"What's his song?" "He's jousting with a blunted sword." "Hurry, BIanche." "The guests are here." "The châteIaine awaits and the King is arriving." " Hurry up!" " I shall be there in a moment." "Madam, I am delighted to see you looking so well." "How lovely it is here!" "Such lights, such flowers." "Where is your wife?" "She will be here in a moment." "My son, nicolas." "I shall watch for the King from the tower." "I hope that my son will be fitting company for Your Highness." " You have come from Paris?" " No, madam." "From Egypt." "You fought the Turks?" "Yes." "I have just been promoted to Captain." "Do not become a philanderer like all captains!" "Heaven forbid!" "Your eyes sparkle like a lover's." "Why is that?" "The heart will tell." "tell me about JerusaIem, Captain." "Who is that child?" "My stepmother, madam." "Have you the proper respect for such a young mother?" "Let us be friends, my pretty child." "You must feel like a caged bird in this gloomy castle." "You need sun." "Are you bored by my chatter?" "I shall tell you pleasant news." "The King will be accompanied by Monsieur BartoIomeo." "Who?" "Have you never heard of Monsieur BartoIomeo?" "No, madam." "You shall see how his roguish glance breaks all hearts." "But his own heart is like a city gate." "As one enters, another leaves." "The King has arrived!" "My goodness!" "We still have a moment before he is here." "What was I talking about?" "Yes, Monsieur BartoIomeo." "He is still a beardless boy, but what stories are told about him." "A threat to women, a serpent." "No page, he!" "A serpent!" "They say his saddle is braided with his lovers' hair." "That's Monsieur BartoIomeo." "slander!" "Do not believe a word of it." "How did you get there, Monsieur BartoIomeo?" "By the window, madam." "The window is too high." "I have a ladder of hair." " Your lovers' hair?" " exactly." "Why the window, not the door?" "Your flightiness alarms me!" "I see you turning this house into a hell." "Here it will pay you to woo dociIity." "When you faII in love, whisper it to me." " I shall not betray you." " I shall change your opinion of me." "May I have the honour of presenting my wife to Your Majesty?" "Her Grace, the ChâteIaine d'Harcourt." "And my only son, Your Majesty." "A faithful servant of your Christian Majesty." "My page is here?" "It was a weighty speech of welcome." "I feared it wouId make me swoon, so I entered by the window." "Mind you do not have to leave the same way." "These glittering vaults look like the heavens." "And you, Countess..." " In love already?" " already." "May I invite you to dance?" " I pray you, excuse me." " No?" "No." "Show me your eyes." "Let me hear your crystalline voice." "No one will come in!" "We are alone." "Your lips are like a rose." "You may think it is rustic simplicity, but..." "I am displeased by your words!" " Have I offended you?" " No." " I'II cut my throat." " You joke?" "No." "What is left for me?" "Dreary Iitanies with the King?" "Remain a saint, but let me confess to you tonight." "I'II come." "You won't be angry?" "My goodness!" "My goodness!" "The way to your room is flower-strewn with a little door beneath the steps." "A spy!" "And proud of it!" "You are without honour!" "Yes, I am without honour." "I am not alone!" "I have a protector here!" "You will mourn him who dies." "Bravado!" "Life is not laid down so easily." "BIanche, all my hope rests in your body." "There is none!" "None!" "Say good night to your father." "please rise." "Let me remove your slippers myself, sire." "You must get up." "Go to bed." "It's time." "Forget Bacchus in the arms of Morpheus." "Hand me the plaster." "I shall read by starlight." " Barto?" " I'm listening." "Where are my monks sleeping?" "Next door." "And our host?" "I don't know." " You are a fool." " Right." "You don't know the master's room?" "I don't." "You are a great fool." "So you said before." "Hm..." "And you..." "Where are you sleeping?" "I'm not sleeping." "What are you doing?" "I'm writing the history of my gracious sovereign." "Historiographer!" "What are you mumbling?" "Nothing." "Just verses." "I'II wager you have a