several times without speaking.

Then suddenly stopping before Rene, and fixing on him her eyes, round
and piercing like a hawk's:

"Confess you have made for her some love-philter," said she.

"For whom?" asked Rene, starting.

"La Sauve."

"I, madame?" said Rene; "never!"

"Never?"

"I swear it on my soul."

"There must be some magic in it, however, for he is desperately in love
with her, though he is not famous for his constancy."

"Who, madame?"

"He, Henry, the accursed,--he who is to succeed my three sons,--he who
shall one day be called Henry IV., and is yet the son of Jeanne
d'Albret."

And Catharine accompanied these words with a sigh which made Rene
shudder, for he thought of the famous gloves he had prepared by
Catharine's order for the Queen of Navarre.

"So he still runs after her, does he?" said Rene.

"He does," replied the queen.

"I thought that the King of Navarre was quite in love with his wife
now."

"A farce, Rene, a farce! I know not why, but every one is seeking to
deceive me. My daughter Marguerite is leagued against me; perhaps she,
too, is looking forward to the death of her brothers; perhaps she, too,
hopes to be Queen of France."

"Perhaps so," re-echoed Rene, falling back into his own reverie and
echoing Catharine's terrible suspicion.

"Ha! we shall see," said Catharine, going to the main door, for she
doubtless judged it useless to descend the secret stair, now that she
was sure that they were alone.

Rene preceded her, and in a few minutes they stood in the perfumer's
shop.

"You promised me some new kind of cosmetic for my hands and lips, Rene;
the winter is at hand and you know how sensitive my skin is to the
cold."

"I have already provided for this, madame; and I shall bring you some
to-morrow."

"You would not find me in before nine o'clock to-morrow evening; I shall
be occupied with my devotions during the day."

"I will be at the Louvre at nine o'clock, then, madame."

"Madame de Sauve has beautiful hands and beautiful lips," said Catharine
in a careless tone. "What pomade does she use?"

"For her hands?"

"Yes, for her hands first."

"Heliotrope."

"What for her lips?"

"She is going to try a new opiate of my invention. I was going to bring
your majesty a box of it at the same time."

Catharine mused an instant.

"She is certainly a very beautiful creature," said she, pursuing her
secret thoughts; "and the passion of the Bearnais for her