrine." " Hello." "You're happy, Barcarolle." "Cul-de-Bois is the new Coësre." "I give him half what I earn." "He'll be on to you next." "He was always my friend." "He'll leave me alone." "You think so?" "Good God!" "You're not giving her some of this chocolate juice!" "I once tasted some, long ago." "It was good." "That gives me an idea." "Florimond likes chocolate." "Chocolate is really good." "Chocolate, chocolate!" "The Queen may well love it, but as for making a fortune with it..." "Everyone will want a taste." "We'll make it a fashionable drink." "But it'll take us years to get a license." "Colbert does no one any favors." "We have to try." "We live well off the roasting." "It's not enough." "I want power, and that costs a lot." "I will have that money!" "That feels good." "Quick, my robe." "Thank you." "Go to bed now." " Good night, Madame." " Good night." " Who's there?" " The wind!" "Help!" "Desist, Sorbonne!" "Thank you." "That dog's like a hound from hell!" "Thank you." " You didn't see his master?" " No." "Come." "Go in there." " Who is it?" " It is me!" "So, Madame Morens, giving refuge to pamphleteers?" " You know my name?" " We've shared so much that I take the liberty of talking to you as a friend." "It's you!" "Don't act so surprised." "You recognized Sorbonne." "Madame, just as you're getting over a difficult patch, it isn't a good idea to let imprudence trip you up." " Where is he?" " Who?" "The man who came in here." "Sorbonne's never wrong." "The so-called "Gutter Poet" is besmirching the Court." "Do you want to go to prison?" "What has he done?" "Read this." ""Where go our savings, so sparse?" ""In the Court's mouth and out of its..."" "If you find it funny, it proves this man is dangerous." "Anyway, he's beholden to you." "To me?" "You have saved him this evening by distracting me." "If you see him, tell him to throw away his quill and disappear." "Bathing in your water, dear lady," "I know your thoughts, from top to toe!" "You're mad!" "What if he'd come in?" "Impossible!" "I was undressed." "You really are the Gutter Poet?" "The just-bathed poet!" "Get dressed." "I'll dress in flame." "The softest apparel of all." "Go!" "You're driving me away?" "I don't want the police to find you here." "They don't attack the powerful." "I knew you in the hay, now you're rich and bourgeois." "Too powerful for the police." "The perfect place to hide." "How did you find me?" "I never lost sight of you." "You knew I lived here?" "Yes..." "Alone, too." "Alone?" "Until tonight." "If you don't stop, I'll call the watch!" "Help!" "Help!" "A little chicken!" "Catch him, gentlemen!" "Let me go!" "Stop it!" "Let me go!" "Have you plucked him?" "Completely!" "Feed the fire!" "Here comes the skewer!" "I'll do it..." "This joke has gone too far." "How dare..." "Step back, young fellow!" "I am Marechal de Camp!" "I never step back." "And I am the King's brother!" "This is too much, Plessis!" "I'll soon deal with him." "Plessis-Belliere!" "Kill him and my brother will have your head." "No, they'll recognize me." "Leave him, he's a nobleman." "Quick, your mask!" "Stop it!" "That's an order!" "Stop it!" "It's all your fault!" "You'll pay for this!" "I abhor you all!" "No one will ever know." "No one will know." "Don't move or else!" "Sorbonne, desist!" "Now, off with the masks." "A murderer in lace." "I saw you." "It was none of your doing." "My vengeance will spare you." "Too generous!" "So a roaster will take vengeance on twelve men of the Court?" "The dog will let your friend go when you've all left." "Come on." "Her body will be floating in the Seine tomorrow." "Flee, quick!" "Sorbonne, leave that!" "Fire!" "Help!" "Bourjus!" "You did nothing." " I couldn't." " You're lying!" "I'm not paid to bother the nobility." "When they commit crimes?" "I'm part of the King's private police." "You know the prey I hunt." "Come closer!" ""I, the Gutter Poet, will tell you all the truth." ""If God does not punish the villains of the Red Mask," ""I shall reveal the names of the criminals of the Court." ""One a day shall I unmask, though he be a relative of the King." ""12 days, 12 faces, and on the 13th, the killer!"" "Listen to number eight..." ""With a dirty soul he's not so fair." ""He should learn some manners, Plessis-Belliere..."" " No, not him." " He was there." "He didn't do anything." "It's the King's brother I want." "Will we have time?" "You said you'd never be caught." "I know, but I'm tired." " Are you afraid?" " No." "But I feel a sort of weakness." "My strength is failing." " Why?" " Because of you." "You love me no more?" "I do, that's just it." "I've always dreamt of a home, a wife, this sweet love, day after day..." "And here I am, unmanned and feeble in slippers!" "Who is