Chapter 4: Catch the Black Knight, Part 1

TRANSLATION BEGINS

< p.195: title page >
< p.196 >
[ At the Jarjayes house ]
Oscar:	Ou, ou --- ch! Watch it, Granny! Can't you be just a bit more gentle?
Granny:	[ whish! ] With wounds like that? You have only yourself to blame!
Oscar:	How's André? He's gotta be in worse shape than I am.
Granny:	[ pat clap ] I already took good care of him and wrapped him up! That fool! How dare he do this to my lady!
[ In André's room ]
# How did he get hurt so badly?
André:	Damn it! I never thought Granny could be so strong!
< p.197 >
Oscar:	{{ Hmm, that Robespierre ... is now a lawyer in the Parlement de Paris. That's why he's come to Paris. }} [ flashback to Bernard ] {{ Palace Guard officer? He's the Queen's dog! }} {{ What was the guy's name? The Queen's dog? What the hell was he saying? }}
Granny:	[ points to Rosalie ] Look, my lady! The child has been waiting for you all along and hasn't slept since last night!
< p.198 >
Rosalie:	[ turns head ... sob ... ]
Oscar:	Come here, Rosalie.
Rosalie:	Monsieur Oscar?
Oscar:	Did you stay up all night? I'm sorry.
< p.199 >
Rosalie:	No no, it's nothing. I'm just glad to see you come back safely, Monsieur Oscar.
Oscar:	If I were born a man, I'd marry you. Honestly I will.
Rosalie:	Monsieur Oscar!
Oscar:	If I could truly be a man, things would be so much easier!
Rosalie:	Monsieur Oscar?
< p.200 >
[ At the Petit Trianon ]
Courtiers:	But we've come all the way here! Everyday, for crying out loud!
Maid:	I said no! How many times do I have to tell you! Her Majesty is no longer receiving audiences! Only those who are invited are allowed to visit the Petit Trianon!
[ Rohan strolls towards the Petit Trianon. ]
Courtiers:	[ grumble ] Damn! As the village representative, I even brought the petition for lower taxes! How could the Queen not attend court! What nonsense!
Rohan:	{{ Ha ha! Poor guys! I can go there whenever I want and meet with her even at night. Because I'm Her Majesty's guarantor! }}
Maid:	Where are you going, Cardinal Rohan? No one may enter here without Her Majesty's permission.
Rohan:	Oh, no problem! My case is different. You see, I only came to see Her Majesty wearing the necklace.
< p.201 >
Maid:	{{ Necklace? }}
Rohan:	{{ Ooh ... she'll look gorgeous in it! My dear Antoinette ... }}
Women:	[ oh ho ho ... ] Her Majesty's peasant style has now swept the Society by storm!
Antoinette:	Oh dear!
Women:	No matter what dress she wears, Her Majesty will always be the Queen of France!
[ Rohan appears. ]
Antoinette:	[ What the heck! ] Who let that man in here? Ugh, how terrible! Remove him at once! I don't care if he's the Cardinal or the head priest of the Court!
< p.202 >
Rohan:	[ gets thrown out: bong! ] Ah! [ scramble ] Miss Jeanne! Oh Miss Jeanne! Tell me, why isn't Her Majesty wearing the necklace? [ puff puff ]
Jeanne:	Uh, um ... oh that's right! She said that she wasn't going to wear the necklace until all loans were paid off! After all, things are different for a Queen.
Rohan:	{{ Wow, how grand she is! I'm so glad to be her guarantor! Oh, to think Her Majesty's affections are growing stronger towards me ... I was a bit worried about her attitude a while ago, but, oh my, if things work out, our relationship will be all the sweeter! }}
< p.203 >
[ At the training ground ]
Oscar:	Captain Nicholas de Lamotte! Is Captain Nicholas de Lamotte here? Has anyone seen him recently?
Guards:	[ whisper whisper ]
Oscar:	Damn him! I thought he was a bit odd from the very beginning, but I had to let him in because of Cardinal Rohan's recommendation. [ crunch! ] It's been two weeks! Two weeks! I was about to fire him! But if he dares to come back, I'll demote him to second lieutenant!
< p.204 >
Oscar:	Captain Gérodère! Take command of the calvary in his place!
Gérodère:	Yes, Commander.
Oscar:	Everyone except the light calvary take to battle formation. Line up!
Gérodère:	Take to battle formation. Line up!
André:	[ watches Oscar from a distance ] {{ In the cascade of golden light ... her Palace Guard uniform shimmers in flaming red. }}
< p.205 >
André:	{{ Blond hair fluttering in the wind as she commands gracefully on horseback Oh, those blue eyes, that figure ... soaring through the sky as if it were a roaring Pegasus, heart trembling on wings of desire. Blond hair fluttering, fluttering in the wind ... }}
< p.206 >
[ At the Petit Trianon }
Servant:	Your Majesty, Boehmer the jeweler has submitted a letter for your review.
Antoinette:	[ Oh. ] [ reads letter ] Your Majesty, I am writing to express my sincerity and esteem towards you as always. I beg you to consider the matter regarding the contract we have agreed upon ... Please submit the remittance for the first installment accordingly.
Antoinette:	Bring Madame Campan, my reading tutor.
Servant:	Yes, Your Majesty.
Campan:	What might this be? Uh, "the matter regarding the contract"? "Remittance for the first installment"?
Antoinette:	So you don't understand it either. It was Boehmer the jeweler who sent it to my attention.
< p.207 >
Antoinette:	The poor man must have gone nuts after I turned him down for the sale of diamond necklace!
Campan:	Huh huh ... that must be it! Poor thing!
Antoinette:	[ burns letter ] This probably isn't anything worth keeping.
# At the time, Antoinette had no idea that the letter she burned so carelessly would lead to horrible consequences later.

