she no sooner
believed him innocent, but she discoursed with him with greater ease
and freedom, concerning what she would scarce before vouchsafe to hear;
they agreed that the letter should not be restored to the
Queen-Dauphin, for fear she should show it to Madam de Martigues, who
knew Madam de Themines's hand, and would easily guess, by the interest
she had in the Viscount, that it was addressed to him; they agreed
also, that they ought not to entrust the Queen-Dauphin with all that
concerned the Queen her mother-in-law. Madam de Cleves, under pretence
of serving her uncle, was pleased to be the Duke de Nemours's confidant
in the secrets he had imparted to her.

The Duke would not have confined his discourse to the Viscount's
concerns, but from the liberty he had of free conversation with her,
would have assumed a boldness he had never yet done, had not a message
been brought in to Madam de Cleves, that the Queen-Dauphin had sent for
her. The Duke was forced to withdraw; he went to the Viscount to
inform him, that after he had left him, he thought it more proper to
apply to Madam de Cleves, his niece, than to go directly to the
Queen-Dauphin; he did not want reasons to make him approve what he had
done, and to give him hopes of good success.

In the meantime Madam de Cleves dressed herself in all haste to go to
the Queen-Dauphin; she was no sooner entered her chamber, but she
called her to her, and whispered her, "I have been waiting for you
these two hours, and was never so perplexed about disguising a truth as
I have been this morning: the Queen has heard of the letter I gave you
yesterday, and believes it was the Viscount de Chartres that dropped
it; you know, she has some interest to be satisfied in it; she has been
in search for the letter, and has caused Chatelart to be asked for it;
who said he had given it to me; they have been to ask me for it, under
pretence it was an ingenious letter which the Queen had a curiosity to
see; I durst not say that you had it, for fear she should think I had
given it you on your uncle the Viscount's account, and that there was a
correspondence between him and me. I was already satisfied that his
seeing me so often gave her uneasiness, so that I said the letter was
in the clothes I had on yesterday, and that those who had them in
keeping were gone abroad; give me the letter immediately," added she,
"that I may send it her, and that I may read it before I send it to see
if I