La Dame de Monsoreau (3 page)

This time it was impossible to be mistaken. Quelus ma^e a sign to D'O and D'lSpernon, who, being engaged elsewhere, had had no share in all that had just passed.

" Gentlemen," said Quelus, leading them aside, " I want you to take counsel together. As for you, Saint-Luc, you had better have a talk with the King and finish making your peace with him. In my opinion the matter has begun favorably."

Saint-Luc preferred this course, and approached the King and Chicot, who were having words.

Quelus, on his side, led his friends to a recess in one of the windows.

" Now," asked d'Epernon, " I should just like to know what you mean. I was in a fair way of making myself agreeable to Joyeuse's wife, and I give you fair warning that if your story is not of the most interesting description I '11 never forgive you."

"My meaning is, gentlemen," answered Quelus, "that, after the ball, I am going at once a-hunting."

" Good ! " said D'O, " a-hunting what ? "

"A-hunting the wild boar.'*

"What bee have you got in your bonnet? Have you a fancy for getting yourself disembowelled in some thicket in this freezing weather ? "

" No matter ; I 'm off."

" Alone ? "

" No, with Maugiron and Schomberg. We go a-hunting for the King."

" Ah, yes, now I understand," said Schomberg and Maugiron in unison.

"The King wishes a boar's head to-morrow for breakfast."

" With the neck dressed a Vitalienne" said Maugiron, alluding to the simple turn-down collar which Bussy wore, to mark his dislike of the ruffs of the minions.

" Aha ! " said D'Epernon, " good ! I 'm one of the party, then."

" But what in the devil are you all driving at ? " inquired D'O. " I am altogether at sea."

" Eh ? Look around you, my darling."

"Well! I'm looking."

" And is there any one there who has laughed in your face ? "

" Bussy, as I imagine."

" Well, then! Don't you think you have before your eyes a boar whose head would be pleasing to the King ? "

" You believe the King would " — said D'O.

" 'T is he who asks for it," answered Quelus.

" So be it, then ! The hunt is up ! But how shall we do our hunting ? "

" Under cover; it is the surest."

Bussy noticed the conference, and having no doubt that he was the subject of it, approached, a sneer on his lips, with his friends.

" Look, Antraguet! Look, Ribeirac ! " said he ; " how closely they are grouped together ! Is n't it quite touching ? It makes you think of Euryalus and Nisus, Damon and Pythias, Castor and — But, by the way, where is Pollux ? "

" Pollux is married," said Antraguet, " so that Castor is left all alone."

" What can they be doing there ? " asked Bussy, with an insolent glance in their direction.

" I should wager they are plotting the invention of some new kind of starch," said Bibeirac.

" No, gentlemen," said Quelus, smiling, <•' we were talking about hunting."

" Really, Signer Cupid," said Bussy, " it is very cold weather for hunting. You'll get your skin all chapped."

" Monsieur," replied Maugiron, in the same polite tone, " we have very warm gloves and our doublets are lined with fur."

" Ah, I am reassured. • Does the hunt take place soon ? "

" Well, perhaps to-night," said Schomberg.

" There is no perhaps ; to-night, certainly," added Maugiron.

" In that case, I must warn the King," said Bussy. " What would his Majesty say if he discovered to-morrow that all his friends had caught colds ? "

" Don't give yourself the trouble of warning the King, monsieur," said Quelus; "his Majesty knows already that we are going a-hunting."

" Larks ? " asked Bussy, in his most insulting manner.

" &o, monsieur," said Quelus. " We hunt the boar. We must have a boar's head. It is absolutely needed."

" And the animal ? " inquired Antraguet.

" Is started," said Schomberg.

" But still you ought to know where it will pass ? " asked Livarot.

" We shall try to learn," said D'O. " Would you like to hunt with us, M. de Bussy ? "

" No," answered the latter, continuing the conversation in the same tone; " in fact, I cannot. To-morrow I must visit M. d'Anjou and take part in the reception of M. de Monsoreau, to whom Monseigneur has, as you are aware, given the post of grand huntsman."

" But to-night ? " asked Quelus.

" Ah, to-night I cannot, either ; I have a rendezvous in a mysterious house in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine."