< p.208 >
Antoinette:	[ plays the harp ] {{ Dressed in unifrom, my loved one is fighting fiercely ... amidst rising flames and flitting bullets ... The man I love is smeared with soil from foreign land so far away ... Fersen ... you haven't come back ... I could only bury my love deep in my heart ... }}
< p. 209 >
Antoinette:	{{ Must I bear the weight of our love all alone? Fersen! }} [ hears approaching footsteps ] {{ Could it be ... maybe it's ... }}
< p.210 >
Antoinette:	[ turns around ] Fersen!
Fersen:	Your Majesty, Hans Axel von Fersen has returned.
Antoinette:	[ runs towards Fersen ] Fersen! Oh Fersen!
< p.211 >
Antoinette:	Fersen!
[ The lovers hug. ]
Fersen:	Just when I was about to leave, I caught a fever and ended up staying behind in America by myself.
Antoinette:	{{ It's really not a dream, is it. Oh! Those eyes, lips, beautiful hair ... are yours. Isn't it, Fersen? }}
< p.212 >
Antoinette:	[ sob ... ]
# Oh, how long has it been for the lovers ... lovers who could not even meet in person! Now, in the silence, the two seemed to have returned to the old days.
Fersen:	Lady Antoinette, I will never leave you again!
Antoinette:	Fersen?
< p.213 >
Fersen:	As long as you're here, I'll stay in France and support you with all my heart, for the rest of my life. Love is what leads me now. I won't leave you again. Never! Even if we end up in hell, I want to be with you!
Fersen:	{{ More than God and law, my soul seeks the body and spirit of the woman I love! }}
< p.214 >
[ In the hallway ]
Oscar:	Fersen! Uh, um ... Fersen ...
Fersen:	Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm finally back. [ extends hand to Oscar ]
Oscar:	[ shakes Fersen's hand: clap! ] Welcome back! You seem to have lost some weight.
Fersen:	Oh, I caught a fever over there.
< p.215 >
[ The two look at each other for a while. ]
Oscar:	Well, I'll catch up with you later. Get yourself a good rest!
Fersen:	Oscar?
André:	Oh, Oscar! Fersen was in the Petit Trianon a while ago.
Oscar:	I know!
< p.216 >
André:	Oscar! Hey! Where are you going, Oscar?
Oscar:	[ leaps onto horse: hah! ] [ gallop gallop ]
André:	Oscarrrrr!
< p.217 >
[ gallop gallop ]
Oscar:	{{ Fersen ... Fersen is back! He came back alive! Alive ... and well! He came back! }} [ starts to cry ]
< p.218 >
# With Marie Antoinette's help, Fersen was appointed to the post of commander of the navy soon after his return from America. Officially, he was one of the many colonels in the Royal DuPont regiment. # The little Chapel of Love towered high above the hill of Trianon. In the bright sunlight, the music hall glittered in pure white.
< p.219 >
# Along the flowing creek were real farmhouses, standing in complete serenity. The farmers and their wives milked and ground flour in the water mill. Playing hide-and-seek in the shade ... swinging under the trees ... Dancing the Gavotte and minuet atop a carpet of flowers ... # Dizzy from the pleasures of her rustic garden, the thought of heavy taxes was far from Marie Antoinette's mind.
< p.220 >
Polignac:	{{ Everything has gone as planned. Even that meddling Oscar rarely shows up in Versailles any more. And Her Majesty will only show up when Count Fersen is there. Now it's Rosalie's turn ... I must bring that girl into the Polignacs ... my dear child ... It's time to get rid off that Oscar once and for all ... }}
Antoinette:	Isn't it, Countess Polignac?
Polignac:	Hmm?
< p.221 >
Polignac:	Oh, what, er, is it?
Antoinette:	Well! You weren't listening, are you. I was just saying that I'd play the lead in the next play at the little theatre.
Women:	[ wow! ] Oh my, Her Majesty will be in the play!
Antoinette:	And we're expecting His Highness the prince, the ministers, and all of you ladies to join us. I will be Rosina, the main character in The Barber of Seville.
Women:	How splendid! Please let us join the play!
Polignac:	Your Majesty, it'd be lovely to invite Count Fersen to the performance, wouldn't it.
Antoinette:	[ twitch ]
< p.222 >
Antoinette:	Um ... Fersen won't be coming. He, er, probably won't come.