rendezvous tonight." " Perhaps." " Ah, I'm sure of it." "You spoke to the Countess." "About Your Majesty." "tell me the truth." "Are you seeing her?" "Whenever I dispose of my heart, Your Majesty envies me." "I don't envy you at all." "But I'm unsettling." "Leave me in peace, fool!" "You are driving me out with all your noise!" "Sire, that is my cloak." "should I catch cold?" "But you have your own." "fool, do you want the entire army to recognise me and present arms?" "Stay here!" "Barto!" "Wretched BartoIomeo!" "You won't set foot here again!" " You set a ruffian onto me!" " Me?" " You have betrayed me!" " I swear I didn't." "explain yourself, puppy!" "A giant appeared before me blindly cIeaving the air." "He called you a wretch." "You didn't kill him?" "I was not offended." "What do I care if you are called a wretch?" "It was the royal hand he wounded." "It will be marked." "It's all your fault." "Did he see you were wounded?" "He saw." "I Ieft blood on his sword." "Tomorrow Your Majesty's blood shall be avenged." "What?" "The word "wretch" shall be effaced tomorrow." "Tomorrow?" "Tomorrow I shall leave!" "Today!" "Before sunrise." "Have my coffers prepared." "Awake my retinue." "Accursed night!" "Accursed night." "The result of all this is that we are leaving." "The result of all this is that we're leaving." "That assassin will tell everyone." "No matter." "Let him talk." "How?" "I have thought of a way." " How?" " To stay here." "My dear, dear boy!" "Sir, someone tried to kill my page last night." " In my house, Your Majesty?" " Yes." "He was even wounded." "A criminal has dared to sully my house!" "I shall execute him myself!" "Let the matter rest." "There's no need for an enquiry." "I know my page." "He cannot resist a glance from pretty eyes, but this time he got what he deserved for once." "A jealous man caught him." "He cannot resist a woman..." "What?" "That page was seeking a woman in my house?" " calm down." " He dared seek a woman at night?" " Does he take my house for a...?" " No, no!" "calm yourself." "What a temper!" "quickly!" "Sire, I come to plead with you!" "Ah, I am proud and I am delighted." "What has happened?" "Your page... has offended me, sire!" "Oh..." "How did this happen?" "This morning, as I was going to chapel," "Monsieur BartoIomeo barred my way on the little bridge." "I tried to retreat, but... the rogue stopped me, saying he recognised my scent of roses and I felt his lips upon my face!" "Fiend!" "I am sure you will defend a lady, sire." "Judge him yourself." "I, judge him?" "But since you are here, sire..." "Our laws embody no punishment for such a crime." "But why do you confide in me?" "I thought Your Majesty..." "Ah, happy is the King before whom modesty need fear nothing." "Mm-hm." "I give my word." "I shall punish the page and you shall see him no more." "Thank you, Your Majesty." "Now..." "let us talk of other things." "beautiful Countess, what is your name?" "I'II wager I know it." "Something sad and lovely." "What is it?" "BIanche." "Oh, I knew it." "AII night the nightingale sang the name." "I heard it in my sleep." "Never will it leave my heart." "beautiful blanche, hm?" "You are withering in this desert." "The castle is pleasantly situated, but as gloomy as a holy Land prison." "These windows and vaults are fine, but to spend a life here..." "Do you not wish for change?" "In your place, I would be dead already." "As gloomy as my dungeon in the holy Land." "I have not forgotten a girl I Ioved there." "You are more beautiful, but you resemble her." "You are sad." "She was gay." "More than once she slipped past the guards, bringing me letters from home, hidden in a bouquet of roses." "The scent of roses always reminds me of her." "What was the poor girl's name?" "Amina." "She loved and died of grief?" "She is now the sultan of Cairo's widow." "She has forgotten?" "Betrayed?" "Let us speak of something else." "What would I, a King, not give to relive those years?" "Prison, mouldy bread but... a heart full of love beside me." "What joy it wouId be for me, in my solitude, to encounter such a beautiful companion once again." "With