Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) Part 3, Letters 116-120 Summary

Letter 116: The Chevalier Danceny to Cécile de Volanges

Danceny writes of his friendship for Madame de Merteuil.
He's clearly swept away by her.
He asks to see Cécile and begs her not to put up any more obstacles to their getting together.
And of course, he's suffering and only she can end it.
Why are we not surprised?

Cécile (really Valmont) writes that she suffers as Danceny does.
The reason she's been holding back is because she heard that men don't love their wives as much if the wives have been too loving before their marriage.
More importantly, she promises to be his, before and during her marriage to Gercourt if that has to happen.

Danceny now chides the Marquise, giving her a hard time for her absence.
He's says he's thinking about her all the time, and lays on the flattery pretty thick.
He admits that his feelings for her are overshadowing his love for Cécile for the moment.
He's having a hard time getting along without the Marquise, who's obviously been doing a great job of reeling him in.

Valmont has sent a messenger to inquire after Madame de Rosemonde, but has not come himself.
She tells Tourvel that Valmont's been going regularly to Mass. She assumes that it's because of Tourvel's influence.

Valmont writes to Madame de Tourvel's priest to ask him to arrange a meeting wherein he can apologize for his errors.
He claims to have some documents that concern her but he can't reveal the contents.
He tells the priest that he is a penitent who longs for forgiveness, and that it's Madame de Tourvel who's inspired him to repent.
He encourages the priest to share these letters with Madame de Tourvel. He knows that the way to her heart is through expressing religious faith and he's using that to weaken her.