Chapter 7 Mina de Wangel-2

She procured a masquerade mask and mantle, and put on diamonds from Paris.Perhaps it was to better disguise her so that Alfred would not recognize her, or perhaps to stand out among the masqueraders and get him to talk.Mina appears on the dance floor holding the arm of the fake Mrs. Colamet.Her silence surprised everyone.When she finally saw Alfred, he looked sullen.Her eyes followed him, and she felt happy.Suddenly a voice whispered to her: "Love recognized Mademoiselle de Wanger's dress." She couldn't help trembling, and turning her head, it turned out to be Count de Rupert.For her, there could never have been a more unfortunate encounter.

"I recognized your diamond jewelry in Berlin," he said to her. "I'm from Teplise, Spa, and Baden. I've searched all the hot springs in Europe to find you." "Say one more word," Mina said to him. "I'll never see you again. Meet me at seventeen tomorrow night, across the rue Chambéry, seventeen." All night Mina tossed and turned, restless.She was always tormented by the great question: "How can I stop de Rupert from telling de Larse my secret? They are so close." In desperation, she almost called the carriage several times, leave now. "But in that case, Alfred will spend his life believing that Aniken, the girl he loved so much, is just a woman who has done something wrong and absconded in disguise, and is not worthy of respect. And if I tell de Lu Monsieur Pell will go away, and although he respects my property, he may still reveal my secret. But if he doesn't go, how can M. de Ruppert be cleared of suspicion? What kind of lies are we going to make up?"

At the masquerade ball where Mina and de Rupert met unhappily, the men of high society, as usual, competed for their courtesies around Mrs. de Larsay.They are totally out of their minds and want to come to the spa to get rid of their boredom.They did not know what to say to Madame de Larsay that evening, for the commonplaces of the drawing-room were inappropriate here.So they told of the beauty of her German maid.One of them, an impudent fool, even made a few explicit remarks about Madame de Larsey's jealousy.There was a masked man who was so rude that he even advised her to find a lover to exact revenge on her husband.A chaste woman like Madame de Larsey, who is usually used to being flattered by others because of her status and wealth, heard this sentence, and her mind seemed to explode.

The next day is a lake tour.When Mina was free, she went to Mrs. Colamet's house.She is in ① two hot spring cities in Europe, belonging to Czechoslovakia, Belgium and Germany. M. de Rupert was received there.M. de Ruppert had not quite overcome his astonishment. "A great misfortune has changed my situation," Mina said to him, "and has enabled me to do justice to your love. Do you agree to marry a widow?" "So you were married in secret?" The count turned pale with embarrassment. "You've seen me reject you and many of the best marriage partners in France, why didn't you guess that?" Mina replied.

"What a unique and admirable character you are!" cried the count.He tried his best to hide his surprise. "I was married to a man who was not worthy of me," continued Mademoiselle de Wangel, "but I am a Protestant, and my religion allows me to divorce. If I see you convert to my religion, then I'm so happy. But don't think that I can fall in love with someone at this time. Even if I respect and trust someone very much, I can't have love for him. I can only give you friendship. I like living in France. Once Knowing it, how can it be forgotten? I need a patron. Your name is distinguished, your brains are brilliant, and you have all the conditions to occupy a superior position in high society. A large fortune can make your palace like the first in Paris. The mansion. Are you willing to listen to my arrangements like a child? At this price, just at this price, I will promise you to marry me in a year. "

While she was making this long speech, the Comte de Ruppert was pondering the outcome of such a strange event.Such a relationship was not pleasant for him, but there was a fortune, and she was a very nice woman indeed.So he vowed to obey Mina.He tried every means to get more secrets from her. "You are doing it in vain," said Mina, smiling, and asked him again: "Will you be as brave as a lion and as obedient as a child?" "I am your slave," answered the count. "I live incognito near the city of Aix. But I know what's going on here. Eight or nine days from now, when the church clock strikes twelve at midnight, look out over the lake, and you'll see one lit. I will be here at nine o'clock the next night, and I allow you to come. But if you say my name, or tell anyone about me, you will never live in your life. Want to see me again."