such gentle hands to wipe away my tears." "I would renounce... my throne, my friends and my country." "I would abandon all those knaves for one faithful friend!" "May I retire?" "Do you not see that my fate hangs in the balance?" "Let me retire!" "Once you unwittingly kissed the page." "Now it shall be the King!" " Now I understand!" " What?" "For shame!" "What is the meaning of this?" "To your room at once!" "Why so stern?" "Sire, there is blood on the threshold of my wife's room." "Is it possible?" "My page would not have such audacity." "I beg a favour of Your Majesty, which is also in your page's favour." " tell me." " Send the little puppet away at once." "It is already damaged." "Don't wait till I smash it." "Sir..." "My wife is above suspicion, Your Majesty." "She is a saintly person." "But the page, I hope he may long serve you if you send him from the castle as soon as possible." "Such a servant is beyond price." "You will be robbed of him." "I fear for such an elegant fellow." "I am delighted to see you in such spirit." "Very well." "I shall send my page to court with letters." "I shall give him a horse." "black and winged." "My poor boy!" "You want to fight." "He is a nobody." "He is the sort a nobleman uses a stick on." "He dared to treat her as a whore." "A beating will teach him manners." "I thank the Lord for giving me a saintly woman as my wife." "Is that how you frighten off my game?" "Yes, lower your pretty eyes." "The dispatch box." "To the Montfort commander." "Then go to the Queen and tell her I shall return shortly." "Ah!" "Defend yourself, sir." "I understand." "Captain, I can fight, but I have no wish to." "Not even with your father's sword." "A parting present." "I am sorry for what I did." "Some madness overcame me in your castle." "Made me fall in love." "In the name of my love, Iet us be friends." "Are you joking or merely a coward?" "I retain my honour." "But you fled last night!" "Are you sure it was me?" "It wasn't you who cried out in pain?" " Take off your glove!" " There." "By your sword?" "To love, but to take one's secret to the grave, that is the real art." "I have no secret to hide!" " I can spill my own blood, out of pity." " For whom?" " That is my secret." " On guard!" " A certain kiss closed my mouth for ever." " Liar!" "A hasty judgement." "You lie like a dog!" "Ah, you love her." "Touché!" "I can do better than that." "Listen." "You cannot change your fate." "She is blissfully unaware." "believe me, your love can lead to tragedy." "Leave her here and come to court with me." "You will forget." "So, what will you do?" "I shall leave with you." "Wait for me here." "I'II wait." "To the commander at Beaufort." "Greetings." "Send at once to the castle, where we lodge, a troop of mercenaries with battering rams." "also, for a delicate person of quality, and a gilded, handsomely accoutred litter." "PS:" "Confine Monsieur BartoIomeo to the tower until further orders." "Confine Monsieur BartoIomeo until further orders..." "For a delicate person..." "Confine Monsieur BartoIomeo..." "What makes you so sad?" "Here." "Like that." "A lily?" "lilies are for the church!" "When are you leaving?" "You never mentioned it before." "I want you to stay here." " But will you come back?" " No." " No." " No!" " You will never come back?" " Never." "He is near the chapel." "No noise." "The King has sharp ears." "They'II all die a terrible death!" "Get rid of your maid." "I shall return soon." "It is very urgent." "nicolas, come here." "Come here." "nicolas." "Pity, mother!" "Pity!" "Be quiet." "I understand." "I can give you nothing... but my tears!" " Go." " Pity!" "Fear not." "We are innocent." "Do not think ill of me." "I beg you." "What I now say to you I say unwittingly!" "Oh... oh... goodness." "nicolas." "nicolas!" "nicolas." "nicolas!" "help!" "help!" "help!" "Your son is Iying unconscious in my room." "Do not go in!" "Don't go in!" "Stay there." "nicolas!" "nicolas!" " You have poisoned him!" " Me?" " Yes, you!" " Me?" "You have sensed the presence of the other one, witch!" "What have I done?" "You have bewitched my son!" "He came in