number nine?" "D'Aubray." "D'Aubray the killer!" "That's the eleventh." "Just two more pamphlets to go." "Another day and we'll know who the killer was." "You gentlemen who write so well will soon be screaming." "Out with you!" "Stop him!" "Here's the twelfth name." "The next is the King's brother." "TODAY I UNMASK CHEVALIER DE LORRAINE" "TOMORROW YOU'LL KNOW THE MURDERER." "Brother!" "These are your friends, are they not?" "This is the last pamphlet." "On my signal, distribute them." "Until then, hide them well." "Thank you." "I've lost everything, but I'll pay you back when I can." "Always moving, never stopping..." "I'm happy with you." "I've never felt so well." "When a man says that, he wants to leave." "And you kiss me on the cheek!" "I see the truth, like any good poet." "You'll be a lady again, and I'm the wind." "Tell the truth." "When your last pamphlet appears, you'll never escape the police." "I'm not afraid." "For yourself, no." "But you're afraid they'll arrest me." "I'm just as guilty as you are." "Guilty of turning a scribbler into a force to be feared." "I'm glad of that." "But don't fear for me." "Tomorrow at dawn you can leave for the Jura." "Let all this calm down." " And you?" " I'll stay." "To savor my vengeance." "What a huge scandal!" "I'll have broken the King's brother and the Court!" "I want a trial, I want my property and titles back," "I want my children respected!" "I gave the King my word." "That is your job." "But the last pamphlet will appear." "The King doesn't care so much about the pamphlets." "What, then?" "When you expose ne'er-do-wells, he applauds with his people." "But when you denounce his brother..." "Am I wrong?" "Not at all." "The King has no love for his brother but he will not allow his family or throne to be besmirched." "What a pity!" "I know where the pamphlets are." "I could get the army to clean out the Cour des Miracles." "It needs it!" "A shame that, with all your wit, you refuse to help me." "It's not my business." "It is!" "Everything is linked." "For example, do you still want an exclusive chocolate license?" "How do you know?" "As I say, it's all a question of give and take." "For example, we know that the loss of the Red Mask was a blow." "But with 50,000 livres, you could set up another concern, just as successful." "So?" "Destroy that pamphlet and His Majesty will offer you the license, 50,000 livres and many other advantages." "Why not just send the army in?" "That's where I earn my daily bread!" "A policemen needs villains more than he needs his own men." "And if I accept?" "I knew I was talking to a person of intellect!" " There's one condition." " Still?" "I demand that the Gutter Poet never be troubled." "As long as he stops writing." "I'll see to that." "We have a deal." "Flipot!" "Flipot." "Run and tell them to destroy the pamphlets." " What?" " Don't worry." "We've won." "And bring the Gutter Poet to me." " Now I have one wish." " What?" " Never to see you again." " Why?" "It will prove you are law-abiding." "It will prove you have once again become a great and magnificent lady." "Can I come in, Madame?" "It's Flipot!" "Come in, Flipot." "What is it?" "I told them..." " Didn't they destroy them?" " Yes." "It's not that." "Speak, then!" "I just saw your poet." "Where?" "Where?" "Tell me!" "Tell me!" "Don't bother waiting for your poet." "Where is he?" "Hanging at the end of a rope!" "What?" "Hanged?" "In the Place de Greve." "Strung up high!" "Go!" "Really, Desgrez, you are a..." "A policeman!" "None of the villains I know would have done that." "You must believe me, Madame." "It was none of my doing." "The King's brother was terrified of his name being sullied." "We'd been hunting your poet for three years, and he simply got caught in the street, out walking!" "He didn't even resist." "The King's brother did the rest." " He didn't resist?" " No." "He let himself be arrested because of me." "Like Nicolas." "Like Joffrey." "Because of me." "You must look to the future." "The King has kept his word." "The chocolate license, exclusive for 50 years throughout the whole kingdom." "The 50,000 livres." "Exoneration from taxes for 3 years, and shares in the India Company." "A veritable fortune!" "Keep it all safe somewhere." "It'll be safer with you." "But the license is urgent." "This is urgent." "Give this letter to my cousin, Philippe de Plessis-Belliere." "Why me?" "Why not give it to him yourself?" "I'm bequeathing my fortune to him." "Only he is worthy of raising my children." "Farewell, Monsieur." "You're forgetting one thing!" "Are you mad?" "No!" "It's a principle of mine!" "Let me go!" " You've gone mad!" " Yes." "I'll have my vengeance, I swear it!" "At last!" "I beg your pardon." "But drastic measures