"And you will destroy me, madame, as you did the cardinal legate," cried the archduke, rising and making a supreme effort to break the charm whose irresistible power he already felt. "I see the snare; I have enemies; you wish by your perfidious seductions, to drag me into some dangerous proceeding, and afterwards to hand me over to the contempt and ridicule that my weakness would deserve. But, bless God! he has opened my eyes in time. I recognise with horror that infernal fascination which took from me the use of my reason, and which was not love even,--no, I yielded to the grossest, most degrading passion which can lower man to the level of a brute, to that passion which, to my shame and to yours, I desire to stigmatise aloud as lust, madame!" Madeleine shrugged her shoulders and began to laugh derisively, then rising from her seat and walking up to the prince, who had stepped back to the chimney, she took him gently by the hand, and led him back to a chair near her own, without his having the strength to resist this peaceable violence. "Do me the favour to listen to me, monseigneur," said Madeleine. "I have only a few more words to say to you, and then you will not see the Marquise de Miranda again in your life." CHAPTER XVI. When Madeleine had seated the prince near her, she said to him: "Listen, monseigneur, I will be frank, so frank that I defy you not to believe me. I came here with the hope of turning your head." "So," cried the prince, astonished, "you confess it!" "Entirely. That end attained, I wished to use my influence over you, to obtain, as I told you, monseigneur, at the beginning of our interview, two things, one considered almost impossible, the other as altogether impossible." "You are right, madame, to defy me not to believe you," replied the prince, with a constrained smile. "I believe you." "The two deeds that I wished to obtain from you were great, noble, and generous; they would have made you esteemed and respected. That is very far, I think, from wishing to abuse my influence over you to excite you to evil or indignity, as you suppose." "Well, madame, come to the point; what is it?" "First, an act of clemency, or rather of justice, which would rally around you a multitude of hearts in Lombardy,--the free and full pardon of Colonel Pernetti." The prince jumped up from his chair, and exclaimed: "Never, madame, never!" "The free and full pardon of Colonel Pernetti, one of the most honoured men in all Italy," pursued Madeleine, without noticing the interruption of the prince. "The reasonable pride of this noble-hearted man will prevent his asking you for the slightest alleviation of his woes, but come generously to his relief, and his gratitude will assure you of his devotion." "I repeat to you, madame, that important reasons of state oppose your request. It is impossible, altogether impossible."