Polignac:	Your Majesty?
Antoinette:	{{ As promised, for the sake of our love, we will not meet in public any more. It's to protect our love ... the only love I don't want to lose ... }}
[ At the Jarjayes house ]
Oscar:	[ bang! ]
< p.223 >
Oscar:	Her Majesty and her Petit Trianon friends must have gone nuts! How could they have chosen to play The Barber of Seville! The Barber of Seville, for God's sake! It's a classic satire of the nobility! Are you telling me these nobles will put on that play for fun?
André:	Er, calm down, Oscar.
Oscar:	Calm down? I'm quite calm, thank you! Couldn't be any calmer! {{ What will the people think of us nobles when they see the script? Has Her Majesty ever considered what the people might be thinking? }}
< p.224 >
[ At the Palace ]
Boehmer:	[ huff huff ] Please let me see Her Majesty in person! This is Boehmer, the jeweler.
Maid:	Her Majesty is now rehearsing a play at the Petit Trianon. Why, aren't you persistent, Monsieur Boehmer.
Boehmer:	Please don't lie to me any more! Anyway, Her Majesty is just trying to avoid paying her loans for the necklace, isn't she! I won't take it any more!
Maid:	The necklace?
< p.225 >
[ At the Petit Trianon ]
Servant:	Your Majesty! Please return to the Palace at once!
# August 15, 1785
[ At Cardinal Rohan's house ]
Messenger:	Cardinal Rohan! You're ordered to report to the Palace of Versailles!
[ At the Palace ]
Crowd:	[ whisper whisper ... ]
Antoinette:	[ tremble tremble ]
< p.226 >
Antoinette:	Did you say that I, er, asked a woman named Jeanne Valois to make Cardinal Rohan my guarantor and buy that necklace? And then, Cardinal Rohan, you said that I met with you secretly at the Grove of Venus? Why, Cardinal Rohan! I've never spoken a word to you in ten years! How could you believe that I'd have done such things!
Rohan:	B- but Lady Jeanne Valois de Lamotte gave me Your Majesty's love letters and signed contract!
Oscar:	De Lamotte?
< p.227 >
Louis XVI:	Cardinal Rohan, this signature isn't the Queen's at all. Why, everyone in court knows that Her Majesty never signs as "Marie Antoinette of France."
Rohan:	Oh God!
Antoinette:	I have never granted an audience with some woman called Jeanne Valois de Lamotte! Nor have I heard of such a name!
Oscar:	Your Majesty, Jeanne's husband, Captain Nicholas de Lamotte, is one of my men.
Rohan:	Your Majesty the Queen! Your Majesty the King! I will pay off the loans myself. I beg you to keep this a secret between us. Please!
< p.228 >
Louis XVI:	Hmm, after all, Cardinal Rohan was tricked himself.
Antoinette:	No! He must have made up the whole thing! How could anyone believe that I would exchange love letters and meet secretly with that man! Just that in itself is an insult towards me! [ sob sob ] I want a trial and tell everything to the whole world!
Polignac:	Colonel Oscar François de Jarjayes! What's the matter with you? You should take reponsibility for mismanaging your men! {{ Heh heh ... how lovely ... and you're the one who gave me the chance ... heh heh ... }}
< p.229 >
Bouillé:	Colonel Jarjayes, arrest Cardinal Rohan! Then arrest everyone else who's involved in this case!
Oscar:	Yes, Your Excellency.
Crowd:	[ murmur murmur ... gasp ... ]
Oscar:	Poor Monsieur Rohan.
Rohan:	[ shiver shiver ]
Oscar:	{{ Nicholas de Lamotte ... That explains it! }}
< p.230 >
[ Oscar and guards leave the Palace: gallop gallop ... ]
[ At Jeanne's house ]
Jeanne:	Well, Oliva, here's the 15,000 livres I promised you earlier.
Oliva:	Oh how lovely! I'd never have thought just that would bring me all this money!
Jeanne:	[ huh huh ] {{ Nichole d'Oliva ... I must get rid off the girl before people find out she's posed as the Queen. }}
< p.231 >
[ Door opens: slam! ]
Oscar:	Nicholas de Lamotte and Madame Jeanne! You're under arrest for forgery of documents, theft, and fraud!
< p.232 >
Oscar:	[ sees Oliva ] Your Majesty? No, it can't be!
Jeanne:	Damn you! {{ It's okay. How could I give up so easily! Nicholas already escaped with the necklace to England. There's no evidence. }}