were called for." "I know about these things, and I had no choice." "You were going to leave here and go and kill yourself." "I had to shake some sense into you." "What was it going to be?" "Pistol, dagger, poison?" "I don't remember." "I know about these things." "An Angelique tired of living makes no sense." "You're the very symbol of energy." "Yes, that is how I see you." "You're your old self again." "So you are my friend?" "My only friend!" "Is it only today you realize?" "Colbert is waiting for a signature." "Sorry for being so brutal." "Some memories are simply beyond one's means." "Hello, Ninon!" "Balgrin, I'm not pleased." "What's happening in Le Havre?" "My shops elsewhere are making a fortune." "Only you are failing!" "I'll give you a month to turn things around." "I shall try, Madame." "A month, I said!" " Mademoiselle de Lenclos." " Coming." "Now, gentlemen, come and see my latest folly." "Her name is La Folle, the first of my fleet." "The oceans are ours!" "She set sail for the Indies this morning." "May the winds be favorable to her and to you, Madame." "Thank you." "Until Thursday, then." " May I come in?" " Of course, Ninon." " Hello." " What's new?" "Fouquet asked Moliere to write a play in a week." "In verse, in five acts, and to be played before the King." "Does it take Moliere a whole week?" " Love?" " Business?" "Overwhelming!" "Fortune has its eye on me, Ninon." "Men have their eye on you, too!" "Young, beautiful and rich." "And alone." "You need a lover." "A draper, a cook..." "You deserve better." "A great lord, sneaking here in secret because I'm only a chocolate seller?" "No, thank you." "Stop that!" "You're not Madame Morens, you're Angelique de Sance de Monteloup." "But becoming her again is no easy matter." "Bertrand!" "No, not Bertrand." "Unbelievable!" "You and money were made for each other." "Enough for now." "While you're on a winning streak?" "I'm dying of thirst." "What's got into you tonight?" "I want to have fun." "You're being reasonable at last." "I'll find you an admirer." "That's a good idea!" "No, you're mad!" "Yes, we'll both be mad together." "I know who'll suit you." "Angelique, do you know Jean?" "My cousin from the provinces." "The provinces have the most succulent fruit!" "He'll like you, he loves wild animals!" "He writes all about them in his fables." "I'll leave you." "You're Jean de la Fontaine?" "You write those lovely tales for children." "I also write stories for grown-ups." "Quick, a drink!" "I have a raging thirst!" "You never change." "Do you know the story of the man drowning in debt?" "Because he's drowning in women?" " Am I disturbing you?" " You know Madame Morens?" "So you're Madame Chocolate!" "Delicious, isn't she?" "I hate chocolate." "So dark and bitter." "Really?" "You don't like chocolate?" "And yet it's warm, it's smooth, it makes one tingle..." "But pleasantly so." "Is it, however, worth so much fuss?" "I'd heard of your gallantry, but you exceed my expectations!" "Although I do like men who know what they want." "That's me!" "You like compliments, too." " Only those I make myself." " Bravo!" "Banco of 10,000 livres." "Any takers?" "Banco!" "We'll make a lovely couple." "You and him?" "You're mad!" "It's a night for madness." "I've decided to marry him." " Plessis-Belliere?" " Yes, my cousin." "A noble family, a lovely château, he's a soldier, and handsome, too..." " You want your rank back." " You've guessed." "So you just made your mind up?" "It takes two to wed!" "He'll accept." "I'm beautiful, he likes women..." "Yes, he does." "All of them!" "But one after another, and each for only one night." "He also loves war, hunting and cards." " We come next." " No mistress, though." "If you want to return to society, marry someone else." "Someone rich." "Your handsome Marechal is crippled with debt." "Well!" "Banco of 5,000 livres!" "Fifty-fifty?" "No, this isn't a lucky seat." "You think not?" "Banco!" "Play for me." "On one condition." "That I remove my mask?" "No." "Even if I win?" "I'm not ready to remove it." "If I lose?" "You must be lucky in love." "I'll pay you back." "One debt more or less won't make any difference." "You're wrong." "You still have something important to lose." " What?" " Yourself." "Darling!" "I've done exactly what I decided not to do." "What was that?" "My plan was to stop being Madame Morens, to marry you and regain my rank." " But what are you after?" " Nothing." "Well?" "When I saw you at Ninon's I forgot it all." "I simply wanted to be happy with you, if only for a day." "And I have been." "Remember when we were children?" "You called me the Marquise of Dull Dresses." "You were odious!" " Have I changed?" " I thought so last night." "And now?" "Now you'll ask me to