"Listen, Felton," resumed Milady, "for by the side of base and
contemptible men there are often found great and generous natures. I had
an affianced husband, a man whom I loved, and who loved me--a heart like
yours, Felton, a man like you. I went to him and told him all; he knew
me, that man did, and did not doubt an instant. He was a nobleman, a man
equal to Buckingham in every respect. He said nothing; he only girded on
his sword, wrapped himself in his cloak, and went straight to Buckingham
Palace.
"Yes, yes," said Felton; "I understand how he would act. But with such
men it is not the sword that should be employed; it is the poniard."
"Buckingham had left England the day before, sent as ambassador to
Spain, to demand the hand of the Infanta for King Charles I, who was
then only Prince of Wales. My affianced husband returned.
"'Hear me,' said he; 'this man has gone, and for the moment has
consequently escaped my vengeance; but let us be united, as we were to
have been, and then leave it to Lord de Winter to maintain his own honor
and that of his wife.'"
"Lord de Winter!" cried Felton.
"Yes," said Milady, "Lord de Winter; and now you can understand it all,
can you not? Buckingham remained nearly a year absent. A week before his
return Lord de Winter died, leaving me his sole heir. Whence came the
blow? God who knows all, knows without doubt; but as for me, I accuse
nobody."
"Oh, what an abyss; what an abyss!" cried Felton.
"Lord de Winter died without revealing anything to his brother. The
terrible secret was to be concealed till it burst, like a clap of
thunder, over the head of the guilty. Your protector had seen with
pain this marriage of his elder brother with a portionless girl. I was
sensible that I could look for no support from a man disappointed in
his hopes of an inheritance. I went to France, with a determination to
remain there for the rest of my life. But all my fortune is in England.
Communication being closed by the war, I was in want of everything.
I was then obliged to come back again. Six days ago, I landed at
Portsmouth."
"Well?" said Felton.
"Well; Buckingham heard by some means, no doubt, of my return. He spoke
of me to Lord de Winter, already prejudiced against me, and told him
that his sister-in-law was a prostitute, a branded woman. The noble and
pure voice of my husband was no longer here to defend me. Lord de Winter
believed all that was told him with so much the more ease
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