# So it became known as the infamous Affair of the Necklace in the criminal history of France.
[ On the streets ]
Crowd:	[ Oh dear! My God! ] What? Cardinal Rohan committed fraud? No no! The con artist is some woman called Jeanne. Whoa, what a woman!
< p.233 >
Crowd:	Under the pretext of the Queen's order, she got away with stealing a necklace worth 1.6 million livres! 1.6 million livres!?
# Except for the escaped Nicholas, all of the parties involved were thrown into the Bastille prison to await the opening of the trial.
Rosalie:	Jeanne! There must be a mistake! It has to be, Monsieur Oscar! How could my sister do such a thing! It's a mistake, Monsieur Oscar!
# Parlement of Paris
< p.234 >
Jeanne:	Monsieur Rohan is the one who stole the necklace! Everyone followed his orders!
Rohan:	Miss Jeanne!
Judge:	Mme. Jeanne Valois de Lamotte! We have no time to spare for such awful lies!
Jeanne:	Lies? Well, where's your proof for calling me a criminal? You can't find the stolen necklace anywhere, right? If I were truly the criminal, shouldn't I have escaped by now?
Crowd:	[ murmur ... whisper ... ] Hmm, she's got a point. That's right! Maybe ...
< p.235 >
Crowd:	Maybe the necklace is in the Queen's hands. That's quite possible. The Queen is known for her extravagance. What if the Queen duped both Cardinal Rohan and the jeweler? [ murmur murmur .... whisper whisper ... clamor clamor ... ]
Judge:	Quiet! Now bring Nicole d'Oliva to the witness stand!
Crowd:	[ My God! Oh my! ]
< p.236 >
Crowd:	It's the Queen! No, it's not! Look again! She looks completely like the Queen! My God, who is she?
Jeanne:	[ sweating nervously ]
Judge:	Well, Mme. de Lamotte! How do you explain where this woman comes from?
Jeanne:	{{ Calm down, Jeanne. Calm down! There's no decisive evidence against you yet! }} All ... right ... I'll tell you everything now. Actually, I was asked by a person of noble birth to put on this whole show.
< p.237 >
Jeanne:	And that person is ... Her Majesty!
Crowd:	[ Oh my God! Oh dear! ]
Judge:	Quiet! Quiet! Well, Mme. de Lamotte! Then what's your relationship with Her Majesty?
Jeanne:	It's, oh you know, lesbian style. Actually, Her Majesty is interested in women. And she loves me. Her Majesty and I are lesbian lovers!
< p.238 >
Crowd:	[ Oh my! Whoa! ] The Queen is lesbian!? She's lesbian?
Rosalie:	Jeanne! How could you! How could you say that!
Jeanne:	(( Rosalie! Oh, and look who's next to her! }}
Judge:	Well well! This is the first time I've heard of such a thing. Do you have any grounds for saying Her Majesty is interested in women?
< p.239 >
Jeanne:	Sure I do! It's quite well-known that Countess Polignac is Her Majesty's favorite. She's really her lesbian partner. And ... that Commander of the Palace Guards! She's your best proof!
Crowd:	[ murmur ... whisper ... ]
< p.240 >
Jeanne:	She's my huband's, Nicholas, officer. But she's really a woman in drag! Her Majesty makes those women she loves dress in drag and keep her company as lesbian lovers. [ points to Oscar ] There is no stronger proof than that woman!
Oscar:	Ex- excuse me?
Rosalie:	Monsieur Oscar?
Oscar:	Did you call me a lesbian? I- I'm going to kill you!
< p.241 >
Oscar:	You're just trying to get out of your crimes! How dare you say such nonsense!
Jeanne:	It isn't nonsense, mind you. Really, I'm one of Her Majesty's lovers too.
Oscar:	Listen, I, Oscar François, have been serving Her Majesty since she first arrived from Austria as a bride!
Judge:	Commander Jarjayes! The audience may not speak without my permission! If you persist, I'll have you arrested in contempt of the court!
Oscar:	[ speechless ] {{ Fine, whatever! Go on! I am a lesbian? You make me sick! }}
< p.242 >
Judge:	Well, Mme. Jeanne Valois de Lamotte. Her Majesty said that she knew nothing about you or the necklace.
