Nicolas le Floch : Le Dîner de Gueux – Jérôme Robart – Épisode Complet – (S4 EP7) – CLPB
Stop your childishness, Mademoiselle… I
order you to return to my carriage, as befits a person of your station.
I intend to marry you and married you will be… Sold, you mean! To a
lout as ugly as he is rich… And what do you claim to be that
gives you the right to balk at my authority? Clémence de Villerbois de Martens,
only daughter of Louis-Charles Étienne de Villerbois, impecunious marquis and
risky speculator in a reversal of fortune… Clémence, come back! Clemence…Come on
! Come on ! Faster! Easy, easy…
Help! Help! Well, Madam,
you almost broke your bones…. It doesn’t matter if you break your bones, sir,
when you know what fate is mine… However serious it may be, madam, nothing about it
shows on your admirable person… But what about you, sir? Who are you ?
Lord Giaccomo Petracci, descendant of the Dukes and high nobility of Siena…
All the same, Madam: riding alone on such an unsafe road…
I am not alone: my father is following in a carriage…
Stay here, Madam, I fear you might take some nasty blow…
What do you think? Your cassette, Monsignor.
My cassette? My jewelry? Never ! So, prepare to appear, my friend…
No one is going to appear, my friend… I’ll buy the case from you…
You’ll buy me out? And otherwise? You are dead… Dead, as you go… Your gold, if I
want it, I will take it from your remains… Would you forget that we are more numerous? I never forget anything… Well, sir, it seems
that I owe you my life… It seems, indeed… Just as it seems to take as much panache as presumption to try to stop
such a gang all by oneself… See there only the mark of the blood that boils
in my veins and those of my lineage… As well as the ardent desire
to oblige a fair lady… My father… Where is my father? Madam, there is an old man in this carriage
who is holding a casket against him that he refuses to let go of…Perhaps it is your father…
The rogue comes from Spain, whose
language I understand passably. Chance is happy, but what does
it say in Castilian? Eh ?
He speaks of a criminal, who would be called “the Claw”… The Claw? The Claw is a bandit who has been operating for
several years at the head of a hundred men… He is said to be as organized
as he is cruel, greedy and completely crazy… We know who the Claw is, sir! If I believe what he says, it is indeed this Mr.
La Griffe that you have sent ad patres… La Griffe, you say?
It would seem… This scoundrel, this rogue, this stubborn scoundrel
that all the Police forces of Europe, including those of perfidious Albion, that is to say,
were fighting over!! Fell on the road to Pithiviers into the nets of my Police…
My Police… Mine… My own police… The King’s police… Sir! Mine… Testus unus, testus nullus…
Single witness, null witness… I know Latin as well as you, young and presumptuous Jesuit… As for
me, my religion is made up… No formal proof, however…
To hell with formalities… Where do your prejudices come from, Nicolas? Information gathered
by you from a source I intend to ignore, an operation conducted masterfully…
Yes, yes, I insist: masterfully… Yes?
Mr. de Villerbois! You, whose
high lineage, disinterestedness and privileged position
with Monsieur de Saint-Florentin, the King’s Minister, are well known, I expect you to give
the actions of this young and brilliant policeman the luster it deserves… La Griffe is dead!
Besides, was there any reward attached to his capture?
Not that I know of…. So much the better, so much the better… You should have paid…
Mr. de Villerbois… I’m counting on your interpersonal skills!
This Petracci who came to our aid…his fortune…is his fortune assured?
Nicolas? Judging by his appearance, his clothing… the weapons he is
carrying, the horse he is riding, the purse of gold with which he intended to buy
your life… his fortune seems assured indeed… I would have liked to
thank him before returning. Have Monsieur de Villerbois taken to this Petracci immediately… And
send for a messenger, so that he can take my report to the King without delay…
Splendid blade, which you are brandishing there… Do you want to taste it?
Lord, Lord, thank you for saving my only treasure in this world
: my only daughter, whom I cherish more than anything! I’m afraid I was
only there for a little… A little! But how you go! All the credit goes to
Commissioner le Floch… Nevertheless, Sir: I intend to
have you as my guest this evening, at my home and at my daughter’s…
But, Sir, I cannot abuse it… But, yes! You will know, Lord
: you will know very well… I do not forget that I am indebted to you
for my most precious possession: life! You seem troubled, Nicolas… your mind
as if agitated by a curious presentiment… You have deceived me, Madam… The opposite would be more satisfactory.
When, I pray you? When you sent me
on the road to Pithiviers… And what then? Was the information faked? No, not at all. Did
the gang not act at the indicated location,
at the crossroads known as Croix de Samois? Yes… But why on earth did you forget to tell me that it was
La Griffe’s gang? The Claw!!! You didn’t know that? Yes, I did not know… Had I known,
I would have hesitated to give it to you… Is man so formidable that you
seem to fear him even more than myself? No, no, no, not at all… Could he be dead? It seems so… He used to visit
your house, Madam, didn’t he? No. Had he done so, he would have been immediately
dismissed… I know my situation is very precarious in your eyes and I do not intend to risk
assisting such a criminal… More than anything, your
sense of opportunity is worthy of admiration, Madam!