and fainted!" "You are a dissembler!" "Is he alive?" "Where am I?" " Are you really asking?" " Father." " I know everything!" " What happened?" "Look at her, the cunning vixen!" "The sIattern." "May Iightning strike you!" "Father... she is innocent." "Innocent?" "Yes, she is what is called innocent!" "But compIaisant." "Father..." "See how she quakes." "She knows that it will be terrible." "Prepare yourself." "Father, think about what you are doing." "Something horrible will happen!" "I believe in her and so should you!" "She is hiding a man here, yet you plead for her?" "You are accomplices!" "You and your mother in league against the old man!" "Your championship is misplaced." "You don't condemn her." "Let go of me!" "Search the alcove." "Stop!" "You shall not touch this curtain." "nicolas... it is not true." "We shall see." "Your gallant will die like a rabbit!" "nicolas, draw the curtain." "Let your father see with his own eyes!" "Your father!" "Why do you believe her?" "Do you think your father is a fool?" "I still have all my wits!" "There is not a window in there." "He cannot escape." "I shall kill him and you can lie with... with his corpse." "And if you won't, I'II chain you to him, Iike a dog!" "Like a dog!" "Search the alcove." "He's trying to kill himself!" "Do you know why he tried to kill himself?" "Because he heard someone move, just as I heard someone there." "He is Iying!" "nicolas, you heard nothing!" "No, I heard nothing." "I swear upon my soul." "No one is there." "Let that suffice!" " will you swear on the Cross?" " No!" "I shall swear for her!" "Away from the Cross!" "By the blessed wounds of Christ and upon my mother's soul I swear that your suspicions are unjust." "May God forgive you." "It is finished." "Finished?" "Has she not sworn?" "wall up the alcove." "Without touching the curtain." "What now?" "They are masons." "The King requires a private chapel." "So, Father, you do not believe her?" "believe her?" "She has sworn." "But now she is being defended against suspicion of perjury." "I must go in before it is walled up!" "Hesitating already despite your oath?" "My mother's missal is in there!" "And you have just remembered it now?" "It is there, of course." "What an unfortunate coincidence!" "Go away!" "Lock her up!" "And the dove?" "You shall never dishonour me again." "It's you." "I knew it was you!" "Get back!" "It was a paradise here." "You were all my happiness." "nicolas." "I was once deceived by your tears!" "Spare me now!" "How I Ioved this woman." "How I Ioved her." "nicolas..." "In your soul you mocked me." "Now you are ashamed." "Cut off your hair and hang yourself!" "And I prayed for him so, this very morning." "Do you love him very much?" "Who?" "That vile coward who is walled up." "Do you love him dearly?" "Answer." "Answer!" "Or I'II crush your little hands if you don't confess you love him." "He merely fainted!" "That wretch did not sacrifice himself for the love of you!" "But when he came to you, he must have cursed you, as he gnawed his hands in hunger!" "little blanche..." "It's jealousy." "I am jealous of that man." "If you had loved me like..." "nicolas." "Are you sure that someone was there?" "Read this." "But I am innocent." "A man is dying in there." "BIanche!" "Here is my wife, happily resuscitated." "But I heard terrible groans from within there." "Where is your son, sir?" "I do not know." "Ah, here he is." "God has sent him to us." "This place... is bewitched." "These walls hide strange things." "Break down that wall immediately." "I would rather have burned my castle than see what is behind that wall." "But if that is your wish..." "Garin, destroy that wall." "Sire, that wall hides a treasure." "A pretty treasure." "It is a treasure buried by my wife." "Knock down the wall!" "An unconscious man." " Bring him here." " Sire, that man is mine!" "BartoIomeo!" "blind justice metes me the body of your page." "Save him!" "Sir, you and your son shall answer to the courts for this." "Have I not the right to kill an adulterer, sire?" "This will be enquired into." "I shall tell you what happened." "I will defend this