The Princess de Montpensier | Page 5

of the
most accomplished women of her time.
The Prince having gone back to the Court, where he was needed owing
to the continuation of the war, the Comte lived alone with the Princess
and continued to treat her with the respect due to her rank and position.
The Princess took him so far into her confidence as to tell him of the
feelings she had once had for the Duc de Guise, but she intimated that

there remained only enough of this emotion to prevent her heart from
straying elsewhere and that this remnant, together with her wifely
virtue made it impossible for her to respond, except with a rebuff, to
any possible suitor.
The Comte who recognised her sincerity and who saw in her a
character wholly opposed to flirtation and gallantry, did not doubt the
truth of her words; but nevertheless he was unable to resist all the
charms which he saw daily so close to him. He fell deeply in love with
the Princess, in spite of the shame he felt at allowing himself to be
overcome by this illicit passion. However although not master of his
heart, he was master of his actions; the change in his emotions did not
show at all in his behaviour, and no none suspected him. He took, for a
whole year, scrupulous care to hide his feelings from the Princess and
believed that he would always be able to do so.
Love, however, had the same effect on him as it does on everyone, he
longed to speak of it, and after all the struggles which are usually made
on such occasions, he dared to tell her of his devotion. He had been
prepared to weather the storm of reproach which this might arouse, but
he was greeted with a calm and a coolness which was a thousand times
worse than the outburst which he had expected. She did not take the
trouble to be angry. She pointed out in a few words the difference in
their rank and ages, she reminded him of what she had previously said
about her attitude to suitors and above all to the duty he owed to the
confidence and friendship of the Prince her husband. The Comte was
overwhelmed by shame and distress. She tried to console him by
assuring him that she would forget entirely what he had just said to her
and would always look on him as her best friend; assurances which
were small consolation to the Comte as one might imagine. He felt the
disdain which was implicit in all that the Princess had said, and seeing
her the next day with her customary untroubled looks redoubled his
misery.
The Princess continued to show him the same goodwill as before and
even discussed her former attachment to the Duc de Guise, saying that
she was pleased that his increasing fame showed that he was worthy of

the affection she had once had for him. These demonstrations of
confidence, which were once so dear to the Comte, he now found
insupportable, but he did not dare say as much to the Princess, though
he did sometimes remind her of what he had so rashly confessed to her.
After an absence of two years, peace having been declared, the Prince
de Montpensier returned to his wife, his renown enhanced by his
behaviour at the siege of Paris and the battle of St. Denis. He was
surprised to find the beauty of the Princess blooming in such perfection,
and being of a naturally jealous disposition he was a little put out of
humour by the realisation that this beauty would be evident to others
beside himself. He was delighted to see once more the Comte, for
whom his affection was in no way diminished. He asked him for
confidential details about his wife's character and temperament, for she
was almost a stranger to him because of the little time during which
they had lived together. The Comte, with the utmost sincerity, as if he
himself were not enamoured, told the Prince everything he knew about
the Princess which would encourage her husband's love of her, and he
also suggested to Madame de Montpensier all the measures she might
take to win the heart and respect of her spouse. The Comte's devotion
led him to think of nothing but what would increase the happiness and
wellbeing of the Princess and to forget without difficulty the interest
which lovers usually have in stirring up trouble between the objects of
their affection and their marital partners.
The peace was only shortlived. War soon broke out again by reason of
a plot by the King to arrest the Prince de CondÇ and Admiral Chatillon
at Noyers. As a result of the military preparations the Prince de
Montpensier