Isn’t it? Which of your daughters would have collected the
information you have given me? Amélie… A novice, so to speak…
Well, come, Madam, your novice and you… Where then?
What does it matter where, Madam, since we are going there together…
Where does this citizen come from? From the Seine… Found naked at
dawn in the nets of the Pont Marie… Could it be that you know him? Not to the point of knowing its name… It’s
because so many people pass through the Crowned Dauphin, and whose face is not necessarily the main
attraction… At this time I have a lot to do in my house. Could we be sent back? A
beautiful, classic profile, however, and not without a certain nobility. What can you tell me about it, Mademoiselle?
I can tell you, Sir, that you have been told lies… Continue, I beg you…
It is indeed this man who, while working, was talking with one of his accomplices
about the affair of the Croix de Samois… However, you have been played, Sir: I do not know
who La Griffe is, but I can assure you that it is not this man,
since this is one of my practices… How can you affirm this since
you do not know La Griffe? It’s just that I… I know his name was Gaspard
Leviel, known as Tricotin, and he claimed to be a meat wholesaler… but…
But? That’s all…
That’s all? That’s all!
The Claw would not be the Claw! Or at least, the one we were presented as such…
Some deception? For what reason? Would you doubt Lord Giacomo Petracci? Something about him just doesn’t ring true, doesn’t it?
His notes seem to be in order, however… In fact, his readiness to justify
his condition is in itself suspect… A Lord does not justify himself, his
arrogant manner is enough… You made fun of me, my dear…
Have you suddenly gone mad? I had agreed out of sympathy that you
and your brother should appear here… However, my sympathy has limits.
Do you know where to find it? Your brother, do you know?
I know it… Go get him right now and tell him
we need to talk… Right now!!!! Come on, quick!
And me? And me, in all this? Straighten up and go, you scoundrel, you
won’t be in great loss… It won’t be said that my house leaves its
customers in any way with their foot up… Give it, Sir, give it so that I can
satisfy you as well as myself… Lord… Don’t you have the
feeling that you are going astray? On the contrary, my dear… I have the one
to get back on the right path… Between my knees?
Your knees? Their flimsy defense was
blown away long ago… We’re no longer at our knees, Madam…
Ah… Lord. I fear greatly that you will not reach
the limits of marriage intact… It is because, in his incurable stupidity, Monsieur my Father had not stipulated
in what state he intended to deliver me there… What do you say? We’ll be better off in my room… I wonder what’s stopping me
from skewering you right away… Perhaps the presence of that
other blade, against your side… How did you find me? The coachman, my friend!
Monsieur de Villerbois’s coachman, the one who so kindly
showed us his master’s route. The coachman is now on our side.
Any of your recent conquests? Conquest, yes, that’s the right word, although it wasn’t
achieved by force… However, the woman impresses, as much by the
vigor of her temperament as by her lack of the slightest decency…
And you, what do you want from me? Me, nothing… Madam, on the other hand, is in great
fury and intends to see you immediately… No! I accepted you out of kindness… Kindness from which you have benefited amply! Enough, you insolent young fellow… You
have satisfied me, just as much as I have satisfied you, so we are even… Only the most noble and disinterested sympathy has
inclined me to tolerate you in my house… A house that can rightly be called one of tolerance…
You have made your ball there, one by using her charms and the other, the pharaoh, by
playing and certainly cheating… It doesn’t matter… Well? So, having seen you leave arm in
arm with a golden practice by the name of Petracci, for what seemed to
be some fine threesome… What was my astonishment at that moment,
on discovering the body of the man, naked as a hand on the slab
of the Châtelet Morgue… Could there be some suspicion?
It doesn’t seem so, but someone else could come and recognize
the individual and I don’t intend to be convicted of complicity… I’m chasing you both out right now and don’t intend to
see you reappear in these places… You’re chasing us out…
Do you even know who you’re chasing? My name is Jacques Torcy, ex-gunner to
the King, child of a whore and of the Devil…Better known by the amiable nickname of La Griffe… Here
you are brought back to the height of your task, ignoble whore… I understand that Suzon remains at her
post, because she has a convenient observatory here… As for Petracci, have no fear…
There, it’s him! Come on, let’s go…
Stop! Who lives? Hey, who goes there!
Quickly over here! Guards on the attack Ah! Gentlemen, I’m afraid we’ll have to clear out!
No doubt this is due to the beneficial influence of some
heavenly intervention, but Catherine is in a delightful mood this morning: she has given me two small
milk rolls and a very creamy chocolate… If not Capua, at least
it is more or less Byzantium… Speaking of Capua, and please
forgive the nonsense… You, whose duties as Royal Prosecutor have
often allowed you to touch upon Foreign Affairs… Do you know,
or could you, on occasion, inquire about a certain Giaccomo Petracci?
Petracci? The name is not unfamiliar to me, in fact… I even seem to
be able to give it a face… And in your memory, did he have a
scar above his right eye? Not in my memory, but he was
a man-at-arms and perhaps… Nicolas! At the Lieutenant
General of Police’s, right now… Sit down! Can we know
what frame of mind he is in? A mastiff, a mastiff, who had
just been shot and who, since then, has been standing on his high
horse… Thank you, Catherine!… Can I? Open up, Mademoiselle, open up, I intend to
speak to you without delay… Take me away! I don’t want to stay a moment longer
in this house where I’m being prostituted… Right now, you rascal…
Right now, or I’ll have it opened by force… Take me away, I beg you! Come on!
