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The necessary relief granted on the petition of Pierre-Etienne de Saint-Faust de Lamotte, the second day of May this present month, and delay accorded until after the suspended judgment pronounced with regard to the said Marie-Louise Nicolais. "OUTREMONT, Councillor." Derues' assurance and calmness never deserted him for one moment.
The quack Cagliostro was also in the plot, but he, too, escaped, like his confederate, the Cardinal, who was made to appear as the dupe of Lamotte. The Queen never got over the effect of this affair. Her friends well knew the danger of severe measures towards one capable of collecting around him strong support against a power already so much weakened by faction and discord.
At length the silence was broken by the spades striking heavily on wood, and the noise made everyone shudder. The chest was uncovered and hoisted out of the trench; it was opened, and the body of a woman was seen, clad only in a chemise, with a red and white headband, face downwards. The body was turned over, and Monsieur de Lamotte recognised his wife, not yet disfigured.
Lamotte sank back into his chair. His features were wrung with pain, but the momentary excitement vanished, and his manner grew sullen again. "If you know so much I can tell you nothing," he growled. "No. You can give me little or no information I do not possess already. But, unless you are more fool than knave, you can at least try to save your own miserable life." "How?" "By a full confession.
But I only consented on conditions: Madame de Lamotte promised me to return shortly to Paris, vowing that her son should never know the truth, and that the rest of her life should be devoted to atoning for her sin by a boundless devotion. She then begged me to leave her, and told me she would write to me at Paris to fix the day of her return.
Then his complaints ceased; he was advised to maintain a prudent silence, and to await Derues' return. The latter thoroughly understood that, having failed to dissipate Monsieur de Lamotte's fears, there was no longer an instant to lose, and that the pretended private contract of February 12th would not of itself prove the existence of Madame de Lamotte.
'Yes, my dear, thought Soames, 'they're very pretty. Madame Lamotte, with coffee and liqueur, put an end to that colloquy. Soames did not stay long. Outside in the streets of Soho, which always gave him such a feeling of property improperly owned, he mused. If only Irene had given him a son, he wouldn't now be squirming after women!
"Undoubtedly," said the boy; "and I do not see why there need be any hesitation between friends." Whether by accident, or secret presentiment, or because she foresaw a possibility of business discussions between them, Madame de Lamotte objected to this arrangement.
"Do not send me oysters," he writes, "I am too ill with worry. I thank you for all your kindness to my son. I love him better than myself, and God grant he will be good and grateful." The only reply he received from the Derues was an assurance that he would see his wife again in a few days. The days passed, but Mme. de Lamotte made no sign.
Mme. de Lamotte was seized with sickness and internal trouble. Though Derues wrote to her husband that his wife was well and their business was on the point of conclusion, by the 30th of January Mme. de Lamotte had taken to her bed, nursed and physicked by the ready Derues.
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