efore all things to use his
authority so as to prevent Pope Clement from signing the bull that
would sanction Andre's coronation, and he ended his letter by earnestly
entreating his uncle to win the pope's consent to his marriage with the
queen's sister.

"We shall see, fair cousin," he said as he sealed his letter, "which of
us is best at understanding where our interest lies. You would not have
me as a friend, so you shall have me as an enemy. Sleep on in the arms
of your lover: I will wake you when the time comes. I shall be Duke of
Calabria perhaps some day, and that title, as you well know, belongs to
the heir to the throne."

The next day and on the following days a remarkable change took place
in the behaviour of Charles towards Andre: he showed him signs of great
friendliness, cleverly flattering his inclinations, and even persuading
Friar Robert that, far from feeling any hostility in the matter of
Andre's coronation, his most earnest desire was that his uncle's wishes
should be respected; and that, though he might have given the impression
of acting contrary to them, it had only been done with a view to
appeasing the populace, who in their first excitement might have been
stirred up to insurrection against the Hungarians. He declared with
much warmth that he heartily detested the people about the queen, whose
counsels tended to lead her astray, and he promised to join Friar Robert
in the endeavour to get rid of Joan's favourites by all such means
as fortune might put at his disposal. Although the Dominican did not
believe in the least in the sincerity of his ally's protestations, he
yet gladly welcomed the aid which might prove so useful to the prince's
cause, and attributed the sudden change of front to some recent rupture
between Charles and his cousin, promising himself that he would make
capital out of his resentment. Be that as it might, Charles wormed
himself into Andre's heart, and after a few days one of them could
hardly be seen without the other. If Andre went out hunting, his
greatest pleasure in life, Charles was eager to put his pack or his
falcons at his disposal; if Andre rode through the town, Charles was
always ambling by his side. He gave way to his whims, urged him to
extravagances, and inflamed his angry passions: in a word, he was the
good angel--or the bad one--who inspired his every thought and guided
his every action.

Joan soon understood this business, and as a fact had expected it