Summary
Wow, I read this
chapter on the 384th anniversary of the titular event! And wow, is
this event intense. This chapter gave me many feelings, plenty of which were
unwanted. You shall soon see what this mysterious event is. Or, maybe not so
mysterious. Because Felton is walking towards Buckingham’s quarters with a
purpose. He carries the paper that Buckingham must sign in order to sentence
Milady to prison/exile in Tyburn. He is feeling jubilant and vengeful. Mr.
Felton soon arrives at Portsmouth, looking crazy with passion and heat.
Meanwhile, the duke has just finished a splendid
bath. Felton is admitted to the quarters due to his note. Just as he arrives
outside the duke’s chamber, so does another messenger, who is also dusty and
frantic. Patrick, the duke’s valet, decides to let Felton in to talk to the
duke first, since Felton named Lord de Winter, and the other messenger refused
to name anyone. Felton thus ends up in the Duke of Buckingham’s chamber. The
duke, fresh out of the bath, is carefully grooming himself, while lounging in a
lavish gold-embroidered robe. He then proceeds to change out of this robe, and
into a blue velvet shirt, which is set with pearls. Geez, I just can’t with this man. The duke is so
sheltered and powerful, it’s like he’s living in his own world. It’s simultaneously frustrating and amusing
how spoiled he is.
Felton, dirty and
red in the face, provides a nice contrast to the immaculate and richly dressed
duke. He then politely hands the duke the order to send away ‘Charlotte
Brackson’ (the fake name that Lord de Winter used for Milady). The duke looks
at it, and calmly sits down to sign it. Felton, incredulous, asks him if he
realizes that ‘Charlotte Backson’ is Milady. The duke coolly replies in the
affirmative. Poor, foolish Felton, drunk with love, demands that the duke not
sign it. Buckingham, taken aback, says that Milady certainly deserves to be
exiled to Tyburn, and he will certainly sign the paper. Felton then orders him
to stop. The duke, naturally, refuses, but then lunges for his sword when he sees
Felton throw himself forward with a knife. He had kept the knife that Milady
used to ‘stab’ herself! Patrick comes in at that moment with a letter from
France (that’s what the other messenger had!). As soon as he hears the word
‘France,’ Buckingham’s mind jumps to Queen Anne. To my horror, Felton takes
advantage of this distraction and plunges his knife up to the hilt into the duke.
Crying out, the duke sinks down. Patrick screams for help. Felton makes a wild
dash for the exit, but runs into Lord de Winter, who is entering the chamber at
that moment. When he sees Felton’s expression and the blood on his hands, he
seizes him viciously, yelling that he had suspected that Felton would be a
traitor. At Patrick’s scream, the French messenger rushes into the chamber. It
is Laporte! He is the queen’s valet, in case you forgot. The duke recognizes him and begs him to read
the message from the queen, before he dies. However, the duke suddenly is
still. Lord de Winter and other friends also have entered the chamber, and the
sad news has already spread halfway around the city – everywhere, people are
crying. A cannon sounds to announce his death.
But wait! The
duke is still alive! He wakes up, annoyed at Laporte for not reading the
letter. Lord de Winter, wracked with guilt, says that he will never console
himself for what Felton has done. The duke says that he is not to blame. Lord
de Winter bursts into tears, devastated at this turn of events. Laporte
eventually reads the letter aloud. Sadly, it is a dry message asking the duke
to end the war between France and England. Laporte passes on two more important
messages – Queen Anne warns him to stay safe (alas! Too late!) and also tells
him that she loves him. The duke then sighs with joy, and says that now he can
die happy. Laporte breaks at that, and begins to sob. The Duke of Buckingham
asks Laporte to give the queen the casket that he had kept and her letters to
him. The duke’s eyes are growing unfocused. The duke convulses, and tries to
smile, but death freezes that last expression on his face. Patrick calls out,
and the whole chamber is plunged into grief.
A surgeon
arrives, too late, and affirms his death. Lord de Winter rushes toward Felton
in blind rage, and demands to know why he has done this terrible deed. Felton,
the misguided fool, covers for Milady by claiming that he killed the duke
because Buckingham failed to promote him or bestow any favors. Lord de Winter
is stunned. One thing, however, gives Felton away. At every noise he hears, at every
movement he sees, he imagines Milady running to save him, to explain why he did
this deed. But Milady does not come. He suddenly turns pale. Out on the waters,
he sees a ship sailing away. It is Milady’s! Deathly white, he puts a hand to
his breaking heart. Trembling, he asks Lord de Winter what the time is. De
Winter realizes what is going on, and tells him that it is but ten minutes to
nine. Milady departed as soon as she heard the canon, leaving Felton behind.
Felton at once perceives the treachery, but does not speak. He says to himself
“God has willed it!” but he is unable to tear his eyes from the departing ship.
Lord de Winter follows his gaze, and guesses all. He tells Felton that he will
be isolated in his cell – no more helping Milady. Lord de Winter swears that he
will get his revenge on her. Felton lowers his head, defeated and speechless.
Irons are clapped around his wrist, and he is dragged away by prison guards, as
his love-struck eyes still seek the white outline of the sail.
Reaction
I feel sick. I
truly do. Dumas, you just blew me away. My summary honestly does not do justice
to the genius writing present in this chapter. My heart is bleeding for the
duke and Felton, and I don’t even like either
of them that much. I hope Milady falls overboard on the way to France, and has
to swim all the way back and gets into trouble with the cardinal and then
Planchet defeats her and then she is sent to Tyburn to rot. I cannot believe
this woman. Don’t get me wrong – Milady’s ‘seduction’ or whatever is absolutely
not to blame for Felton’s actions. He chose
to murder someone; Milady did not force him to. In fact, she did not even ask
him to! However, my heart is breaking. How dare
she orchestrate murder? Actually, how dare
the cardinal order such a thing?!
Felton’s life is ruined. The duke is DEAD. Lord de Winter lost a friend; Queen
Anne lost her love; and we all lost the generous, passionate, well-intentioned
duke. And the end! Oh, the end. I have so many feelings. Milady couldn’t even
wait another hour to make Felton’s ‘sacrifice’ worth it! What a tragic, tragic
scene.
It was very
difficult choosing a favorite line from this chapter, but since I must, my
favorite is the duke’s demise: “Felton took advantage of this moment, and
plunged the knife into his side up to the handle. ‘Ah, traitor,’ cried
Buckingham, ‘you have killed me!’ ‘Murder!’ screamed Patrick. Felton cast his
eyes round for means of escape, and seeing the door free, he rushed into the
next chamber, in which, as we have said, the deputies from La Rochelle were
waiting, crossed it as quickly as possible, and rushed toward the staircase;
but upon the first step he met Lord de Winter, who, seeing him pale, confused,
livid, and stained with blood both on his hands and face, seized him by the
throat, crying, ‘I knew it! I guessed it! But too late by a minute, unfortunate,
unfortunate that I am!’” This part is so terrifying and appalling – I almost
jumped out of my chair when the duke was stabbed.
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