Part 52 (1/2)
”Free?” repeated the king ”Oh! you setdared to lift up your hand against nantly; ”you cannot believe uilty of such an act”
And rapidly, warue, the details of which are already known to the reader While the recital continued, Louis suffered the uish of er he had run struck him far more than the importance of the secret relative to his twin brother
”Monsieur,” he said, suddenly to Fouquet, ”this double birth is a falsehood; it is impossible--you cannot have been the dupe of it”
”Sire!”
”It is impossible, I tell you, that the honor, the virtue of my mother can be suspected, and my first minister has not yet done justice on the criminals!”
”Reflect, sire, before you are hurried away by anger,” replied Fouquet
”The birth of your brother--”
”I have only one brother--and that is Monsieur You know it as well as overnor of the Bastile”
”Be careful, sire, for this man has been deceived as every one else has by the prince's likeness to yourself”
”Likeness? Absurd!”
”This Marchiali ularly like your majesty, to be able to deceive every one's eye,” Fouquet persisted
”Ridiculous!”
”Do not say so, sire; those who had prepared everything in order to face and deceive your ministers, your mother, your officers of state, the members of your family, must be quite confident of the resemblance between you”
”But where are these persons, then?”
”At Vaux”
”At Vaux! and you suffer them to remain there!”
”My most instant duty appeared to me to be your majesty's release I have accomplished that duty; and nohatever your majesty may command, shall be done I await your orders”
Louis reflected for a few moments
”Muster all the troops in Paris,” he said
”All the necessary orders are given for that purpose,” replied Fouquet
”You have given orders!” exclai
”For that purpose, yes, sire; your majesty will be at the head of ten thousandmade was to take hold of Fouquet's hand with such an expression of feeling, that it was very easy to perceive how strongly he had, until that remark,the latter's intervention
”And with these troops,” he said, ”we shall go at once and besiege in your house the rebels who by this time will have established and intrenched themselves therein”