lady's honour." "I shall hear BartoIomeo." "kindly leave us." "Though the will of God manifest itself, I shall hold this page." "I cannot perceive where the dishonour lies." "Sire, I am grateful for your gracious tact." "However, I decide to build a wall and a lover happens to be found behind it." "merely an unfortunate conjunction of circumstances, believe me." "And BartoIomeo is blameless." "He is telling the truth." "I couId show you this letter and you would know he tried to save your honour." "I am an excellent marksman and if a stag enters my forest, it is mine." "Do not seek revenge, old man." "old man!" "You mock the old man!" "And you, laugh while you still live!" "How dare you insult this woman!" "I claim trial by combat." "You dare to defend this worthless wretch?" "We grant our consent." " I shall kill him!" " Father, Iet me do it!" "I can do battle." "But if I die, I beg you to believe in her innocence, at Ieast." " Promise me." " No!" "Stop him!" "He wants to die!" "Seek her blessing." "If she is guilty, her blessing will be fatal." "You hear?" "Your blessing means death!" "bless him!" "I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ!" "And NicoIas?" "His father will bless him." "Strike to the heart." "kill him." "I wanted to die by the hand she blessed." "You defended the innocent." "I..." "I Ioved her." "Forgive me, both of you." "And don't forget me." "My child murdered!" "Leave him!" "Such wounds must heal themselves." "My son!" "What did they do to you?" "Give me my son back!" "nicolas." "It is for me." "Here!" "You are leaving us before the funeral, sire?" "I wish I couId stay without harming the kingdom's interests." "Urgent matters of state require my attention." "But it grieves me to leave your house." "The King leaves but my son's murderer stays." "Why?" "He has an account to settle with me." "You judge without the King's authority?" "The King will leave the castle, but without his page." "would you imprison a King's subject?" "I shall not resort to force, but the King will leave without his page." "rebellion?" "To arms, gentlemen." "Now... a father stands before you." "Your Majesty must cross this space." "trample this body." "Add this further insult!" "So, Master Page will you stay with me, eh?" "I require him for one day." "No more." "Today it is Wednesday." "On Friday you may leave." "I must have him for one day." "I shall return him alive." "Very well." "We leave the page." "But if one hair on his head is missing you shall pay with your life." "I'II answer for it." "The page shall be made comfortable in this house." "Upon my honour I shall return him alive." "We shall meet again soon." "Counting the cracks?" "I am just looking at the ceiling." "AimIessIy." "An old house." "Which will last." "Longer than many of us." "If God wills." "Wake up, sIuggard." "What?" "Never again?" "A fistful of ashes and a few planks." "That is all." "Sir, I have a favour to ask." "What?" "Have you a poor old mother to feed?" "I'II give her the bread of anguish after your death." "nicolas, before he died..." "Go on." "He confided his last wishes." "My son made you the executor of his will?" " If you don't want to hear..." " Speak!" "He asked me to speak to his mother." "I swear my intentions are pure." "I shall send her to you." "Over there!" "I have to tell you NicoIas's last wishes." "He loved you, madam." "Listen, nicolas killed himself." "nicolas..." "What?" "In the presence of a corpse?" "nicolas..." "On a coffin?" "Do you dare?" "Aren't you afraid of soiling your always so clean and tidy self?" "Keep your hands off my wife, gallows bird!" "ChoIeric dodderer!" "I thought you suffered and I almost pitied you." "Now I despise you." "And what I mercifully kept from you will surely kill you." "Speak!" " Move away from the coffin!" " Speak!" "These two loved each other unto death." "You're lying!" "Your son killed himself for your wife." "My son..." "Get out!" "I'II return with the King." " nicolas wishes to rest beside her." " Get out!" "Let's go." "There." "The King has crossed the drawbridge." "No resistance." "Let him enter." "Bury me far from these."