Open up, you funny girl! Open! Come on, be reasonable, my daughter… For the last time: open up!
You wanted it, damn it! Ah! Holy crap! Looking forward to it!
You were having a party, Nicolas, while last night, behind your
back, someone was breaking into our place… I didn’t know I was the guardian
of the Châtelet, sir. They entered the Lower
Jail… A small troop… A patrol took place…
They left two exemptions there, but the thieves were forced to
retreat, abandoning their loot there… What on earth was being stolen there? A body… A lifeless body just pulled
from the water and that the kidnappers intended to take away in a natural state… Does that
mean anything to you? I’m waiting! I don’t know, La Paulet
stopped in front of the body… Her very evasive speech suggests that she
knew him without actually knowing him… Which in itself, for a madam, is nothing striking…
Is it really him? Yes… What can you tell us about it? The body only shows the marks
of old wounds, which betray a past as a swordsman or man-at-arms…
On the other hand… This duct in the ear… The wound is discreet but very deep.
Awl, strong pin or stiletto, Your man has indeed been murdered… The point is established… But why
did you try to steal his remains? I can’t tell you more, except
that I will proceed to open the body, which will certainly
confirm this first examination… Thank you. Is n’t staying in the water likely to
cause rapid deterioration of the flesh? Certainly. Would it be possible to preserve its appearance by making a mask?
Kidnapped, you say? By this Lord Petracci whom
you yourself recommended… Myself? Could this be?
…Who, not content with having had supper at my table and drunk more than was reasonable,
wasted no time in bribing the young lady from Villerbois, whom he seized by force this morning
and led outside by climbing through the window…
By force, for goodness sake!! Sir, the drowned man turns out to be a murderer. I have another
kind of crime to talk to you about, Commissioner… Sir, this anonymous victim
deserves our full attention. Commissioner, your Petracci
seems to have been acting up… My Petracci? A noble and virgin young girl, a person
of great lineage, abducted this morning… By your dandy… All business ceasing, you
will be in a hurry to go to Monsieur de Villerbois, in order to carry out the usual observations in his presence
… Monsieur de Villerbois, my police and my person are entirely yours
… My time, alas, is not… Sir…
This note is the one that the man presented to prove his identity
and the height of his rank… La Griffe… So, your reluctance was well-founded… The man would therefore have entered here by the door
in the capacity of Petracci and left by the window as La Griffe…
The method is very picturesque… No trace of a struggle… nothing that testifies to
violence other than amorous and consensual… If I judge by what I know of this
La Griffe, expect that the affair will cost you dearly…
Cost me dearly? That cassette that you held so tightly to
your heart on the road to Pithiviers… I bet it won’t be long before we
ask for it – if necessary, sword in hand! A token bearing the image of the Crowned Dauphin…
I just found it in young Clémence’s room.
I doubt it belongs to her. The stakes must be high for
La Paulet to have dared to defy my wrath… Let us disguise a few exempts and arrange them
discreetly around the Crowned Dauphin, so that neither Dame Paulet nor the novice Amélie
can escape our vigilance… Monsieur le Marquis… A ticket for you!
Your master, the Lieutenant General of Police, has informed me of the place where you can be found…
Must the person be of noble extraction, for Monsieur de Sartine
to facilitate his plans… She is, indeed…
Return to the Châtelet and take care of the Crowned Dauphin. As for me, since it
is my obligation, I will appear. I present to you Madame Countess Olympe
de Beauvoisis, a precocious widow by nature and very recently Canoness of
Meudon, by the grace of our good King… What can I do for you, Madame?
I would like to seek the informed opinion of the Marquis de Ranreuil on the fate
of someone dear to me… Who is it, Madam?
Of a certain Jacques Torcy, better known as La Griffe, a former
student of an institution in Saint-Brieuc, where he left behind by the window
only regrets for his incredible beauty, his great piety, the accuracy
and quality of his voice… In other words, would it be true,
according to the rumor that is already spreading at Court and in the City, that La Griffe
met a romantic death yesterday, while leading the attack on a carriage, at the
head of his men, on the road to Pithiviers… I cannot deny it, Madame…
Death by your hand, according to reports… It is because I was
hardly left with a choice, Madame… You know me to be the great organizer
of the King’s entertainments… It has fallen to me in this capacity to organize a
private sword fight between Lord Faldoni, who has the qualities of being a talented fencer
and a famous master of arms and, Joseph Bologne, Knight of Saint-Georges, the most famous
foil fencer in Europe, distinguished athlete… But also brilliant musician and mulatto…
If we except the date, which is perhaps not yet fixed, nothing of this assault is unknown…
The affair must however remain secret: the assault of arms is accompanied
by bets… amounts… very high… The King plays and the King loses with an
equal frenzy, and has, this time, committed big; his high stakes will not fail
to further dent the royal finances in the event of the defeat of his champion… The scandal, if
it were known… Versailles is not safe, Mr. Lieutenant General of Police,
and currently houses one of the most impressive quantities of gold it has
ever contained, I would therefore like you to take… Certain measures…
Ah, Mr. de Ranreuil, come and let me introduce you to my champion: the very
young and talented Joseph Bologne, Knight of Saint-Georges and recent Equerry of
my House… I intend that he will do me honor by winning the assault… I admit to having staked
a very handsome sum on his head and his loss would cost me more than a line regiment… Is it
not so, my friend, that you will win… With the Grace of God, Your
Majesty, the thing is assured… God? Geez? It is that in matters of play,
the Gentleman above does not seem very assured to me… Just like me, count first
on yourself and leave God to others… I must reprimand you… You have greatly
displeased a great friend of Madame la Reine, who was herself greatly displeased,
and she saw fit to open up to me about it… Who then would I have displeased?
