“Saint Croix made his choice better. He needed more than a help to execute his plan, and this other person was LaChaussée. The outcome has shown that he was right in entrusting himself to him so confidently.
“Should the Marquess' personal details be linked to these considerations; then, people must, far from raising towards her the least suspicion, rather more recognize that it is the most villainous and condemnable calumny to accuse her of this crime. The Marquess is from an excellent family. No shameful act, not even once a reproach has indeed stained the blood which flew in her veins. She inherited honour and honesty from her forefathers and from all the persons who carry the name of Aubray, and the seeds of these virtues which were put in her heart already through birth, has been developed and cared for by the most careful education.
Nature and chance have also not provided their preferences in vain in her. It is true, the Marquess' reputation has not remained totally unstained. But the steps which concluded about a disadvantageous judgement for her, were only the consequences of a passionate love which, born from blindness, would be maintained by her own husband's disorders. Her remaining behaviour, however, and her known mentality are so against the crimes of which she is now accused, that when they happened, no one raised the slightest suspicion against her, and put at her disposition, without any hinder, the fortune which she should have acquired through such gruesome acts.
It is unfortunate that this regrettable victim of calumny sees it necessary for her defence to uncover even weaknesses which she otherwise would have covered with the veil of shame. But to save herself from such a shameful punishment, she is forced to justify herself in her errors. The undeniable faithfulness which the Marquess observed toward the despicable person who was her deceiver and through whom her virtue capsized, can, in fact, find its place only in a soft heart. And should such heart be capable of deciding to murder father and brothers? A heart which deplores sufferings in others, which feels the pains of others as its own? But calumny makes an exception with the Marquess in order to bring her on the scaffold. Would the most tender sentiments be united with horror with her, something which is even unnatural in wild animals.
In truth, it is undeniable that Love, until now, has led people to take steps which are incompatible with the natural state of a heart supposed to be dominated by it. However, if we consider that examples of this kind are extremely rare; then, only two causes of such unnatural appearances can also be given: jealousy and close surveillance. To evict a rival, should not hence the Marquess well have poisoned her father and her brothers? Yet, there has never been an instance where she has, indeed, made a similar assault on a young lady. In none of her letters did we find the least trace of jealousy; neither verbally, nor in writing has she ever complained that her lover shared his heart between her and another one.
Equally little disturbed was her relationship with Saint Croix by a close supervision. Her husband who himself lived in unceasing dissipations and who, because of his coldness toward her, gave her the first occasion to commit her errors; stood in the way of her relationship with Saint Croix as little as any totally indifferent human being. Her father, her brothers did not equally constitute any constraint for her. She was fine enough to curtail them; they died in full conviction that she has broken up already for long with Saint Croix. One cannot think of a unique motive for such a heart, soft and filled with the most tender feelings, to be at once dragged into such abomination.
Presumptions of such importance speak for the Marquess! To refute such enlightening grounds, people can rightfully demand proofs which must be as strong as the truth and reality of a miracle. What are they, however, but proofs which people presented against the Marquess to bring her on the scaffold? The most dangerous among all the testimonies against her is Cluet’s account. But he is alone, and a single witness is not sufficient to decide over a matter. In this regard, is it not improbable that a lady of such standing has made such an insignificant human being into her confidant? None of the other confidants appeared as eyewitness, none told anything about what he has seen; everything that they said, are mere presumptions.
The testimony which people have received from LaChaussée even before his execution, contained two pieces. First, he declares staunchly that Saint Croix has assured him that the Marquess not only had not any responsibility in the poisonings, but rather never knew anything about them. The second part of his acknowledgment, however, consisted of conjectures and suspicions from which this unworthy person sought to prove that this Saint Croix's statement was a lie.
That the Marquess has very often spoken with him about poisonings, proves nothing more that her whole imagination was filled with images of the crimes through which she has lost both her brothers so rapidly, one after the other. Everything reminded her of these terrible incidents; it was the usual subject which she talked about with all her relatives and friends. And then, precisely the fact that she spoke so often about poisonings, is an appropriate proof of her innocence. Criminals make of their gruesome acts certainly not into the usual subject of their conversations; anything that has only a remote relationship to their crimes, they rather keep away very carefully; their remorse grow with every mention of the crime which they are guilty of; they fear that each of their words, their looks, even each expression on their face, can betray them.
Far to the contrary, in all these repeated conversations about poisonings which the Marquess should have had, lead to the conclusion that she is not implicated in Saint Croix's crimes, people must rather more see them as proofs of her innocence. That she has enticed LaChaussée to leave Paris, can be explained very naturally from the circumstance that she wanted voluntarily to remove away a man whom Saint Croix has anointed into the most trusted secrets of their love. His presence was embarrassing for her, because she must have been ashamed of weaknesses from which witnesses are not voluntarily tolerated, and which are very unsafe if known by a servant.
All these details deserve not so much consideration. They are nothing more than testimonies of a calumniated villain who, as a proven enemy of the whole human race, cannot deserve any belief. If they were, however, true and if people were really justified to put them to the Marquess' disadvantage; yet they all remain but only presumptions. Can people, however, ground on such unsubstantiated facts the proof of crimes which contradict all natural sentiments and are impossible according to the Marquess' known mentality as well as her education?
However, did she not strive so pressingly to get hold of Saint Croix's small coffer, before it would be opened, and shows not her supplicating demand that she feared to be betrayed by what was contained in there? But people should only investigate what was in there to verify at once such supposition.
People found, first, a declaration stating that everything contained in the small coffer belonged to the Marquess of Brinvillier, that its content only has some interest for her alone and that people should hand it over to her, or in the case she were already dead, burn it. Then, people found the Marquess' love letters which Saint Croix kept very preciously, a silliness which lovers make very frequently and very often, has terrible consequences! Saint Croix was also seduced by this illusion, he kept each letter from the Marquess as an assurance of her tenderness; however, he wanted that these proofs of her love be returned into the hands from which he has received them. On these grounds, he has so expressly ordered that people give back to the Lady the small coffer, or in case she was deceased, burn it.
She, as a woman, was not any more interested in keeping for posterity any information about her past errors, had not kept any of the letters which she has received from him. Only that this precaution did not assure her about her secrets, as long as she knew that he kept her letters with him. She also shared her worry about these letters many times to her lover. But he assured her, finally, that he kept all her letters in a small coffer which can not fall in any human being's hands, and that he has protected the sanctity of her love from uninitiated hands which could take hold of it after his death, by adding a very solemn declaration in his last will. She first knew about the existence of this small coffer in this way; and this was a good enough reason for her to ask very pressingly for the same
