‘It is so, Madame,’ Antoinette was told.
‘Then the man is clearly not telling the truth. It is some plot of his to obtain an audience and then show me some magnificent pair of earrings which he has made especially for me. It will be like the affair of the necklace all over again.’
Nevertheless the matter worried her. Could it really be that the man was going out of his mind? That letter he had written about the satisfactory arrangements – what could it mean? It really seemed as though he were, to put it kindly, a little unbalanced.
The rehearsal went on, and afterwards everyone declared that Antoinette would make a charming Rosine – a perfect foil to Artois’ barber. Oh, yes, this was certainly going to be the finest production ever seen at the Trianon Theatre.
When her women were helping to dress her after the rehearsal, one of them mentioned that Henriette de Campan had returned from her visit to her father-in-law, and that she was anxious to speak to the Queen privately as soon as Antoinette would receive her.
‘Leave me now,’ said Antoinette, ‘and tell her to come to me at once.’
When Henriette came, Antoinette immediately saw that something had happened to cause her grave anxiety.
‘Henriette,’ cried the Queen, ‘what is wrong, and why did you send that absurd man Boehmer to Trianon?’
‘It is about the necklace. The diamond necklace.’
‘That trinket … the one which was sold to the Sultan of Constantinople?’
Henriette was looking at her mistress with bewildered eyes. ‘Boehmer says, Madame, that it was not sold to the Sultan, but that it was sold to you.’
‘Then he is mad. I feared it. So that is what he wished to see me about. Speak up, Henriette. What are you thinking? What has he told you? It is a lie if he says I bought the necklace. You know very well that he sold it to the Sultan.’
‘Madame, I must tell you what has happened. He was at my father-in-law’s house. He said he must talk to me about this matter, for he found it difficult to get an audience with Your Majesty. He said he was surprised that I did not know you had bought the necklace. He felt sure that I must have seen you wear it on some occasion.’
‘But he himself said it was sold to the Sultan.’
‘I told him this, Madame. He said that he had had instructions, which came indirectly from you, to say that the Sultan had bought it. I did not believe this, for I remembered you had referred to the matter quite recently – when you had Boehmer’s letters. I asked him when you had told him that you would buy the necklace. He answered that he had not had dealings with you personally about the matter.’
‘Ah!’ cried Antoinette. ‘Indeed he has not. So he spoke the truth there.’
‘He declared that the transaction was made through the Cardinal de Rohan.’
‘The Cardinal de Rohan! That man! I loathe him. Does Boehmer think that I would allow him to transact any business for me?’
‘Your Majesty, he has documents. He says your orders were passed to him by the Cardinal. These orders were signed by you, and he has shown them to various people in order to obtain the credit he needed. He says that you have received the necklace through the Cardinal, and that it is to be paid for in four instalments at four-monthly intervals.’
‘This is preposterous!’ cried the Queen. ‘I have never had the necklace. I have had no dealings with the Cardinal de Rohan. The man must be mad. Send at once for Boehmer.’
Boehmer came to the Queen. He was apprehensive.
‘What is this ridiculous story you have to tell?’ demanded the Queen.
‘Madame,’ said Boehmer. ‘The diamond necklace was handed to the Cardinal de Rohan who was able to show me the order which was signed by Your Majesty.’
‘Where is this order?’
‘I have it here.’
The Queen seized it. It was written in a poor imitation of her handwriting, and it was signed ‘Marie Antoinette de France’.
‘That is not my writing,’ said the Queen. ‘And you know, do you not, that Queens never sign their names in that way. I always sign simply “Marie Antoinette”, never “of France”. Surely that should have shown you that this is a preposterous forgery.’
‘Madame, the Cardinal assured me that his orders came from you. I am distracted. The first payment was due on the 1st August. I cannot ask my creditors to wait any longer.’
‘It’s a lie. You know that you sold the necklace to the Sultan of Constantinople.’
‘That was the story which Your Majesty wished to be put about, because this transaction was to be so secret.’
‘I never heard such a ridiculous story.’
‘Madame, I swear I handed the necklace to the Cardinal, and that he assured me that it was at your command.’
‘I do not see the Cardinal. I will not see the Cardinal. I have not seen him since the baptism of the Duc de Normandie, and then I did not speak to him.’
‘Madame, he assured me that the go-between was a lady – a very dear friend of yours.’
‘What lady?’
‘The Comtesse de Lamotte-Valois.’
‘I have never heard of the woman. The whole thing is a plot by the Cardinal. Pray go now, Monsieur Boehmer. I promise you this matter shall have my immediate attention – and that of His Majesty.’
The jeweller took his leave and, when he had gone, Antoinette went at once to Louis’ apartments.
‘Louis,’ she cried, ‘I must speak to you alone … at once.’
Louis dismissed all his attendants, and she burst out: ‘That man, that wicked man who so maligned my mother, has determined to humiliate me also. He has contrived some absurd plot – some frightful plot – to … to do me some harm. Though I cannot quite clearly see what. He has been to the jeweller and, according to Boehmer, bought on my account that diamond necklace which he was always talking about and urging us to buy.’
‘Bought it … on your account? But the Cardinal …’
‘Exactly! I have not exchanged a word with the man for years. And now it seems he has been to the jeweller and told him that I have begged him to buy the necklace on my behalf. There are forged documents – documents said to have my signature on them. Look at this. This is supposed to be my order. You can see for yourself that it is a forgery. “Marie Antoinette de France”! As if I would sign myself thus. And do you mean to tell me that Rohan did not know this for a forgery?’
Louis was bewildered; he could only stare at the paper in his hand.
‘What does it mean, Louis? What does it mean?’
‘You … have not bought the necklace?’
She looked at him with deep reproach. ‘You … even you … ask that! Indeed I have not bought the necklace. Would it not have been noticed immediately if I had worn it? Why should I keep it a secret? There has been a terrible fraud … a fraud to humiliate and insult me and involve me in – I know not what … ’
Louis said: ‘Be calm. We will sift this matter, and we will discover what it is all about.’
It was Assumption Day and the courtiers thronged the Salle de Glace and the Oeil-de-Boeuf waiting to accompany the King and Queen to Mass.
Louis, Prince and Cardinal de Rohan, who, as Grand Almoner to the King, was to officiate, was also waiting there. He was excited – as he always was on those occasions when he had an opportunity of being near the Queen. She never gave a sign that she noticed him; but recently, since the affair of the necklace, he had convinced himself that she had her reasons for behaving thus. She was by no means indifferent to him: Jeanne de Lamotte-Valois had assured him of this.
He was obsessed by the Queen. He had thought of her constantly since he had first seen her – a young, so innocent girl, a little frightened, leaving her native country to come to a new one where she was to be called upon to play such an important part.