On the lake, Aniken's beauty was mentioned many times.Therefore, returning from the lake tour, Madame de Larsey was very upset, contrary to her prudent and restrained character.She said some serious things about Mina at the beginning.She said it in Alfred's face, and he didn't defend her, so it hurt Mina, and she started talking back.It was the first time she had said such harsh words.Madame de Larsey, hearing her tone, convinced that the girl must have attracted someone else's love by becoming so unrestrained, and she forgot who she was, so she was all the more annoyed, and accused Mina of being in Cora. Mrs. May went on a date there, saying that despite Mrs. Crame's apparent discord and quarrel with her, she was actually in collusion with her.

"Has this fellow de Ruppert betrayed me?" Mina wondered. Alfred kept staring at Mina, trying to get a glimpse of the truth from her.The lack of concern in his eyes gave her courage in her despair.She coldly denied the rumors about her and said nothing else.Madame de Larsey turned her away.It was two in the morning.Mina is escorted to Mrs. Colamet's house by the faithful Duboa.She shut herself up in her bedroom, and, remembering that her peculiar situation prevented her from taking vengeance, she became mad with rage and burst into tears. "Ah! wouldn't it be better to leave all this and go back to Paris?" Mina asked herself. "I'm too weak to do this. But Alfred thinks of me only with contempt, and he will live forever." Look down on me." She burst into tears.She knew that to return to Paris with this inescapable cruelty would make her even more unhappy than at Aix. "Madame de Larsey slanders me. God knows what people will say about me in the ballroom? Their words will destroy me completely in Alfred's heart. How can a Frenchman think differently? He is in front of me." Hearing this kind of talk, I didn't refute it, and didn't say a word to comfort me! But what's the matter? Do I still love him? Isn't this terrible pain that is tormenting me now the same? Is it the final struggle of unfortunate love?" Mina finally thought: "It is a sign of cowardice not to retaliate."

At dawn Mina sent for M. de Ruppert.She walked excitedly in the garden, waiting for his arrival.The summer sun gradually rises, illuminating the mountains around the lake to be lush.The beauty of nature made Mina feel even more angry.M. de Ruppert finally appeared. "He's a pompous fellow," Mina thought, watching him approach, "should let him talk for an hour first." She received M. de Ruppert in the drawing room.Her sad eyes stared at the wall clock, counting the minutes.The count was overjoyed. This was the first time that this foreign girl was kind to him and listened attentively to him.

"At least you believe in my feelings," he said to Mina.At this time, the pointer just reached the last minute of Mina's patient waiting.An hour is up. "If you exact revenge on me, I'll believe anything," she said. "What should I do?" "To please Madame de Larsey, and to let her husband know that she has deceived him, to make him believe it, and he will make her as unhappy as she slandered me. Her slander ruined my life." "It's a cruel little plan of yours," said the Count. "You mean it's hard to do?" Mina asked him with a sneer.

"It's not necessarily difficult," said the Count sullenly. "It's just that I'm going to ruin this woman." He added frivolously, "It's a pity, she's a good woman." "Be careful, sir, I don't ask you to really win her favor, I just want her husband to believe that you have her favor." The count is gone.Mina felt her unhappiness a little less.Retaliation is action, and action is hope. "If Alfred dies," she thought, "so shall I!" She smiled.The happiness she felt at this time made her put her morality aside, and her personality was too strong to bear the anger of the previous night.She didn't expect that she would be slandered in front of Alfred, let alone that Alfred would believe these false words.From then on, although she still mentioned morality, it was nothing more than self-deception.In fact, revenge and love completely occupied her heart. Mina formed a complete revenge plan in her mind, but could it be carried out?That's all she's worried about.There is no other way to carry out the plan than the loyalty of a stupid guy and a lot of money. M. de Larse came. "What are you doing here?" Mina asked proudly. "I'm unlucky. I've come to cry with my closest friend in the world." "What? That's what you started with? Not that you don't believe the slander against me? Get out!" "I said just