| n the first year of Catherine de Medici's reign, Mademoiselle Strozzi, daughter of a marshall and the queen's nearest relative, married the Count of Tende, of the house of Savoie-rich, handsome, a lord of the court, living in greatest splendor and better at making himself respected than in pleasing. Nevertheless, at first his wife loved him with a passion. She was so young; he saw her only as a child, and he soon made love to another. The Countess of Tende, lively and of Italian descent, became jealous; she gave herself no peace; she gave her husband none either; he avoided her presence and no longer lived with her as a man lives with his wife.
The beauty of the Countess grew; she appeared full of spirit; everyone regarded her with admiration; she occupied herself and imperceptibly cured herself of jealousy and of passion.
She became the intimate friend of the Princess of Neufchâtel; young, beautiful and widow of the Prince of this name, who had on dying left her a principality that rendered her the most esteemed and the most splendid party of the court.
The Knight of Navarre, descendant of former sovereigns of this royal line, was also then young, handsome, proud and spirited; but fortune had given him no wealth other than birth. He cast his eyes on the Princess of Neufchâtel, whose character he knew, as in one capable of a passionate attachment and suitable to make the fortune of a man such as himself. With this in mind, he attached himself to her without being in love and attracted her inclination: he was well-tolerated, but he found himself still far from the success he desired.
His design was unknown to everybody; only one of his friends was in his confidence, and this friend was also an intimate friend of the Count of Tende. He made the Knight of Navarre agree to allow him to confide his secret to the Count, with the idea that it would oblige him to serve his interest with the Princess of Neufchâtel.
The Count of Tende already thought highly of the Knight of Navarre; he spoke of him to his wife, for whom he was gaining more respect and, in effect, obliged her to do what was desired. The Princess of Neufchâtel had already confided her love for the Chevalier to the Countess, who fortified it. |