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It was a great grief to the duke when his friends, always on the lookout
for some scandal on the part of the woman with whom, it seemed to them, he
was compromising himself, came to tell him, indeed to prove to him, that
at times when she was sure of not seeing him she received other visits,
and that these visits were often prolonged till the following day. On
being questioned, Marguerite admitted everything to the duke, and advised
him, without arriere-pensee, to concern himself with her no longer, for
she felt incapable of carrying out what she had undertaken, and she did
not wish to go on accepting benefits from a man whom she was deceiving.
The duke did not return for a week; it was all he could do, and on the
eighth day he came to beg Marguerite to let him still visit her, promising
that he would take her as she was, so long as he might see her, and
swearing that he would never utter a reproach against her, not though he
were to die of it.
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Le duc eut donc une grande douleur le jour où ses amis, sans cesse aux
aguets pour surprendre un scandale de la part de la jeune femme avec
laquelle il se compromettait, disaient-ils, vinrent lui dire et lui
prouver qu'à l'heure où elle était sûre de ne pas le voir venir, elle
recevait des visites, et que ces visites se prolongeaient souvent
jusqu'au lendemain.
Interrogée, Marguerite avoua tout au duc, lui conseillant, sans
arrière-pensée, de cesser de s'occuper d'elle, car elle ne se sentait
pas la force de tenir les engagements pris, et ne voulait pas recevoir
plus longtemps les bienfaits d'un homme qu'elle trompait.
Le duc resta huit jours sans paraître; ce fut tout ce qu'il put faire,
et, le huitième jour, il vint supplier Marguerite de l'admettre encore,
lui promettant de l'accepter telle qu'elle serait, pourvu qu'il la vît,
et lui jurant que, dût-il mourir, il ne lui ferait jamais un reproche.
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