The beautiful Countess Olympe de Beauvoisis, Canoness of Meudon…
How could I have offended her? By bluntly and frankly evoking the painful
circumstances of the disappearance of our new Mandrin, Mr. La Griffe, with whom our
Canoness is very strongly and very secretly infatuated… A little tact, a touch of restraint,
sometimes, does no harm, Monsieur le Marquis… Come on, the matter is closed… If
I sent for you, it is because I intend to entrust you with a very
important mission which must remain secret. You’re not in bed, Catherine?
A man claiming to be the executioner Sanson left this package for you a little while ago
, arguing that it was urgent… Ah, Nicolas, if you only knew, if you only knew…
If I only knew what, Catherine? Shortly before supper, Monsieur de Noblecourt went
out… At his age… A few moments’ errand , according to him… And he hasn’t
reappeared since… I fear the worst… We must help him, Nicolas, we must help him…
Help him, but where, I pray you? Ah, Nicolas… In a place that
propriety forbids us to name. Enough, young Cerberus, enough, no
mocking face or discriminating look… Before you
were, I was… I was and still am! I have no doubt about it, if I
judge at the moment, Sir… Flamberge in the wind, my young friend… Champagne?? I have to decline…
Pour him a drink! Ah, you naughty girl… Quicksilver…
You see how I’m getting heated… Monsieur de Noblecourt
came to inquire about a certain Petracci, whom he knew to be
very accustomed to places of pleasure in general and to the Crowned Dauphin in particular…
I didn’t know, Commissioner, that you had your dirty work done by
others… Perhaps it would have been more expedient to come and ask the question yourself…
What do you know about this Petracci… A carouser, a co-conqueror, a libertine and
supposedly one of the best blades in the peninsula… Besides that, very rich
and prodigal with his gold… As for the rest, you must know, because
as for me, I don’t know… Some new lie could
land you in jail, Madam… What I don’t know, I cannot know…
Ah! Jarnidieu, vertudieu, ventrebleu! As soon as the steed is unleashed, as soon as it is at full
gallop – and immediately thrown into the ditch… Well, my young friend, I fear very much that
all that remains for us is to return to our homes, where our lares gods sit… Sir, there is no hurry…
Champagne! Champagne! For everyone!
There is still light up above… As for the lares gods, I fear that some
tough harpy is waiting for you firmly… My head is already spinning… If you could find some
absolving circumstance… A robust bundle of mitigating circumstances of a nature to moderate
the expectations as well as the sentence… Alas: I greatly fear that we are
both embarked in the same cart… Let’s go!
It was for service reasons… A police mission affecting
the security of the kingdom… His Majesty’s person…
It was undoubtedly His Majesty’s person who buttoned up your coat,
Pierre with Jacques, and made your shirt stick out from above your breeches…
Go to bed, you scoundrels, and if you haven’t already, think about ablutions:
in these houses they take more harm than good… Well, Nicolas?
What is this mysterious object you are carrying… I will show you… Petracci… Lord Petracci…
what is he doing here? Petracci?
Yes Petracci! Buena note lorde What is this… In all likelihood the face of a man
whom La Griffe would have homicide… The drowned man of Pont Marie. A man whose identity he then assumed
, a certain Giaccomo Petracci… La Griffe is alive?… Do you realize, Commissioner? The ridiculousness of
my posture, having announced his death to the King… The thing was obviously premature… I beg you to make an effort to remember that
it is according to my sources, that is to say You, that I came to announce what was
not… We will have to give an account. Giaccomo… mi amico Petracci used to go
before me to where I had to fight in order to light up the scene for me…
Lord Faldoni, famous fencing master. On the way, I allowed myself to shed some light on the matter that concerns us for our young Diogenes.
GOOD. Could it be that, having received some confidence from Lord
Petracci before murdering him, Mr. La Griffe was aware of the existence
of the duel and the bets that the King organized? The thing is not proven,
but cannot be excluded… Put an end to the exploits of this La Griffe,
Nicolas, put an end to them quickly and by all means: not so much for
his misdeeds, which are after all ordinary, as because of the secrets that he could
very unfortunately hold… Perhaps it would be good if a
price were put on his head… It is not up to you to prompt one, Nicolas…
A hundred pounds then… A thousand? We can clearly see that it is not you who is paying!! Did you hurt yourself?
The Claw wants to see you… Leave us… You see, once a year, the Parisian underworld
gathers for a solemn banquet… Thieves, co-conspirators, pillagers and murderers, girls of
little or much, real and fake beggars, striplings, the food, excellent, abounds there,
the best wines are served, and people dress up in their finest finery…
Too bad my police duties prevent me from going there more often.
