oo,
had that trap-door made?--Oh, no!--you do not believe it; and here,
again, you feel, you guess, you understand the influence of a will
superior to my own. You can conceive the infatuation, the blind,
irresistible passion which has been at work. But, thank Heaven! I am
fortunate in speaking to a man who has so much sensitiveness of feeling;
and if it were not so, indeed, what an amount of misery and scandal
would fall upon her, poor girl! and upon him--whom I will not name."

Porthos, confused and bewildered by the eloquence and gestures of
Saint-Aignan, made a thousand efforts to stem this torrent of words,
of which, by the by, he did not understand a single one; he remained
upright and motionless on his seat, and that was all he could do.
Saint-Aignan continued, and gave a new inflection to his voice, and an
increasing vehemence to his gesture: "As for the portrait, for I readily
believe the portrait is the principal cause of complaint, tell me
candidly if you think me to blame?--Who was it who wished to have her
portrait? Was it I?--Who is in love with her? Is it I?--Who wishes to
gain her affection? Again, is it I?--Who took her likeness? I, do you
think? No! a thousand times no! I know M. de Bragelonne must be in a
state of despair; I know these misfortunes are most cruel. But I, too,
am suffering as well; and yet there is no possibility of offering any
resistance. Suppose we were to fight? we would be laughed at. If he
obstinately persist in his course, he is lost. You will tell me, I know,
that despair is ridiculous, but then you are a sensible man. You have
understood me. I perceived by your serious, thoughtful, embarrassed
air, even, that the importance of the situation we are placed in has
not escaped you. Return, therefore, to M. de Bragelonne; thank him--as I
have indeed reason to thank him--for having chosen as an intermediary a
man of your high merit. Believe me that I shall, on my side, preserve
an eternal gratitude for the man who has so ingeniously, so cleverly
arranged the misunderstanding between us. And since ill luck would have
it that the secret should be known to four instead of three, why,
this secret, which might make the most ambitious man's fortune, I am
delighted to share with you, monsieur, from the bottom of my heart I
am delighted at it. From this very moment you can make use of me as you
please, I place myself entirely at your mercy. What can I possibly do
for you? What can I solicit,