"What! I who have just arrived from a distance of sixty leagues, and you
who have not stirred from this place, who have witnessed with your own
eyes that which rumor informed me of at Calais! Do you now tell me
seriously that you do not know what it is about? Oh! comte, this is
hardly charitable of you."

"As you like, De Wardes; but I again repeat, I know nothing."

"You are truly discreet - well! - perhaps it is very prudent of you."

"And so you will not tell me anything, will not tell me any more than you
told Bragelonne?"

"You are pretending to be deaf, I see. I am convinced that Madame could
not possibly have more command over herself than _you_ have."

"Double hypocrite," murmured Guiche to himself, "you are again returning
to the old subject."

"Very well, then," continued De Wardes, "since we find it so difficult to
understand each other about
La Valliere and Bragelonne let us speak about
your own affairs."

"Nay," said De Guiche, "I have no affairs of my own to talk about. You
have not said anything about me, I suppose, to Bragelonne, which you
cannot repeat to my face?"

"No; but understand me, Guiche, that however much I may be ignorant of