get dressed, you'll see me to the door, very nicely," "and that will be that." "Isn't that so?" "Absolutely not!" "It's Angelique I want!" "Oh, Philippe!" "I'm exhausted." "Come." "Jump!" "She refuses." "You think so?" "She won't refuse me!" "Jump, you bitch!" "Philippe, what are you doing?" "No!" "Jump!" "Stop it, Philippe!" "Jump, you bitch!" "Stop it!" "Will you jump?" "Jump!" " Why did you come back?" " I don't know." "You won't tell me?" "I have to leave for Brittany, with Vauban, to inspect the forts." "I am a Marechal." "I haven't forgotten." "Then back via my château." "Why?" "To sell it." "What?" "Sell the château where you were born, your family home?" "A mortgaged pile of old stone!" "It's where you spent your childhood, where I first met you." "You can't sell your childhood." "I have a regiment to support." "Plus, there's all the gambling." "Why do you gamble so?" "There's a certain extravagance that goes with this lifestyle." "The King expects it." "Does the King also expect you to renounce your first love?" "You kissed me for the first time there." "So?" "Does it mean nothing to you?" "Don't mix up today and yesterday." "What matters to me is tomorrow." "I live for the future!" "Isn't that too tiring?" "You're annoying." "You ask too many questions." "It's really so simple." "Tell me." "You keep your bodice on like a wife?" "You gave me no time to take it off!" "Philippe!" "I'm a notary." "Listen!" "Don't buy it." "It's sheer folly." "Don't you want to keep it for its master?" "It's too late, anyway." "A buyer has made a down payment." "I'll pay double." "Tell him it's no longer for sale." "But why?" "Because Philippe is going to ask to marry me." "No!" "It'll be my wedding gift." "But not a word to him." "He mustn't know I'm buying it." "Madame!" "It's Monsieur de Plessis-Belliere!" "Already?" "Quickly!" "Hurry!" "Phillippe!" "Rosine, out!" "Nothing resists this whip." "The notary told me how you gloated over your purchase." "You think you can buy everything, the château and its lord!" "I wanted to help." "I have no need of a woman's help!" "Although you're hardly womanly!" "You're hard, conceited, grasping, calculating, avaricious!" "Your money has no power over me." "But I bought it for..." "You bought stone, and you can keep it!" "I swear..." "I remember your confession, that all you wanted was to be Marquise de Plessis-Belliere." "But that cannot be bought, Madame of Dull Dresses!" "Your money has a foul stink!" "One last word." "In the Red Mask affair, only you were not named." "Luck, you thought?" "Well, I was your good luck." "I gave the orders." "A shopkeeper, too!" "I know of nowhere more lovely than Vaux." "Such extravagance!" "Fouquet really outdid himself." "It was a dream, a second sun!" "The King wasn't happy!" "What amazed me the most was that Fouquet filled his fountains with ocean creatures." "All the treasures of the sea." "Down with farmer generals!" "Down with tyrants!" "Good ladies and gentlemen!" "Fouquet, the strangler of the people, is brought low!" "What?" "The King has thrown him in jail!" "You!" "I swore not to see you again, but Fouquet has been arrested." "So?" "I've heard worrying reports." "The Fronde conspirators are terrified." "Those who wanted to poison the King are conferring." "That's ancient history!" "Nothing in history is ever really old, Madame." "Arresting Fouquet was a pretext." "The King will use him to crush those who plot against him." "Mr. Fouquet has a bargaining chip with which to save his neck." "Remember the list of plotters in that famous box?" "What box?" "The one spirited away by a young Angelique, long ago, at Plessis-Belliere chateau." "Remember?" "You saw Conde when he took possession of the box containing the poison and the pact binding the conspirators." "Did Monsieur Fouquet send a letter?" "Yes, Your Grace." "Here it is." "Good." "He has countersigned the pact." "Time for some new blood on the throne." "Gentlemen..." " I want her!" " Her?" "Why?" "She's the source of it all." "Only she could have seen and heard it all." "You said, Philippe, that she disappeared in the corridor by the room." "That's correct." "Five minutes later she was accusing us of wanting to kill the King." "A girlish prank, I thought." "But the box had gone!" "One of my spies overheard her bragging of this theft." "She has our pact hidden somewhere." "If Fouquet finds it, the King will never forgive us." "I want that woman!" "She pretends to be Madame Morens." "She's not really pretending." "She's seen everywhere." "At Ninon's, at the theatre..." "Let us hurry to her salon!" "After all, one shopkeeper's death..." "That would be a grave error." "Because she's pleasing to the eye?" "It happened at my father's castle." "I will