That’s why I’m delighted that you couldn’t resist the spice of my invitation! Hold !
Your audacity seems to know no bounds: kidnapping a police officer of the
King is a crime of lèse-majesté. And I am not unaware of the price: the question and
the wheel! A bad time to go through! Others before me have suffered the same fate and
no one has come back complaining! I knew you, Mademoiselle, with a
less immodest bearing and a more chaste demeanor… But you did not
know me at all… Only my Lord knew me from all sides, and in an iterative manner!
Weren’t you promised, Mademoiselle? To a certain Dubuc, born in Pithiviers?
What the hell do men’s promises matter, sir? Nature has blessed me and wants no other husband
than the one she has so kindly given me… Why this invitation, La Griffe? For pleasure first… then, because by
killing the infamous Tricotin, you have amputated a second stupid and disobedient one from me, whom
I would have had to get rid of myself… And finally because I intend that you
inform the father of the young lady that she is demanding her dowry, namely the jewels
of her late mother, and that failing which La Griffe will undertake to go and get them himself,
from the depths of Monsieur de Villerbois’s safe! And now, let’s have fun!
So my daughter is being held captive?! Alas, yes, sir… and the criminal
wants his dowry returned to him… If you did not agree, you would oblige me
greatly, because La Griffe would then be forced to come and seize it himself and would
not fail to come and get himself entangled in our nets… Is there not, moreover,
a reward attached to his capture? Yes…yes, yes!
A reward? Which could very well come back to you,
for having facilitated it… So I do not consent, I do not consent!!!
Very well, sir, very well… Deceitful, cautious and a pimp at heart…
He will serve us well, however, through his faults… I didn’t know there was a reward
attached to the capture of the Claw… I want, around the Hôtel de Villerbois, a trap with meshes so tight that not even
a wasp could escape… Also have
Mrs. Paulet and the “novice” Amélie arrested… Good heavens! Could the matter be so serious? She is… Yes!
Mr. Marquis Pierre Henri Beaumont de la
Garde, Lord of Saint Charles… Come in!
Take a seat, Mr. Marquis, take a seat… To what do I owe this honor?
Twelve hundred pounds, sir… Geez… Twelve hundred pounds???
The twelve hundred pounds attached to the capture of La Griffe… Is it not your
name and your position that we read printed here? Indeed, sir, but
it would still be necessary to produce the particular… In the instant, sir, in
the instant… Come!… Come! Harpagon, impudent crybaby, twelve
hundred pounds for me… I, who are considered the modern Cartouche,
or some new Mandrin… I, whose renown infinitely exceeds yours
, sinister ass-math… Bourdeau!!… Bourdeau!!! Send
for Le Floch right away!! Please ! Bourdeau! Can you hear me?
Bourdeau!!! Bourdeau!!!! Tied up and tied up like a goose
ready to roast… So, how can I put it… You’ll notice that I’m
not going overboard… Don’t you have some secret chest where you
‘d hide other marvels? … Maybe there? There ? This way? This way? Hot ?
Cold ? Hot ? Cold ? Nothing ? Nothing ? Or maybe… or maybe this way…
Or go here! This wonder will suffice… Don’t move!
Don’t move, huh? Allow me, Lieutenant
General of Police, to now part…
With respect, good friends, will you? Was the deal successful?
Fairly… The redhead obviously has less money than we think… and since the
old miser hasn’t given in to our reasons, let’s go now to Monsieur de
Villerbois’s, to continue our tour… The redhead is there… I see men
from the watch, accompanied by exempts… This young commissioner is definitely not lacking in stubbornness… However, he will not have
taken the exact measure of my popularity. Mr. de Sartine?… Mr. de Sartine? The Lieutenant General of Police
has been locked up for a long time… The lock is locked…
And the key is missing… And then there were the knocks
and those grunts… porcine… In which one is reluctant to recognize the timbre
and intonations of Monsieur de Sartine… Leave me my life… leave me my life at least…
Ah, your life for what it’s worth, I’m willing to leave it to you… Well, it’s time
now, as the multitude demands, to show a little panache.
My emeralds, my rubies, my diamonds… he took everything… I have nothing left… I am nothing left…
To the window, to the window!
Yes ! But we were waiting for it elsewhere… I
don’t care where you were waiting for it: I want it! I want it now! First of all
right away! On the wheel! The little bastard… The scoundrel, the filthy joker, coming all this way to challenge my
power… To attack a magistrate of my authority like this… Ah, my little ones! The day the
thug who desecrated you is broken, I swear I will sit in the front row to enjoy at
my leisure the spectacle of his torture…ahhhhhhh yes… What is it? THANKS !
Commissioner… The notebook…
It is not without flavor that the gold of the Police contributes to the salvation of those it pursues…
Whip coachman! And the devil take us! We can imagine Monsieur de Sartine’s delight,
if he happened to know what was being done with his gold… There is no need for him to know… You only got one?
Yes. Can we trust you? Of course, Inspector.
Leave us. Foutriquet, maraud, residue of the low-pit,
turd, skin of ass, dropping of moricaud… Woodlouse, gougnafier, paltoquet, gargouilleux…
I didn’t know that the French language included so many words to
describe filth with such perfect ingenuity!
