arie de Medicis. They
had merely exchanged one scene of royal display for another; and when,
upon the morrow, they were invited to attend a hunt which had been
organized in their honour, their surprise and gratification were too
evident for concealment.[34]

That the Queen-mother deeply felt the extent of the sacrifice made by M.
d'Epernon in her cause can admit of no doubt, for she was aware that he
was rapidly exhausting his resources in order to uphold her dignity; and
it is equally certain that she, on her side, was unwearied in her
efforts to ensure to him the gratitude and respect of her royal guests;
an attempt in which she so fully succeeded that on the return of the two
young Princes to the capital, the admiration which they expressed both
of the Queen and her deliverer excited the displeasure of De Luynes, who
could ill brook the rivalry of a man whom he at once feared and hated.
It was rumoured that this visit of the royal brothers to Angouleme had
been authorized by Louis at the suggestion of the favourite, who had
laboured to convince them of his anxiety for the return of Marie to the
Court, and had solicited their assistance in impressing upon her the
sincerity of his professions. Be this as it may, however, it is at least
certain that if the Princes lent themselves to his views, they failed in
producing the desired effect upon her mind; as, despite the invitation
of the King that she should approach nearer to Tours in order to
facilitate their projected interview, she constantly excused herself
upon the most frivolous pretexts, and continued to reside at Angouleme
without making the slightest preparation to obey his summons.[35]

This reluctance on her part to conclude a reconciliation, of which she
had hitherto expressed herself so desirous, excited the surprise and
apprehension of the Court, who sought a solution of the mystery from the
Bishop of Lucon; but the wily Richelieu was careful not to betray that
they were his own counsels which regulated the conduct of the
Queen-mother. He had well weighed his position, and he felt that it was
not yet sufficiently assured to enable him to oppose his influence to
that of De Luynes. He aspired to a seat in the Council, and in order to
attain it he must render himself more necessary to the favourite than he
had hitherto been enabled to do; a fact to which he was keenly alive.
Should the mother and the son meet at that moment, he was aware that the
excitable tem