"Grand Coesre's Sekret"
- English translation -
by Nicolai F. Brecht Romanow
Chapter 1: On pig hunt
I.
My youth ended abruptly when I was just eleventh years old, in the year 1672. In late autumn, at vindage time, my father was busy in foreign country to forster his military career, but my mother had gathered her entire family in my parents chateau, being one of the most popular meeting place for ladies and gentlemen of our small province, it was a charming and warm society which shared my parents’ house.
Especially one gentleman from the neighborhood, closely related to the house de la Force , showed up remarkably often.. He loved my mother, she had not lost her attractions during her marriage. Instead the marriage had increased the power and brilliance given to her by nature. And – in addition to that – she was one of those gallant ladies of her times, who were – while not being unfaithful to her spouse – ready to nurture passions and hopes to her lovers, which were never intended to be favored or true.
He, on his side however, was foolhardy enough to think that he might see a fulfilling of his passions if he would finally find her alone at some time.
And this opportunity presented itself during a hunting party , which started in the evening und was extended into the next morning,.
II
Pig hunting was the subject of the day.
The amoureuse Cavalier had chosen to himself a post between two forests, were pig hunting opportunities were to occur not very likely. So he hoped to enjoy the freedom to pull himself back to our Chateau , while his hunting compangnions would have hold out in the dark until dawn . That planning was right and thus he could give his other hunting ambitions a new direction and preference.
He stole himself past the kitchen without being noticed by the small crowd of domestics , and thus entered the apartment, to which my mother’s bedchamber was directly adjacent .
Initially he listened at her door, making sure she was alone in her space – and – he was lucky. Because my mother was about to send her maid away, far away to a remote property on our vineyard.
Her intension was – the girl should enjoy the annual wine festival at that place and my mother had asked her to bring back a basket of fresh grapes on the next morning – for breakfast. Thus, the young confidant was gone and the villain took advantage of the favorable moment, slipped into her inner sanctum , found her in a very casual state , not realizing that I – prevented from the hunt by a malaise – was resting in an adjoining bedchamber. And thus I was the victim and temoin of all that conversation which was going on between that monster and my mother, which could not be overheared.
My mother, who had to suspected him being on hunt , was naturally surprised and quite strongly excited , being penetrated with his boldness.
She received him with the slogan “That causes an outrage to me ! ” before he could familiarize her with his masculine dessin. And she contined: “If I had my servants with me , I would know how to punish you.”
Those compliments , which he believed not to expect at her place, made him offended and his passion extended to rage. He treated her from that very moment on beyond all boundaries of respect.
The fight between those two dissimilar sexes culminated in a thin cry of my mother , and was accompanied by the grunting of that man.. What followed was an even less tolerable silence.
“Clearly, ” the monster said at the end of that silence, “You do not have the humor to grant me the same favors which you grat your pretre and stallion in vain ! ” and he seemed wanting to say goodbye with a rude laugh.
At that moment I took all my courage and entered my mother’s room .
My mothers toilet was completely ruined , her sweatened hair hung down unorderly, tears of anger mingled with the sweat of surviving her efforts, her bodice seemed been forced open to me and her full bluish bosons were unashamedly revealed .
From the guest no trace – apart from an opened window. .
My mother tried to convert her state into a convenient manner, but soon she became aware of the futility of such efforts, bursted into sobs tearfully pointing towards to the large window that was open to the court. .
Hereby – she confessed – he escaped.
I stormed to the window and managed to take a look at that nobleman who posted a kiss into my direction before he speeded away toward the stables.
I consoled my mother at best as I could and promised her, to keep this incident as an absolute secret between both of us .
She hugged me and promised to remember me in all future. Then again she claimed her being particular regrettable , because I was not yet able to avenge her disgrace that had been done to her, since I had not undergone any training in use of weapons.
” Ah ,” she exclaimed, ” Whom can I confide my revenge ? “
” Me, ” I replied in a firm voice .
” No, no, ” she replied . ” Such scelerat deserves a severe punishment . You do not know how you have to punish him properly. “
At the same time she ordered me to dress myself in order to retrieve her maid from the wine festival. Therefore , she never did tell me to do somethong else, and definitely I did act on my own. I left her room and went to the cabinet of my father, where he kept his weapons, took a small pistolette and provided it with ignition . Thus armed , I hurried to the stables , where I heard the villain discussing with a servant . I pulled the trigger in the moment when he mounted his horse. My shot was fatal. He fell down in the dust like a stone.
My mother, who had been watching my action from her window made not the slightest effort to prevent that execution . On the contrary : When she saw that the Cavalier been brought to the dust, she exclaimed :
“So I am avenged by an innocent hand and protection of heaven!”
After this she ran out to the yard and hugged me intimately, approached the dead cancas, snatched my rapier and plunged it deep into the heart of that corpse. As if to erase the crime he had done to her and down to the roots laying inside of her.
Looking back, I must confess that everything else happened as according and following to a secret planning. An old half- deaf factotum appeared at the scene. My mother told him to barn our chaise de poste, which offered places for two persons only, she hurrried back to her chambre and after so little time as another ten minutes we had left our castle in a sharp gallop — servants , hunters and guests leaving behind..
” For obtaining your ‘lettre de grace’ we both have to reach Paris” she claimed, “before the Messieurs Caumont shall arrive over there.”
That remained to be her only comment to our hurried flight .
I followed her blindly and in a daze .