I suspected it, without anyone ever giving me any
certainty… Now I agree… Woodlouse!
That’s enough, Madam! Mangy dog ! donkey shit!
Black shit! Hay beak! Turd! Is that enough, Madam? What did you seal on the Claw for me, that you
know and did not reveal to me the previous time?
Nothing… Ah, Madam, it doesn’t suit you, not having
kept a few last cartridges behind you. Come on, Madam, you’re suffocating your sense of smell… It’s
up to you to soon recover a decent appearance and your finest finery…
Sir, you triumph, but through disloyalty… A bucketful of
piss for all rhetoric… I didn’t know that was it, Madam…
But you had a feeling… Come on… Indeed, Sir, I had indeed kept
one last trump card: I had thrown the couple out into the street, but La Griffe, whose
identity I didn’t know until then, under the threat of a weapon, ordered me to
keep the girl among my protégées… You see… La Suzon is posted at my house, but
not permanently, and comes and goes as she pleases, according to very free schedules
and interests that are no less so… Le Floch!
Please Floch! Please ! Suzon knows me, but you don’t… Would you know how to
approach her properly… Uh, no, no, no, no… Then, urgently summon our friend
Semacgus, the fiery naval surgeon… Gentlemen, I have been entrusted with a
secret mission, which also requires your assistance… We must guard a treasure… A
large quantity of gold, temporarily stored in a room in the stables at Versailles… The reason for his presence? The game… The King is very fond of it and
some of the Greats of the Kingdom have persuaded him to use it in the
next battle of arms which will soon pit Lord Faldoni
against the Knight of Saint George… Lord Faldoni? The meeting is
not without interest… The King, who was not born yesterday and knows
what to expect in terms of cocange, would not hate it
if his champion came out on top… Who is his champion? The mulatto. Would His Majesty hear
that the dice were loaded… It is because the sum is tidy and the
finances of the kingdom are very dilapidated… Here is a poultry aspic, which I had
prepared for a neighbor of mine who is baptizing his firstborn… but it will do your
job better… and to wash your mouth, I am bringing you some cherries, the first
of the year, cooked in cinnamon wine! Mother Morel, another pitcher from Touraine! And what about your neighbor?
Ohhh! We’ll work it out! My role in all this? The one that a
married man cannot decently hold… Alas! Three times alas! It would be a matter of, in a place that you no
longer ordinarily frequent, you passing yourself off with the greatest likelihood to
one of the boarders who will be indicated to you as some provincial nobleman, as immensely
rich as he is depraved, and of unfailing greed… My goodness, I agree: although it is a composition,
the role could fit me like a glove… You will therefore be a depraved nobleman, come to
Paris in order to bet a large sum on an operation of which you will have been fortuitously
informed by a Gentleman of the court… If you are pressed, the name of the Count
de la Borde seems to me to be the obvious choice… Very well, but the gold of my likelihood? The most perilous moment: the moment when
I will have to go and persuade the Lieutenant General of Police that he must
still be part of his contribution!!! Come on ! The aspic is ours!
Who is it ? The list that the Police draw up in its
infinite appetite for knowledge, of the great fortunes of the Kingdom and their principal
establishments… I would like you to see if in all this any name comes to mind?
Suzon! You seem to be in a very bad mood… Yours seems to be hardly any better…
The animal is very rich, vicious and has a robust appetite… Get all
you can out of it, but I want half… Don’t worry, your dandy will soon be
skinned, roasted, served and scraped to the bone, or I don’t know what’s going on…
Oohhh! My little bees!!! Yes, Mr. Count! Oh yes, Mr. Count! ooooooohhhhh!
The Crowned Dolphin, what a place! But it’s paradise!!
There you go, there you go…. Well, well, well…
Sir. Madam Apparently, there won’t be too many of us three… But please! Welcome!
It seems, Commissioner, that your fellow
wasted no time in donning the clothes of a rich, depraved nobleman – or
rather, in shedding them… Gee… the man certainly seems
cut out for the role!!! Madame Clémence Louise Honorine,
Marquise de Villerbois… Monsieur Marquis Pierre Henri Beaumont de
la Garde, Lord of Saint Charles… Bring in…
Clémence de Villerbois! Well my friend, that
look of contentment! It seems that the hymen has transformed the ungrateful chrysalis
into a heavenly butterfly! Move forward, move forward! Thank you, Count! It was a
pleasure, Count! Thank you ladies!
Well, my friend, these rich finery, the splendor of your
adornment, are you really so rich? The richness of our interview is
only fair. Didn’t you let yourself be taken in with generosity and talent?
Rich in gold, I mean… Aahh gold! Yes ! I am indeed… And
soon, I will be even richer… Infinitely more… Soon richer than Croesus…
I don’t know who this Croesus is, but how is it possible… For gold does
not grow under the horse’s hoof… Think again, beautiful Hermione! Under
a horse’s foot you can find treasures! Imagine a bet, a big bet, that my
connections with the King’s household ensure I win…
The King’s Household? Yes, the King’s house…
We’ll take it from you! and besides, we’re going to take everything from you… and
what is that? It’s for me! Admirable, my friend… I was given the opportunity
to surprise a part of the piece… What fervor, what exaltation, what
robust obstinacy in the execution… Sir: you lack neither
breath nor imagination and the organ itself deserves respect…
You have noticed, equal in the scherzo as in the obligato…
And unbound in the moderato… Prompt and lively in the allegro…
For the virtuoso! Will you be convinced?