" Aha! " said D'Epernon ; " so Queen Margot is incognita in Paris, M. de Bussy, for we have learned that you became La Mole's heir."

" Yes, but I renounced my inheritance some time ago. and the person in question is n't the same at all."

" And so this person expects you in the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine ? " inquired D'O.

" Quite correct. And, by the way, I should like to have your advice, M. de Quelus."

" You can have it. Although not a lawyer, I rather pride myself on giving good advice, particularly to my friends."

" The streets of Paris are said to be very unsafe ; the Faubourg Saint-Antoine is a very isolated quarter. What road would you advise me to take ?"

"Faith," said Quelus, "as the Louvre boatman will doubtless spend the night waiting for you, if I were in your

place, monsieur, I should take the ferry at the Pre-aux-Clercs, turn the tower at the corner, follow the quay up to the Grand-Chatelet, and then reach the Faubourg Saint-Antoine by the Hue de la Tixeranderie. Once at the end of the Rue Saint-Antoine, if you pass the Hotel des Fournelles without accident, you will probably arrive safe and sound at the mysterious rendezvous of which you have just told us."

" Thanks for your direction, M. de Quelus," said Bussy. " You mention the ferry at the Pre-aux-Clercs, the tower at the corner, the quay up to the Grand-Chatelet, the Rue de la Tixeranderie, and the Rue Saint-Antoine. Nothing can be clearer. You may rest assured I shall not depart an inch from the route."

And saluting the five friends he withdrew, saying in quite a loud voice to Balzac d'Entragues : " Decidedly, Antraguet, we are losing our time with those fellows; it's time to be off."

Livarot and Ribeirac laughed as they followed Bussy and D'Entragues, who walked before them, not forgetting to turn round often.

The minions remained calm; they seemed determined not to understand.

As Bussy was crossing the last salon, in which was stationed Madame de Saint-Luc, who never took her eyes off her husband, Saint-Luc made her a sign, and glanced at the Due d'Anjou's favorite. Jeanne, with that clear-sightedness which is the privilege of women, understood al; once, and running up, stopped the gentleman in his progress.

" Oh, M. de Bussy," said she, " every one is talking of a sonnet of yours, and I am told it is "

" Against the King, madame ? " asked Bussy.

" No, in honor of the Queen. You 'must repeat it to me."

" With pleasure, madame," said Bussy, and offering her his arm he moved along, reciting the sonnet requested.

During this time, Saint-Luc returned softly to the minions, and heard Quelus saying:

" The animal will not be difficult to stalk, we know his tracks; so, then, at the corner of the Hotel des Tournelles, near the Porte Saint-Antoine, opposite the Hotel Saint-Pol."

" And each of us with a lackey ? " inquired D'Epernon.

" No, no, Nogaret ; no," said Quelus, " let us be alone, and keep our own secret, and do our own work. I hate him, but it

would shame me to have a lackey's stick touch him ; he is too much of the gentleman for that."

" Do the whole six of us go out together ? " asked Mau-giron.

" The whole five, not the whole six of us, by any means," said Saint-Luc.

" True, we had forgotten you had taken a wife. We were looking on you as still a bachelor," said Schomberg.

" And, in fact," continued D'O, " the least we could do would be to let poor Saint-Luc stay with his wife the first night' of his marriage."

" You are out there, gentlemen," said Saint-Luc; " it is not my wife that keeps me ; -though you will agree she 's well worth staying for ; it is the King."

"What! the King?"

" Yes, his Majesty has ordered me to escort him back to the Louvre."

The young men looked at him with a smile Saint-Luc vainly tried to understand.

" You see how it is," said Quelus, " the King is so extravagantly fond of you he cannot do without you."

" Besides, we have no need of Saint-Luc," said Schomberg. " Let us leave him, then, to his King and his lady."

" Hum ! the beast is formidable," said D'Epernon.

" Bah ! " retorted Quelus, " just set me in front of it, give me a good boar-spear, and leave the rest to me."

The voice of Henri was heard calling for Saint-Luc.

" Gentlemen," said he, " you understand, the King is calling for me. Good luck to your hunting and good-by."