now that I can't be happy without you," said Alfred haughtily. "That's the answer to false accusations. Don't be angry, Aniken." With tears in his eyes, he said, "You think of a proper way so that we can be together, and I am ready to do anything. I obey your orders. Accidental things have plunged me into the abyss. You get me out!I can't think of any other way. " "Your presence here makes your lady's slander completely true. Let me be quiet and go. Don't let me see you again." Alfred is gone.He felt pain and more anger. "He doesn't know what to say to me?" Mina wondered. She was greatly disappointed, almost to the point of contempt for the man she once loved. What?He is still a man, a soldier, but he can't think of any way to get close to her!She is a girl, and as soon as she fell in love with him, she thought of a way, a terrible way, disguised herself... If someone finds out, she will be notorious, and she will never get over it!But Alfred said: "You think of a proper way... I will obey your orders..." These two words brought a little comfort to Mina and made her feel a little guilty.She felt that she had the strength to act. "But," said the unfortunate voice in her heart, "Alfred didn't say 'I don't believe these falsehoods.' In fact," she thought, "I, too, went mad and put the French and German The customs are different. I don’t look like a maid at all. It’s true, what is a girl my age doing in a hot spring city in disguise? ... A man like him ... I can only be happy with him.He said: 'You think of a proper way to bring us together.I am ready to do anything. " He was cowardly and gave me the burden of seeking our happiness.I'm going to pick it up. " she said to herself, getting up and walking excitedly up and down the living room.Let's first see if Alfred continues to love Mina after she leaves.See if he's a man to be scorned everywhere, if he's really a guy to laugh at.If that was the case, Mina would forget him. An hour later Mina set off for Chambery.That city is only a few dozen miles away from Aix. Alfred, though not devoutly religious, thought he would be ugly without it.After Mrs. Coramet arrived in Chambery, she invited a Genevan to explain the Bible to her and Aniken every night.The young man was going to school to be a Protestant minister.From then on, she considered Aniken as her niece because of her friendship and because of her apology for being angry before.Madame Crame lives in the best hotel, and it is very easy to know her behavior.She thought she was sick, and paid a high price for the first-class doctor in Chambery.By the way, Mina asked these doctors to treat a rheumatic disease.The disease sometimes robbed her of her gorgeous complexion, making her look like a quarter-black. The concubine was far less indignant at the surname Coramet she had been given, and at Mademoiselle de Wanger's behaviour.She just thought she was crazy.Mina rented a villa called Chamet in a valley fifteen minutes from Chambery. Rousseau said that he had spent the happiest moment of his life in this villa.The works of this writer became Mina's best comfort.One day, a very happy moment was spent.Opposite the simple villa, there is a small chestnut grove.She met Alfred at a bend in a path in the forest.She hasn't seen him for half a month.He timidly asked her not to be Madame Coramet's maid, and asked her to accept a small annuity. "Not only do you not need to be a maid for others, but you can also hire a maid yourself. As for me, I will only meet you when this maid is present." Aniken is pleasantly surprised by his shyness, but she rejects his offer on religious grounds.She told him that Madame Colamet had treated her well now, and seemed to regret her behavior when she first arrived in Aix. "Madame de Larsey's slander against me," she said at last, "I remember very well. It is because of this that it is my duty to firmly ask you not to come to Chamet." A few days later she went to Aix.She was very pleased with M. de Ruppert.Madame de Larsey and her new friends used to take advantage of the fine weather to visit the neighborhood.They had a picnic at Outcombe Abbey. (This monastery is located on the other side of Lake Bourget, across the lake from the city of Aix. All the Dukes of Savoy are buried in the cemetery of this monastery.) According to Mina’s instructions, Mr. de Rupert, Instead of trying to join Madame de Larsay's circle, she wandered the woods surrounding the abbey, deliberately drawing attention to herself.The timidity of this man, known for his boldness, naturally aroused the interest