I believe so… As soon as the bets and the King’s entourage were put forward,
having captured their interest, the young lady kept going to warn your Griffe.
Tell me, there are sometimes merchants on a spree who come from the Province, and perhaps
you could, under cover of anonymity, give some show intended to
stir up their senses… often, alas, very lacking! What do you think?
Nicolas? Oh sorry! Excuse me, miss, I’m
looking for Commissioner Le Floch… This way, Bourdeau!
Ah Commissioner! Come in!
No, I wouldn’t do anything… I’m sorry, Commissioner… She escaped me
through one of the gates of Hell, which lead to the maze of catacombs and which unfortunately the
world below knows much better than we do… It’s not so serious, Bourdeau… It
seems that our friend Semacgus was more fortunate than you…
Yes, it seems so!… Sorry. Come and have a drink.
My wife is waiting for me… and I promised the children I’d come home
before putting them to bed! This is of great value and interests me!
All this is false, abominably false! It’s worthless, you’ve been taken advantage of…
The jewelry stolen from your father’s house is fake… What do you say?
No doubt Father had already hired them a long time ago…
I thought the deal was straight… Perhaps now would be the time to get rid
of this woman too, who is no longer of any use… Shut up, you whore! No one else
decides here but me… Ah! Throw it there!
Enjoy the show, maybe it’s the last time… Do you have any idea who I am?
Not the least, and the thing is of no concern to me… It’s strange: neither my watch nor my purse are
missing… Are you then one of the redheads? The redhead!!! At least you’re
not lacking in audacity… That’s a choice piece you have there… Neither audacity nor insolence…
You could be dead in an instant, my lord… What do you say?
I won’t say anything about it, except that it’s definitely a choice piece…
How much would you be willing to buy it from me? I don’t buy! Occasionally,
I rent… Well, what do you know about me? Just enough to keep you
alive… So, poor fool, you believe in chance and intend to risk yourself gambling?
I can’t hear anything at all… I only know where the
stock exchange is and how to approach it… So what do you say we do it together?
I’ll give it to you, if you want… I’ll give it to you as a pledge… I’ll take it!
I’m done for, aren’t I? Perhaps it’s time to confide in…
Confide in what? Mr. Commissioner… Where is your La Griffe hiding?
Don’t count on me… What being can arouse such love
that, dying, the victim has already forgiven? There is more in the earth and in the
sky than in all our philosophy, Nicolas… I bet our man will not
have left you an address either… No… But I must find him tomorrow, an emissary will pick me up in the
Tuileries gardens, to take me to Versailles… So alea jacta est! Gold, diamonds, some jewels
and pearls… No loss that cannot be repaired… On the other hand… Letters were stolen from the
Princess of Richemont, the contents of which , if divulged,
could prove very compromising… Do we have any idea of the criminal? Your Claw, who do you want it to be
? The braggart made no secret of it… Just as he made no secret of holding in his
power the unfortunate Clémence de Villerbois… His accomplice, you mean… As for the
armed assault, it will take place tomorrow evening. Will you have had time before
you seize this annoying La Griffe? The animal is boastful, presumptuous, and
could not resist the lure of a nice pile of gold guaranteed
by His Majesty himself…. What should I understand, Nicolas? That it is not before, but during,
that the operation must take place. It’s all or nothing! Think, after all the humiliations suffered
by your police, of the glory of a public arrest… at Versailles! Wouldn’t you be a
player, Mr. Lieutenant General of Police? Chess, Commissioner, only chess, gambling is prohibited!
The place, by Jove, is not lacking in attraction… Multiple and numerous attractions, I agree, and not the least of which is
the treasure that awaits us… Have no fear, we are expected and
have nothing to fear from anyone… Except perhaps from your thieving friends, which,
you must admit, would not lack spice!! Please announce Henri Charles
Semacgus, Count of Louisville, as well as my young cousin, the Marquis… Pierre Henri Beaumont de la Garde,
Lord of Saint Charles… You see the strength of the prejudices
attached to titles as well as to figures… There is no peacock
that is not suspected of showing off… The show… my cousin… The word
repels me as much as the thing… Come now, my friend, no such
ceremony… Monsieur le Marquis… A note from my hand… Besides guaranteeing you
two places in the sovereign’s quarters, it also gives you free access to all
the places you would be able to visit… I think the armory
of the Great Stables should interest you. Is he your accomplice? Your insight makes me happy. Come, cousin, come: a solid reconnaissance is always
the rule before an assault is made… Perhaps it would have been safer to have
the villain arrested by a robust band of exempts… Safer, certainly, but
lacking the slightest panache… The King!