And he left them immediately. But instead of going to the King he glided along the walls where there were still spectators and dancers, and reached the door where Bussy was standing, retained by the fair bride, who was doing her best to prevent him from going farther.

"Ah, good evening, M. de Saint-Luc," said the young man. « But — Why, you look quite scared ! Do you, perchance, form one of the great hunting-party that is preparing ? That would redound to your courage, but scarcely to your chivalry."

" Monsieur," answered Saint-Luc, " I looked scared because I have been seeking you."

" Indeed ! "

" And because I was afraid you were gone. My dear

Jeanne," he added, " tell your father to try and detain the King awhile. I must say a few words to M. de Bussy in private."

Jeanne hurried off. All this was a mystery to her; but she yielded, feeling that the matter was important.

" What do you want to say to me, M. de Saint-Luc ? " asked Bussy.

" I wanted to say, M. le Comte," replied Saint-Luc, " that if you had any rendezvous this evening you would do well to adjourn it till to-morrow, for the streets of Paris are unsafe, and that, if this rendezvous was likely to lead you in the direction of the Bastile, you would do well to avoid the Hotel des Tournelles, where there is a nook in which several men could hide. This is what I had to tell you, M. de Bussy. God forbid I should think a man like you could be frightened ! I only ask you to reflect on what I have said."

At this moment was heard the voice of Chicot crying : " Saint-Luc ! My little Saint-Luc ! come, now, don't try to hide as you are doing. You can see very well that I 'm waiting for you to return to the Louvre."

" Sire, here I am," aswered Saint-Luc, hastening in the direction of Chicot's voice.

Near the jester stood Henri III., to whom a page was already handing his heavy ermine-lined cloak, while another presented thick gloves that reached to the elbow, and a third, the velvet-lined mask.

" Sire," said Saint-Luc, addressing both the Henris at once, " I am about to have the honor of lighting you to your litters."

" Not at all," replied Henri, " Chicot is going his way, and I am going mine. My friends are all scamps, letting me find my way alone to the Louvre, while they are having their fun and frisking about in the mummeries of the carnival. I had counted on them, and this is how they treat me. Now, you understand you cannot let me set out in this style. You are a sober, married man ; it is your duty to bring me back safe to my wife. Come along, my friend, come. Ho there ! a horse for M. de Saint-Luc — But no, it's useless," he added, as if on second thought. u My litter is wide ; there is room for two." Jeanne de Brissac had not lost a word of this conversation. She wished to speak, say a word to her husband, warn her father that the King was carrying off her husband 5 but Saint-

Luc, placing a finger on his lips, indicated the necessity for silence and circumspection.

" Peste ! " he murmured, " now that I am reconciled with Franqois d'Anjou, I 'm not going to quarrel with Henri de Va-lois. Sire," he added aloud, " here I am, so devoted to your Majesty that if you ordered me to follow you to the end of the world I should do so."

There was a mighty tumult, then mighty genuflexions, then a mighty silence, and all to hear the adieus of the King to Mademoiselle de Brissac and her father. They were charming

Then the horses pawed the court-yard, the torches cast a red glare on the windows. At length, with a half-laugh and a half-shiver, fled into the shadow and the fog the royal courtiers and the wedding-guests.

Jeanne, now alone with her women, entered her chamber and knelt before the image of a saint to whom she had a particular devotion. Then she asked them to retire and have a collation ready for her husband on his return.

M. de Brissac did more. He sent six guards to wait for the young husband at the gate of the Louvre and escort him home. But, after ten hours' waiting, the guards sent one of their comrades to inform the marshal that all the gates of the Louvre were shut, and that, before the last was closed, the captain of the watch had said :

" You need not wait any longer, it's useless ; no person can now leave the Louvre to-night. His Majesty has gone to bed, and every one else is asleep."

The marshal carried this news to his daughter, who declared that she was too anxious to go to bed, and would sit up and wait for her husband.

CHAPTER II.

NOT EVERY ONE THAT OPENS THE DOOR ENTERS THE HOUSE.

THE Porte Saint-Antoine was a sort of stone arch, not unlike the Porte Saint-Denis and the Porte Saint-Martin of the present day, only it was connected on the left with the buildings adjacent to the Bastile, and so was, in some sort, attached to the ancient fortress.