MARGUERITE DE VALOIS.
57
self at the door with ton men, and when he
comes out, invite him, in the King's name, to,
dinner; if he accept, conduct him to the cham-
ber, and keep him there; if he resist, seize him,
dead or alive."
Fortunately, Henry had glanced at Catherine,
and observing ber eves fixed so earnestly on De
Mouy, became uneasy; when he saw her give an
order to the captain of the guard, he guessed
all. It was then he made the sign De Nancey
had observed, and which meant, " Save yourself
—you are discovered!" But Henry was not
quite reassured until De Nancey returned, and
he saw by Catherine's face that the officer had
been unsuccessful.
The audience was finished. The King rose
with difficulty, saluted the embassadors, and
retired, leaning on Ambroise Paré, who, since
his accident, had not quitted him an instant.
The Duke d'Alençon had been a mere nobody
throughout the ceremony; and Charles's eyes,
which had been fixed on D'Anjou, had not once
been turned toward him.
The new King of Poland felt himself lost.
Carried off by those barbarians, far from his
mother, he was, so to speak, a second Antaeus,
removed from the earth to which he owed his
strength. Instead of following the King, he
retired to his mother's apartments. On seeing
her beloved son pale beneath the crown, and
bending beneath the royal mantle, Catherine
advanced toward him.
" Oh, mother!" cried the King, "I am con-
demned to die an exile."
"My son," returned Catherine, "have you
so soon forgotten Rene's prediction? Tran-
quilize yourself: you will not be there long."
"Mother, I intreat you," said the Duke
d'Anjou, " on the least probability of the crown
of France being vacant, inform me."
2 " My son," replied the Queen, " until the day
we both of us await, a horse shad be always
saddled in my stable, and a courier ever in my
antechamber ready to set out for Poland. ' '
CHAPTER XLIV.
ORESTES   AND PYLADES.
Henry d'Anjou once departed, peace and
happiness seemed to have returned to the
Louvre. Charles, laying aside his melancholy,
resumed his usually fine and vigorous health,
either hunting each day with Henry, or, if pre-
vented from following that sport, passing the
time in discussing subjects relating to it, and
scolding bis brother-in-law for the indifference
he betrayed for hawking, declaring that he
would be the most accomplished Prince of his
time, if he did but understand the management
of falcons, ger-falcons, hawks, and tiercelets, as
perfectly as he did brocks and hounds. Cath-
erine had returned to all the duties of a good
mother. Kind and gentle toward Charles and
D'Alençon—affectionate to Henry and Margue-
rite —gracious to Madame de Nevers and Madame
de Sauve, she even carried her amiability so far
as to visit Maurevel twice during the time he lay
ill in his residence, situated Rue de la Cerisaie—
alleging, as a reason for this condescension on
her part, that tbe unfortunate object of her pity
had been wounded while in the discharge of
orders received from herself. Marguerite fol-
lowed up her love affairs after the Italian mode
of conducting such matters. Each evening she
stood at her open window, and, both by writing
and gestures, kept up a continual correspond-
ence "with La Mole; while, in each of his letters,
the impatient young man reminded his lovely
mistress of her promise to see him in the Rue
Cloche-Percée.
In a word, there remained but one lonely and
discontented person amidst the various members
of tbe now calm and tranquil Louvre.
It was certainly something to know that La
Mole still lived—much to be the object of _de-
cided preference to so charming and capricious
a person as Madame de Nevers; but the Pied-
montese would thankfully have surrendered all
the tender meetings granted him by the Duchess,
as well <as all the consolatory assurances of Mar-
guerite touching the safety of their common
friend, for one hour's enjoyment of his dear La
Mole's company.
Urged by the wishes of her own heart, as
well as by the supplications of La Mole, and the
deep despair of the woe-begone Coconnas,
Marguerite had appointed to meet Henriette at
the house with the double entrance, and en-
deavor there to discuss, fully and uninterrupt-
edly, those subjects all four had so much at
heart.