of Madame de Larsey's friends.They thought he was in love with Madame de Larsay.Duboa told Mina that his master was always sad and unhappy. "He is sorry to have lost a dear friend," Duboard added. "There is another reason for his gloominess. Who says he is a liberal man? He is jealous of M. de Rupert." !" M. de Larsey's jealousy amused M. de Rupert. He said to Mademoiselle de Wanger: "I will write a love letter to Mrs. de Larsey, but it must be received by that poor man, her husband. Will you allow it? If he makes up his mind to talk about this letter with his wife, His wife is bound to deny it. That would be fun." "It's time!" said Mina, "but you must take care," her tone became very severe, "don't fight Monsieur de Larse, for I will never marry you if he is dead." .” She regretted at once that she had spoken in such a harsh tone.So I asked him to forgive me.But she found that de Ruppert did not find the harshness of the words she blurted out, and she hated him all the more.M. de Ruppert told her that Madame de Larsey was not entirely indifferent to his flattery, and, just to amuse him, he paid her great attention while paying attention, whenever he was alone with her, Say only the most insignificant and dull things to her. Mina was very satisfied with his approach.She appeared to be very sensible on the surface, but in fact, on the contrary, if she despised anyone, she would despise that person to the end.She ventured to consult M. de Ruppert as to the propriety of her transfer of a considerable sum to purchase French bonds, and showed him the letters which had been addressed to her by the agent in Königsberg and the banker in Paris.As a result, she noticed that after reading the letter, what M. de Rupert wanted to ask but she didn't want to hear: why she was so interested in M. de Larsey, was thrown out of the sky. Mina listened to M. de Ruppert's tirade on the purchase of the bonds, and wondered: "What a world! Some people think that the count is smarter and sweeter than Alfred! A bunch of vulgar fellows! A bunch of clever characters! Ah, I still like my simple, honest Germans. It's just a sad thing to go to court and marry one of the king's favorite guardsmen." DuBoard told her that Alfred had received a strange letter from de Rupert to Madame de Larse.He showed the letter to his wife, who claimed it was just a prank.After Mina heard this, she couldn't control her worry anymore.Monsieur de Ruppert could play any role, but he could not play one with patience.She asked him to come to Chambery for a week, but he seemed in no hurry. "I did some funny things. I wrote a letter that might cause a scandal, but at least I couldn't let anyone think that I was timid and hiding." "You should just hide," replied Mina haughtily. "Are you willing to avenge me? I don't want Madame de Larsey to be a widow because of me." "I bet you'd rather her husband be a widower!" "What's the matter with you?" Mina asked back. She had a violent quarrel with M. de Ruppert.He stormed off.But he seemed to have given it some thought.The rumors he thought worried were unlikely to spread.His vanity reminded him that his bravery was well known.In a single step he could right all the follies of his youth, and in a moment attain a position of eminence in Parisian society, more worthy of a duel. The day after Mina's return from Aix to Chamet, M. de Ruppert was the first thing Mina saw.His presence pleased Mina.However, that evening, her mood was disturbed again, because M. de Larsey came to see her. "I don't want to find any excuses, and I don't want to find any excuses," he said straight to the point, "I can't stand not seeing you for half a month. As of yesterday, it has been half a month." Mina is also counting the time day by day.She had never felt so attractive about Alfred before.But she shuddered at the thought that he might challenge de Ruppert to a duel.She tried to get him to tell about the letter, but he seemed preoccupied and told him nothing but this: "I'm distressed. It's not about career. It's not about money. I The most obvious result of my troubled situation is the multiplication of my friendship with you. To my despair, my heart is no longer dominated by duty. In short, I cannot live without you." "Me too, I can't live without you," she said, grabbing his hand, stamping it with kisses, and pushing away his embrace at the same time. "You have to think about cherishing your life, because I will never live an hour longer than you." "Oh, you know it all!" said Alfred, holding back his words, and did not continue. The day