Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) Part 4, Letters 131-135 Summary

Letter 131: The Marquise de Merteuil to the Vicomte de Valmont

The Marquise still feels it would be foolish of them to get back together.
She knows they're two of a kind—deceivers—so it would be a no-win situation.
Still, she agrees to give him his reward.
She also reminds Valmont that his word is not good enough. The bargain called for Tourvel's writing as definitive proof of his success and he doesn't have it.
She also says, moreover, that their being together would require sacrifices on his part that he wouldn't be willing to make.
She claims to miss the love and happiness they once had, but it's just not to be.
Is this a trap?

Madame de Tourvel insists that Valmont is no longer full of the vices that other men have.
He's worthy of her worship. Why else would he still be kind to her after he got what he wanted?
And if he's not virtuous, she'd rather die than face the truth.
This doesn't look good.

Valmont insists that he'd definitely make whatever sacrifices the Marquise want even if it's at the expense of Madame de Tourvel.
He tries to convince her (and himself?) that the only reason he's still thinking about Madame de Tourvel is that the situation is just so interesting.
This was just an experiment on his part and he needs time to think about the results.
He's not really in love with her.
He's still working on Cécile, too, after all.
Valmont's convinced that the relationships they've had with others will only make their pleasure in each other more intense.

The Marquise doesn't believe Valmont when he insists that he's not in love with Madame de Tourvel.
This is no "experiment."
The give-away was the language he used to describe Madame de Tourvel. He stopped being sarcastic in his description of her and started using words like "astonishing" and "sensitive."
There's only one way he can prove to her that he's not in love: dump Madame de Tourvel.
Not only that, but he has to continue his plot with Cécile according to her strict instructions.
Then she'll think about giving him his reward.
She doesn't think he'll be able to do it.
The Marquise tells Valmont about a lawsuit against her that she's confident of winning.
Other than that, she's bored, bored, bored.

Tourvel is experiencing what Buffy did when Angel turned bad: suddenly the love of her life treats her like she's nothing.
Valmont insults and humiliates her.
He no longer loves her, and here's how she knows:
She'd been planning to go out, but Valmont came to visit and asked her to stay with him.
He'd been very tender, but then after a couple of hours his tone suddenly changed.
She says he pretended to think of a reason he had to leave right away.
So she decides to gout as she originally planned, and sees Valmont in a carriage with another woman, a known courtesan.
Quelle horreur!
The woman stares at Madame de Tourvel and can't stop laughing.
Madame de Tourvel is devastated and she asks Valmont to return all her letters and never see her again.
She hasn't heard a word from him.