t be echoed in the
mind of the Duc de Guise, and he asked him brusquely if he was thinking
about the beauties of Madame de Montpensier. This blunt question
combined with what he had already observed of the Prince's behaviour
made the Duc realise that he had a rival from whom it was essential
that his own love for the Princess should be concealed. In order to
allay all suspicion he answered with a laugh that the Prince himself
had seemed so preoccupied with the thoughts which he was accused of
having that he had deemed it inadvisable to interrupt him; the beauty
of Madame de Montpensier was, he said, nothing new to him, he had been
used to discounting its effect since the days when she was destined to
be his sister-in-law, but he saw that not everyone was so little
dazzled. The Duc d'Anjou admitted that he had never seen anyone to
compare with this young Princess and that he was well aware that the
vision might be dangerous if he was exposed to it too often. He tried
to get the Duc de Guise to confess that he felt the same, but the Duc
would admit to nothing.

On their return to Loches they often recalled with pleasure the events
which had led to their meeting with the Princess de Montpensier, a
subject which did not give rise to the same pleasure at Champigny. The
Prince de Montpensier was dissatisfied with all that had happened
without being able to say precisely why. He found fault with his wife
for being in the boat. He considered that she had welcomed the Princes
too readily; and what displeased him most was that he had noticed the
attention paid to her by the Duc de Guise. This had provoked in him a
furious bout of jealousy in which he recalled the anger displayed by
the Duc at the prospect of his marriage, which caused him to suspect
that even at that time the Duc was in love with his wife. The Comte de
Chabannes as usual made every effort to act as peacemaker, hoping in
this way to show the Princess that his devotion to her was sincere and
disinterested. He could not resist asking her what effect the sight of
the Duc de Guise had produced. She replied that she had been somewhat
upset and embarrassed at the memory of the feelings she had once
displayed to him; she found him more handsome than he had been then and
it had seemed to her that he wished to persuade her that he still loved
her, but she assured the Comte that nothing would shake her
determination not to become involved in any intrigue. The Comte was
hap