“Well! all you would have to do would be to get hold of a journeyman carpenter, lock him up in your apartments, without letting him know where you have taken him to, and let him make a hole in your ceiling, and consequently in the flooring of Mademoiselle de la Valliere’s room.”
“Good heavens!” exclaimed Saint-Aignan, as if dazzled.
“What is the matter?” said Malicorne.
“Nothing, except that you have hit upon a singular, bold idea, monsieur.”
“It will seem a very trifling one to the king, I assure you.”
“Lovers never think of the risk they run.”
“What danger do you apprehend, monsieur le comte?”
“Why, effecting such an opening as that will make a terrible noise: it could be heard all over the palace.”
“Oh! monsieur le comte, I am quite sure that the carpenter I shall select will not make the slightest noise in the world. He will saw an opening three feet square, with a saw covered with tow, and no one, not even those adjoining, will know that he is at work.”
“My dear Monsieur Malicorne, you astound, you positively bewilder me.”