news of the Duc de Guise during all her illness. She asked her
women if they had not seen anyone, if they had not had any
letters, and finding that there had been nothing, she saw herself
as the most wretched of women, one who had risked all for a man
who had abandoned her. A fresh blow was the news of the death of
the Comte de Chabannes, which her husband made sure she heard
about as soon as possible. The ingratitude of the Duc de Guise
made her feel even more deeply the loss of a man whose fidelity
she knew so well. These disappointments weighed heavily upon her
and reduced her to a state as serious as that from which she had
recently recovered. Madame de Noirmoutier was a woman who took as
much care to publicise her affairs as others do to conceal them.
Her relations with the Duc de Guise were so open that, even
though far away and ill, the Princess heard so much about it that
she was left in no doubt. This was the final straw. She had lost
the regard of her husband, the heart of her lover, and the most
loyal of her friends. She took to her bed, and died not long
after in the flower of her youth. She was one of the loveliest of
women and could have been one of the happiest if she had not
strayed so far from the path of prudence and virtue.





End of Project Gutenberg Etext The Princess de Montpensier, by Lafayette