Jeanne:	Her Majesty is trying to lay the blame all on me! That's why Her Majesty burned the letter of appeal from Boehmer the jeweler, isn't it? It's to destroy the evidence!
Crowd:	[ clamor ... ] After all, the Queen is the true mastermind behind the Affair of the Necklace!
< p.243 >
Crowd:	Nonsense! It's Cardinal Rohan who made that woman do it for the Queen! What? You can't be siding with the Queen! The real mastermind is the Queen! No, it's Cardinal Rohan! It's the Queen! It's Rohan! It's the Queen!
Oscar:	{{ What a horrible, horrible woman! She's awfully cunning ... and incredibly tough! }}
< p.244 >
Antoinette:	What rubbish! That Jeanne has no shame! How could I have a lesbian affair with that woman! [ shiver ] And to say that I ordered her to steal the necklace ... The people all took her words at faith! That's it! Cardinal Rohan must have used that woman to bring me down! [ sob! ] How dare you insult me so! Just wait, Rohan! The trial will prove you wrong!
< p.245 >
# The verdict on the Affair of the Necklace was delivered on Wednesday, May 31, 1786.
Announcer:	Captain Nicholas de Lamotte, in absentia, is sentenced to life imprisonment. He is to be arrested immediately!
[ poster of Nicholas's mug shot: Wanted! ]
Announcer:	Rétaux de Villette will be banished from France!
Rétaux:	[ sob ... ]
Announcer:	Nicole d'Oliva is acquitted!
Oliva:	[ Phew! ]
Announcer:	Mme. Jeanne Valois de Lamotte is sentenced to flogging and branding of "V" on the shoulders. Then life imprisonment!
# The "V" in branding stands for "voleuse," or thief.
Crowd:	[ clamor clamor ]
Jeanne:	Branding? I'm innocent! Innocent! How could I be sentenced to life!
< p.246 >
Announcer:	And finally, Cardinal Luis de Rohan!
Rohan:	[ jerk ]
Crowd:	[ in suspense ]
Announcer:	Cardinal Rohan is acquitted of all charges related to the Affair of the Necklace and personal injury to the Queen!
Crowd:	[ Wow! Yay! ] Cardinal Rohan has been acquitted! Acquitted! The Queen has lost! Cheers for the Parlement! Now the Queen must be fuming like mad! Ha ha ... I can't wait to see that Austrian woman cry! Vive le Parlement! Cheers for Monsieur Rohan! Yippee!
< p.247 >
Crowd:	[ Yippee! Hooray! ] Hooray hooray! The Queen has lost!
Saint-Just:	How splendid this is! Now the royal family's good name is soiled!
# A young law student and revolutionary known for his chilling, icy beauty, Saint-Just would later become Robespierre's right-hand man.
Antoinette:	All the people are ... celebrating my defeat! [ sob sob ] What have I done to them? Just what on earth have I done? Oh oh ... !
Polignac:	Your Majesty ...
< p.248 >
Antoinette:	The Parlement is run by dissidents! I must go to Paris and tell the truth to the people!
Oscar:	Your Majesty, I beg you not to go to Paris! It is rather dangerous!
Antoinette:	Oscar. But why? I am the Queen of France!
Oscar:	That's exactly why it is dangerous. The Palace Guards won't be able to guarantee Your Majesty's safety!
Antoinette:	Are you saying ... the people may try to assault me?
Oscar:	Yes ... I'm afraid so.
< p.249 >
Antoinette:	Oh ... how could the people ... people who don't even know me ... hate me so much! What happened? Why, oh why?
Polignac:	Your Majesty, don't you think it's strange? Oscar François, I mean. Isn't Jeanne's husband, one of the offenders in the Affair, one of Oscar's men? Could it be that she never realized one of her soldiers had committed such a heinous crime and escaped to England? I find it hard to believe.
Antoinette:	Countess Polignac ...

END OF PART 1

abc	= speech
{{ abc }}	= thought
abc	= emphasis
...	= unfinished speech/thought, or pause
( abc )	= alternative translation, usually indicates literal meaning (lit.)
[ abc ]	= description of actions/sounds
< p.# >	= page number
#	= narrator's comments, author's footnotes
AJL:	= translator's comments

CHAPTER 4: Catch the Black Knight-- Part 1 --

CHAPTER 4: Catch the Black Knight

-- Part 1 --