after Alfred's return to Aix, he received another anonymous letter, from which he learned that his wife had been at home during his recent Received Mr. de Rupert... The anonymous letter concluded: "Tonight, at about twelve o'clock, Madame will receive de Rupert... Monsieur, I know you will not believe me, so please don't be rash Do it, and don't be angry. If you insist on doing it, do so after seeing it. Even if I'm wrong, even if I deceive you, you'll just lose a night hiding in a corner next to your wife's bedroom. " The letter upset Alfred.After a while, he received another short letter from Aniken: "We have arrived in Aix. Mrs. Colamet has just returned to her bedroom. I have nothing to do. Come!" Mr. de Larse thought that he could stay with Aniken for ten minutes before returning to the garden to lay an ambush.So he went to her distraught.For both Mina and Alfred, this night that has come is equally decisive, the difference is that Mina is calm.To every objection raised by reason she gave the same answer: death. "You are silent," Mina said to him. "Obviously something unusual has happened to you. You shouldn't disturb me seeing you like this. But since you've made such an effort to come, this I don't want to be separated from you tonight." Unexpectedly, Alfred agreed without hesitation.At the decisive moment, the man of strong character creates for himself an atmosphere of expansiveness, that is, of happiness. "I've got to do something stupid as a husband," Alfred told her at last. "I'm going to hide in the garden. An anonymous letter just now brought me into misfortune. I think it's a good way to get out of this situation The easiest way." He showed her the letter. "What right have you to discredit Madame de Larse?" asked Mina. "Aren't you clearly divorced? You leave her and give up your right to have her heart. A rich thirty-year-old A woman who has never suffered the slightest misfortune, it is natural to be bored, and yet you let her suffer like this. Doesn't she have a right to find a man to amuse her? You said you Love me. You are more guilty than she is because you broke your mutual relationship first. You are crazy to punish her and make her live a boring life forever." Considering the problem in this way, Alfred couldn't do it.But the tone of Mina's voice gave him strength.He was amazed by her presence, he was completely overwhelmed by it. "As long as you don't bother to keep me with you," he said to her, "I won't suffer from the boredom you've just described." It was midnight, and the lake was already completely silent, and even the sound of cats walking could be heard.Mina followed Alfred and hid herself behind a hedge of golden elms, which is still used in Savoy to enclose gardens.Suddenly a man jumped from the wall into the garden.Alfred is going after him.Mina pulled him hard, and said softly: "If you kill him, what else will you know? If he is just a thief, or the lover of another woman, won't you regret killing him?" Alfred recognized the Comte de Ruppert and was furious.It took Mina a lot of effort to hold him back.The count took out the ladder hidden there from the wall, erected it, and put it on the wooden porch eight to ten feet above the ground on the second floor.Madame de Larsey's bedroom had a window looking onto the loggia.The count entered the room through the drawing-room window.At this moment Alfred ran towards a small door on the ground floor leading to the garden.Mina followed behind, a few steps behind, and he took advantage of the gap to grab a scythe and light a candle.Mina caught up with him and snatched his pistol as hard as she could. "Do you want to startle the lodgers on the other floors with gunshots?" she asked him. "By tomorrow morning, this will be an interesting story! I think this kind of revenge is ridiculous. Since you must If you do this, wouldn't it be better for you to take revenge while not giving those bad-hearted and idle guys a chance to be proud?" Alfred walked towards his wife's bedroom door.Mina was still following him, never leaving him.She said to him, "It must be funny if you dare to rough up your wife in front of me." When he reached the door, Alfred pushed it open with a jerk, and saw Mr. de Ruppert, in his shirt sleeves, running out from behind Madame de Larsey's bed.He was a few steps ahead, opened the window, jumped into the wooden porch, and from there jumped into the garden.M. de Larsey was in hot pursuit.But by the time he reached the elbow-high wall that separated the garden from the lake, de Ruppert had jumped into a boat