Coconnas received Henriette's summons to
be in the Rue Tizon at half past nine with a
very ill grace. Nevertheless, he was punctual
to the assignation, where he found Henriette
already arrived, and not a little offended at be-
ing there flrst.
" Fie, monsieur!" cried she, as he entered,
" is this well, to make—1 will not say a
princess, but a lady—wait for you?"
"Wait?" replied Coconnas. "I like that!
I'll wager you what you like, that we are before
our time."
" I was here certainly before the time fixed."
" Well, aud so was I, or, at least, I should
have been, but for a circumstance. What's
o'clock now?    Scarcely ten, Ithink."
" And my letter named half past nine as the
hour you were to meet me here."
' ' For the purpose of being punctual, I quitted
the Louvre at nine o'clock to repair hither; but
when 1 reached the corner of the Rue de Gre-
nelle, I perceived a person whom I mistook for
La Mole."
" Always something tedious about that La
Mole!"
"Certainly, either with your leave or with
out it."
" Brute!"
" Upon iqy word," said Coconnas, " we seem
bent upon paying each other compliments ^to-
night."
" You are really overpoweringly civil, it must
be confessed; but go on with your story, if it
must be so, and let me hear what became of
your meeting with the individual so like your
dear La Mole. But, stay! for Heaven's sake,
how comes this blood upon your doublet?"
" Ah, that fellow must have sprinkled me
when we were fighting together."
" Have you, then, fought any one?"
" To be sure 1 have."
" And still on La Mole's account."
" For whom do you think I should fight?
For a woman? No, no; I will tell you all about
it. 1 followed the person who had dared to take
upon himself to imitate the walk and manner of
my friend, and overtook him in the Rue Co-
quillière. I eyed him in every 'way, by the
light from a shop window—well, it .was not
my poor La Mole!"
" So far, so good!"
" Ay, but my unknown gentleman turned
quite angry about my following him; and when
I said, ' Sir, you are an ass and a fool to take
upon yourself to bear a distant, resemblance to
my friend M. de la Mole, who is an accomplish-
ed cavalier, while it only requires a nearer view
of you to perceive you are only a vulgarian!' he
drew his sword—1 did the same; and at the
third pass, my angry gallant fell senseless at my
feet, sprinkling me with his blood in falling."
" And did you not afford him any succor?"
" Just as I was about to do so, another cava-
lier, but mounted on horseback, came by. Well,
this time, Duchess, I thought I was quite sure
of finding La Mole, for he resembled him even
more than the preceding—he was going a great
pace, but that did not deter me from running
after him as hard as I could; but I was obliged
to stop to get a little breath, and, in the mean-
time, the horseman disappeared ; and, tired and
dispirited with having had so unsuccessful a
chase, I determined to come here!"
" Upon my word," said the Duchess, " your
conduct is most flattering! It is quite easy to
perceive you no longer love me."
" On the contrary, Duchess, 1 idolize you;
but you do not understand the thing. Is it not
quite possible for me to love aud cherish and
dote upon you, and yet employ my spare time
in eulogizing my friend!"
" You call the moments passed with me spare
time!"
" I can't help it: that poor De la Mole is for-
ever in my thoughts!"
" And you prefer him to me! I see, I know
you do! Annibal, I hate and detest you—there!
-now I've said it. Why not deal candidly with
me, and tell me you prefer this friend to me—
only one thing I warn you—that if you dare to
prefer any creature in the world to me, I'll—
I'll------"
"Henriette, most lovely Duchess! let mead-
vise you, for the sake of your own tranquillity,
not to ask unwise questions—be satisfied that 1
love you, best of women; but you must also
permit me the privilege of loving La Mole above
all other men."
" Well answered!" said a strange voice, sud-
denly, and a large damask curtain being raised,
discovered a panel, which, sliding back into the
wall, and forming a mode of communication
between the two apartments, discovered Là
Mole standing in the doorway, like one of
Titian's splendid paintings set in a gilded frame.