destroy the box." "You'll quiet the box, but what about the woman?" "Quite!" "If you have doubts, I answer for her!" "Madame Morens?" "She has not come today." "Banco of 5,000 livres!" " Are you in, Philippe?" " No." " Hasn't Angelique been here?" " No, why?" "She's disappeared." " Since when?" " Yesterday." " Banco of 2,000 livres." " Banco!" "Hasn't she taken her sons to the horrible provinces?" "That changes everything!" "Plessis-Belliere." "Plessis-Belliere!" "Get in, dear friend." "Following me like a brigand!" "You, Your Grace?" "Yes, me." "You stoop so low?" "Don't get me wrong." "It's the woman I want." "If she should give you the slip, I'll have no mercy." "You doubt me?" "Your two days expire tonight." "I know where she is." "My friends can escort you." "The roads aren't safe." "No!" "I said alone." "One more day, but alone." " Do I have your word?" " You do." " Well, Flipot?" " I've got something." "I've got it!" "Is that your treasure?" "My life, perhaps, Flipot." "I can't see who it is." "Put it back where it was and leave me." "Hurry!" "Angelique." "Well, speak." "If it's that hard, I'll say it for you." "You didn't come here for me." "Recently, you could have seen me any time, but you didn't." "You think the box is here." "That's true." "I have one day before they catch you and kill you." "Good Lord!" "Don't be so dramatic." "I fear nothing." "I didn't want to return here." "It was a moment of weakness." " Give me the box!" " Never!" "You'll never have it!" "That's an order!" "Never!" "Speak, Angelique!" "Speak!" "Neither you nor your whip will make me speak." "You really want the box?" "It's your only chance." "To be Marquise de Plessis-Belliere!" "So be it." "I have a simple deal for you." "I shall hand it over when the priest blesses us." "You shall have it the moment you place the ring on my finger." "That is my price, and I swear to it." "Since it's my only chance!" "Was that it?" "I keep all promises, even those I make to myself." "So be it." "You asked for it." "This is a complicated business." "Here is the future Marquise." "Please take a seat." "The principal clauses of our contract foresee two possible breaches, for, of course, neither party must be wronged at the last moment." "This is a wedding, isn't it?" "Madame!" "So the Marquis will place the ring before, and I do mean before, he says "I do"." "There will be time to hand over the box, according to this plan..." "The hand-over, you see?" "So that if, by some misadventure, the words were left unsaid, the marriage would not be consecrated." "You follow me?" "Perfectly." "As for you, Madame..." "Here's the box." "You disgust me." "Farewell." "Angelique!" "I've saved your life once again." "We're quits." "You wanted it!" "You accepted it!" "I leave at dawn." "Nothing happened between us." "Ever!" "It is neither your fault nor mine." "It is pure ill luck." "Angelique!" "Angelique!" "Angelique!" "What a sticky mess!" "How can anyone like chocolate?" "More flowers." " Send them to the church again?" " Of course." "This has made you pious." "There are jewels, too." "For the poor." "From bad can come good!" "Throw him out!" "Too late." "I am the King's envoy." "You are requested at Versailles tomorrow." "Me?" "Mademoiselle Angelique de Sance de Monteloup?" "That is me." "That is perfect, then." "I shall not go." "Your pride cannot refuse the King." "All because of those pamphlets!" "I think not." "I would have known about it." "Anyway, you're dying to go to Court." " I know what's bothering you." " Tell me." "It's too serious a problem for me." "What dress will you wear?" "What jewels?" "What hairstyle?" "What a dilemma!" " Come!" " Let me go!" "Should Your Majesty bless my design, I shall be the happiest of men." "We can grant all things, except the forcing of a lady's heart." "Sire, my emotion is such that I have forgotten my duty." "May I introduce to Your Majesty his guest?" "Angelique de Sance de Monteloup." "But..." "I have the feeling..." "Did you go by another name?" "Sire, Mademoiselle is my cousin." "If she had gone by another name," "I would not have asked permission to wed her." "Madame, you have conquered a Marechal." "Such prowess is enchanting." "Did you receive all the flowers?" "No." " And the jewels?" " No." "You know the box was to save your life?" "No." "You know I had you invited here?" "No." "You didn't suspect I'd ask for your hand?" "No." "So you know nothing, not even if you love me?" "No." "Don't you get tired of saying no?" "No." "Well, you'd better just leave, then." "No." "NO, IT'S NOT OVER." "WITH ANGELIQUE IT'S NEVER OVER." "AT VERSAILLES, IN COUNT PEYRAC'S MYSTERIOUS HOME," "IN THE MIDDLE OF A POISONING CAMPAIGN," "YOUR HEROINE CAN BE FOUND IN "ANGELIQUE AND THE KING.""