and was already some ten meters from the shore. "Let's talk tomorrow, Monsieur de Ruppert!" cried Monsieur de Larsey. M. de Ruppert made no reply. M. de Larse immediately went upstairs again to find his wife.He found Mina anxiously pacing up and down in the living room outside the bedroom.She stopped him and wouldn't let him pass. "What are you going to do?" she asked. "Kill her? What right do you have? I won't allow it. You give me the dagger, or I'll yell for her to run. To be honest, I'm here Showing up, in the eyes of your subordinates, is quite disgraceful." Seeing the effect of these words, Mina quickly added: "What? You love me and want to destroy my reputation?" M. de Larsey threw the dagger at her and rushed into his wife's bedroom in a rage.They quarreled violently.In fact, Madame de Larsey was completely innocent.She neither saw nor heard M. de Ruppert enter.She thought she was catching a thief just now. "You're a madman," she said to her husband at last, "I wish you were only a madman! It looks like you want to break up with me.I'll help you, but please at least be careful and don't say anything.I'm going back to Paris tomorrow.I'll say you've traveled to Italy and I don't want to go with you. " When Miss de Wanger saw Alfred again, she asked him: "What time do you plan to duel tomorrow morning?" "What did you say?" he asked. "It's no use playing dumb with me! I want you to put me in a boat before you go to Monsieur de Ruppert. I want to wait on the lake. If you're so stupid as to let your opponent kill you, I'll let you." The water of the lake came to end my misfortune." "Well, dear Aniken. Let me pass the night happily. Tomorrow, my heart, which has been beating for you since I have known you, and your lovely hand, will be The hand that I lay on my heart may belong to two corpses. In the corner of the church, a candle lights up the two corpses. Two Savoyard priests are watching. Today is a beautiful day for our lives. The most magnificent moment in life, let it also be the happiest moment!" Mina struggled to resist Alfred's urge.At last she said to him: "I will be yours, but you must live. It is not worth the sacrifice now. I wish to see you still alive as you are now. " It was the best day of Mina's life.Perhaps it was the beauty of death and the generous sacrifice she would make that took away the last trace of her guilt. The next day, before the sun rose, Alfred came to take Mina's arm and sent her to a beautiful cruise ship. "How happy we are now! Can you imagine a greater happiness?" Mina asked Alfred as they walked towards the lake. "From now on, you belong to me, and you are my wife." Alfred said, "I promise you that I will survive, and I will definitely go to the big cross by the lake to greet your boat." Mina was about to tell him who she was when the clock struck six.She didn't want to go too far from shore.It pleased her that the boatmen began to cast their nets and pay no attention to her.When eight o'clock struck, she saw Alfred running down the lake, looking very pale.Mina let him help her ashore. "He's hurt, maybe in danger," Alfred told her. "Get on this boat, friend," Mina said to him. "This incident will bring you to the attention of the local authorities. Go away to Lyons for a couple of days. I'll tell you what's going on here." Alfred hesitated. "Just think about the gossip that the bathers who come to the hot spring vacation will say." Hearing this, M. de Larsey got into the boat with a sigh of relief. M. de Ruppert was out of danger the next day.He may need to stay in bed for a month or two, though.Mina came to see him at night and was very kind and friendly. "Aren't you my fiancé?" Mina said the hypocritical words very naturally.She induced him to accept a large sum transferred from a Frankfurt bank. "I'm going to Lausanne," said Mina, "and you've ruined your great mansion with your follies; I hope you'll buy it back before we're married. To do this, I have to give up a large piece of land near Güstland. As soon as you can land it, you go and sell it. I will send you the necessary documents from Lausanne. If necessary, you can decide to reduce the price Sell ​​it, and you can discount the money order you get. In short, as long as you get cash, it doesn't matter what the price is. I marry you, and you must appear as rich as me in the marriage contract." The Count was unaware that Mina treated him like a paid servant. In Lausanne, every mail car brought Alfred's letter, so Mina felt happy.M. de Larse began to understand that the duel had simplified his relations