"LaMole!" exclaimed Coconnas, without
taking the slightest notice of Marguerite, or in
any way thanking her for the delightful surprise
she had arranged for him; "LaMole! my friend
my dear, dear friend!"
So saying, he threw himself into his friend's
arms, knocking over the table that stood in his
way, as well as the arm-chair he had been sit-
ting in.
La Mole returned his greetings with equal
warmth; then, addressing" the Duchess de
Nevers: " You must pardon me, madame, if
the mention of my name has been allowed to
disturb your happiness; all 1 can say," con-
tinued he, regarding Marguerite with ineffable
tenderness, "is, that it has not been my fault
that we have not seen each other before this."
" You see, Henriette," said Marguerite, tak-
ing up the conversation, " Ihave kept my word;
here he is!"
Meanwhile, Coconnas, after having embraced
bis friend, and walked round and round him a
dozen times ; after even holding a candelabrum to
his face, tbe better to gaze on his beloved feat-
ures, suddenly turned toward Marguerite, and
kneeling down reverentially, kissed the hem of
her robe.
"Well, well!" said the Duchess de Nevers,
" you seem to forget that I am present; I sup-
pose 1 have grown quite unendurable in your
eyes."
"Mordi!" replied Coconnas, "you are, as
you ever have been, the goddess of my idolatry:
the only difference being, that I can now tell
you so with a lighter heart; and were a host of
savage nations standing by, I would insist and
maintain that all their hyperborean and barbar-
ous countries together could produce nothing so
perfect, so lovely, as you, my Queen of Beauty. "
" Gently, gently, Coconnas," interposed La
Mole; " do you forget that Madame Marguerite
is here?"
"That makes no difference," answered
¦Coconnas, with that half-serious, half-comic air
and manner so peculiarly his own; " I will still
assert that Madame Henriette is the Queen of
Beauty, while Madame Marguerite is a beauty
of a queen!"
"Come, then, my beautiful Queen!" said
Madame de Nevers, perceiving that Coconnas
had neither eyes nor ears for any one but La
Mole, " let us leave these tender friends to have
an hour's chat together. M. Coconnas will per-
haps be a little more rational after that."
Marguerite whispered a few words to La
Mole, and then, with Madame de Nevers, passed
through the open panel to the next room, where
supper was awaiting them.
The'two young men were then left alone.
The flrst questions asked by Coconnas were
touching that 'fatal evening, which had well-
nigh cost him his life. In proportion as La
Mole proceeded in his narration, the Pied-
montese shook with intense emotion.
"And why?" inquired he, "instead of run-
ning about half wild as you fcave done, and
causing me the uneasiness you have done, did
you not seek refuge with our master the Duke,
who would have received and protected you?"
" Do you mean the Duke d'Alençon?" whis-
pered La Mole, " when you say our master?
'Tis to the King of Navarre I owe my life. "
" Excellent, noble King! but what part did
the Duke d'Alençon play in the affair?"
" Oh. he held the cord with whicli I was to
be strangled."
" Mordi!" exclaimed Coconnas, springing up
with violent energy; "are you sure of that?
What! a pale-faced, sickly-looking prince, a
currish mongrel, dare to lay his hands on my
friend! Strangle him, indeed! ha, ha! mordi!
by to morrow he shall hear my opinion on the
subject."
"Are you mad, Coconnas? For Heaven's
sake, calm yourself, and endeavor to recollect
that it is haif past eleven o'clock, and lhat you
are in waiting to-night at the Louvre."
" What care I for that? Good! he may wait
long ere he has my attendance. What, do you
.suppose I will ever again serv.e a man who has
held a cord»to murder my friend with? You are
jesting! No, no, the hand of Providence has
reunited us, and from you I go no more. If
you stay here, I remain also."
"For tbe love of Heaven, Coconnas, mind
what you are about.    You are sober, I trust?"
" Luckily 1 am, or I should most certainly set
the Louvre on fire."
" Come, come, Annibal," persisted La Mole,