So, it’s him… Yes! Your
Majesty, this is a fencing contest, pitting
the two best foil fencers in Europe against each other… The foils will be flecked, as
is the rule, two fencing masters will observe the touches, the blow of two
widows naturally counting as nil… Come on, my friend: we know
what a fencing contest is… Let the champions appear
and fight at once… His Majesty seems very impatient… Have you noticed? Everything is in place… Come on, Bourdeau… Gentlemen… it’s your turn! The youth of one against
the dexterity of the other… The two balance each other out… It
could well be that the thing drags on… If I were the musician,
I would have killed the old man ten times already… And if I were the old man,
I would have skewered the musician ten times already… Who would be clever enough to predict the
winner, if we went there? Gold, my cousin, gold, what is more
admirable than gold? What could be more likely to satisfy our dearest desires? Fill those big pockets, my cousin.
Fill them as much as they will hold. I doubt that will be enough! But it will have to be done … What is sweeter than the King’s gold?
And so round! The wheel, my friend, the wheel!!! The little marquis…
I fear that you have nothing more to hope for… I have already known
more delicate situations… I am alone, certainly, but there are not too many of you
three to handicap yourselves… Imagine your sword like a bird,
if you grip it too tightly, it dies, if you hold it too loose,
it escapes and flies away! Over to us, Commissioner! Jacques? They went through the glass roof! Thirty Louis on Ranreuil!
Fifty on the other! Twenty-five Louis better!
I am… Remember, I owe you my
life. Give him back his sword! Do not expect
such kindness from me, sir. It’s just that you don’t owe me anything…. In your place, I wouldn’t do anything, sir. These irons… These shackles… Don’t you find there a kind of redundancy in the
precaution? A manner of relentlessness, out of proportion to the danger
that my person presents… It is that you have greatly
disgraced my chief… Ah, the wigs… Mr. Lieutenant General of Police, see there no mercy, in
place of some malicious desire to harm, but only the mark of a frivolous character,
volatile and very inclined to joke… Frivolous… Volatile…
Joking… He is mocking, my good Nicolas… The scoundrel is mocking… at
the question… Right away… At the question… What is the point of the question, Mr.
Lieutenant General of Police, since from
now on I recognize everything… I do not care if you recognize…
I do not care a jot… The question is: at the question… First
the question, and then the wheel… We will have to postpone…
The King, as is right, The King… If I sent for you, gentlemen, it is because,
you see, this gold causes me some concern… The assault has not been launched, one cannot declare
either loser or winner, except your person, Monsieur le Marquis, naturally… In this
chest, is my bet, but also those of the others, who demand restitution…
I admit, that without opposing it entirely, if there could be found some legal quibble…
Some semblance of right… Authorizing, well, to keep this where it is…
If you allow me Sire… Monsieur le Comte de la Borde had entrusted us with the upper hand
in the supervision of the assault, the event itself is lawful and fully authorized… But
gambling, Majesty, gambling… Gambling is prohibited throughout the kingdom, in all places and for
everyone… This gold can rightly be considered as having served in the commission of the offense,
of which it constitutes a non-detachable element… I therefore declare this object and its contents seized
by Her Majesty’s Police, in order to be placed under sequestration and immediately and
in full transferred to the Royal Treasury account!!! Ah, Bravo!! Well done, Lieutenant General
of Police, what a nice sleight of hand, and indeed: legal, to boot!! What comes
out of a pocket and falls back into the same… Bravo!! You surprise me, Mr.
de Sartine, you really surprise me! You know, Mr. Marquis, the interest
I have in the ravishing Canoness of Meudon… An interest that, alas, the
sly rogue has never heard of reciprocating… Finally… This La Griffe, with whom, according to
common opinion, she is very infatuated… This La Griffe?
Big bad guy, isn’t he?
Certainly… I charge you to have him write by his pen the
detailed confession of his picturesque existence and the misdeeds which embellished it. A sort
of philosophical testament that he took care to write for the very beautiful and very
pious Olympe de Beauvoisis. In return, I undertake that as soon as his death is complete he will
be taken in secret under a new identity to the port of La Rochelle, bound
for New France, where the extent and variety of his talents will quickly find
expression. To the detriment of our English friends! “It is from the depths of hell where an adverse fate has
thrown me panting, that I write these lines to you, Madam, intended as much to soothe the torments
of my soul as to bear witness to its flame…
Après avoir sauvé d’une embuscade la jeune et belle Clémence de Villerbois et l’avoir séduite, le grand brigand « La Griffe » se fait passer pour le duelliste italien Giaccomo Petracci, qui vient d’être tué lors de l’attaque.
✋les + belles séries française, c’est ici 👉https://bit.ly/2Uh5Hgq 👈Abonnez vous ! 🙏
Menant l’enquête sur la mort du noble italien, Nicolas Le Floch découvre la véritable identité de La Griffe. Sans scrupules, le chef des « gueux » dépouille les plus grands jusqu’au lieutenant général de police, Monsieur de Sartine. La course poursuite sera sans répit entre Nicolas Le Floch et La Griffe, puis s’achèvera par un duel magistral à Versailles.
Avec :
Jérôme Robart
Mathias Mlekuz
François Caron
Vincent Winterhalter
Camille de Pazzis
Nicolas Le Floch : Le Dîner de Gueux (Saison 4 – Épisode 7)
Réalisation : Nicolas Picard-Dreyfuss
Scénario : Hugues Pagan
© COMPAGNIE PHARES ET BALISES – 2008