with Mina and his wife. "She is not guilty to us. It was you who abandoned her first," Mina wrote to him. "It may have been a mistake that she chose M. de Rupert alone among so many lovely men." But her financial happiness should not be impaired." Alfred left her an annuity of fifty thousand francs, which accounted for more than half of his annual income. "What else do I need?" he wrote to Mina. "I intend to wait a few years before returning to Paris, until this ridiculous incident has been forgotten." "I don't want that," Mina answered him. "You'll make a sensation when you go back. Go and show yourself for half a month while everyone's talking about you. Remember that your wife has done nothing wrong." .” A month later M. de Larse and Mina met in the charming village of Bergirat.The village is on the shore of Lake Marger, only a few miles from the Borrome Islands.Mina still uses a fake name while on the road.She was so affectionate that she said to Alfred: "If you like, tell Madame Kramer that you are engaged to me. You are my promise, as we say in Germany, I will always receive you with pleasure, but Madame Crame is present." M. de Larsey felt that his happiness was always a little short.But there never was a time in any man's life when he was as happy as this September they spent on the lake.Mina felt that Alfred was very honest, and slowly, she no longer took Mrs. Colamet for a walk. One day, when they were boating on the lake, Alfred asked her with a smile: "Who the hell are you, you witch? I don't believe you are Mrs. Crame's maid, or even someone higher than the maid." "Oh, then who do you think I am?" Mina replied, "An actress who won the jackpot in the lottery and spent a few years in a fairyland-like place while she was young? Girl, do you want to change your temperament after your lover dies?" "Even if you are like this, or worse than that, I will propose to you the next day as soon as I learn that Madame de Larsey is dead." Mina threw her arms around his neck. "I am Mina de Wangere. You met me at Madame de Sely's. How could you not recognize me? Ah, love is always blind," said Mina, laughing. Alfred felt blessed to be able to show respect to Mina.But his happiness was not as genuine as Mina's.The fly in the ointment was that she felt unable to confide everything to her friends.When two people are in love, whoever deceives the other is an unfortunate person. Actually, Miss de Wangle should not have told Alfred her real name.A few months later, Mina noticed that Alfred was slightly depressed. They went to Naples for the winter, and their passports listed them as husband and wife.Guessing that he was missing Paris, she knelt down and begged him to live in Paris for a month.He swears and swears that he doesn't want to go to Paris.But he was still so unhappy. "I'm risking my life's happiness." Mina made no secret of her thoughts.Her sharpness terrified Alfred.One day Mina said to him: "But your melancholy overcame my determination." Alfred didn't quite understand what she meant by that.In the afternoon, Mina said to him: "Take me to the city of Thor del Grocco." He was so happy. She gave herself completely to him.She thought she guessed rightly the cause of his gloom, for he was now very happy.米娜被极度的幸福和狂热的爱情冲昏了头脑，忘了她原来打定的主意。 “为了获得从他决斗那天起我所获得的一切，”她思忖，“就是明天去死，就是死一千次，也不算冤枉。”她对阿尔弗雷德百依百顺，并从中感受到极大的幸福。这种幸福使她头脑发热，不再小心翼翼地掩饰她的那些大胆的思想，那些思想构成了她的基本性格，而且她追求幸福的方式，在凡夫俗子看来不仅古怪，而且令人反感，对于阿尔弗雷德身上被她称为法国人的偏见的东西，她一直小心翼翼，不去招惹。对阿尔弗雷德身上她不赞赏的地方，她尽力用民族性格不同来解释。在这方面，米娜感到了父亲那种严肃教育的缺点，因为这种教育很容易使她变得令人反感。 米娜得意忘形，把阿尔弗雷德想得那样完美。爱情到了这一步，那么被所爱的人怜悯而不是嫉妒的人是幸福的！她疯到了那个地步，在她眼里，她的情人是世上最完美的人，最高贵，最英俊，最可爱，最可敬。即使她有心对他隐瞒什么想法，她也没有这份勇气。很久以来，她就觉得无法再瞒着他，不让他知道那夜在埃克斯引发捉奸事件的阴谋。 米娜陶醉于肉体之欢，失去了力量，对德·拉尔赛先生也不像以前那样有所保留。从这时起，她那罕见的品质反而变得对她不利。她看出他的忧郁，并以此来逗乐。而他在她心中激起的爱情很快疯狂到极点。“我真傻，竟然担心呢！”她寻思，“我是因为我更爱他的缘故。我真傻，竟然为这种事苦恼！在人间最强烈的幸福里，总碰得到这一类事情的。再说我的性格又不幸比他更喜欢担心。终归老天是公正的。”她叹了口气，补充说，（自从她幸福到极点以来，常常受到内疚的烦扰。）“我犯了过错，该受谴责，埃克斯那个夜晚成了我的心病。” 米娜习惯了这种想法：阿尔弗雷德的天性注定了他不可能像她那样爱得发狂。“就算他还不如现在温柔，”她思忖道，“我的命运也是热爱他。我感到万幸的是，他不是道德败坏的人！我觉得，他要是引诱我犯罪，我是完全可能犯罪的。” 不管米娜怎样幻想，有一天她还是惊愕地发现，阿尔弗雷德又烦闷起来。很久以前，他就接受了这种想法：把每年的全部财产收入都留给妻子，自己则改信新教，和米娜结婚。 这一天，Ｓ亲王在那不勒斯举行盛大宴会，全城都为之轰动。 当然，他们并未受到邀请。米娜猜想，他或许是留恋巨额家产所带来的富贵，便坚决催他马上动身去哥尼斯堡。阿尔弗雷德低着头，没有回答。到后来，他突然抬起头。他的眼光里流露的不是爱情，而是最叫人难受的怀疑。米娜大吃一惊。 “米娜，告诉我，那天夜里我到妻子的卧室去抓德·吕佩尔先生，你是否事先知道他的计划？总之，你是否和他串通一气？” “是的，”米娜肯定地回答，“德·拉尔赛夫人从没有想过他。我认为你是属于我的，因为我爱你。那两封匿名信都是我写的。” “这是卑鄙的行为。”阿尔弗雷德冷冷他说，“幻想结束了。 我要去找我的妻子。我怜悯你。我不再爱你了。 " 从他的语气中听得出他的自尊心受了伤害。he's gone. “卓越人物遇到的就是这种命运。不过他们自有他们的办法。”米娜站在窗前自言自语。她目送着情夫一直走到大街尽头。等他消失以后，她走进他的卧室，把手枪对准自己的心脏开了一枪。她的一生是不是一场错误的盘算？她的幸福持续了八个月。她是个热情太旺的人，无法满足现实生活。