ght enter.

The queen at once separated the letter, put one of the sheets in her
robe, the other in her pocket, hurriedly closed the window, and stepped
to the door.

"Enter, sire," said she.

Notwithstanding the fact that Marguerite had been careful to close the
window quickly and gently, the sound had reached Henry, whose acute
senses, in the midst of people he greatly mistrusted, had almost
acquired the exquisite delicacy they attain in the savage. But the King
of Navarre was not one of those tyrants who forbid their wives from
taking the air and watching the stars.

Henry was as gracious and smiling as ever.

"Madame," said he, "while every one is rehearsing the coming ceremonial,
I thought I would come and have a little talk with you about my affairs,
which you still regard as yours, do you not?"

"Certainly, monsieur," replied Marguerite; "are not our interests one
and the same?"

"Yes, madame, and that is why I wanted to ask what you thought about
Monsieur le Duc d'Alencon's avoiding me so for the last few days. The
day before yesterday he even went to Saint Germain. Does it not mean
either that he is planning to leave by himself, for he is watched very
little, or that he is not going to leave at all? Give me your opinion,
madame, if you please. I confess it will be a great relief to me to tell
you mine."

"Your majesty is right in being anxious at my brother's silence. I have
been thinking about it all day, and my idea is that as circumstances
have changed he has changed with them."

"You mean, do you not, that seeing King Charles ill and the Duc d'Anjou
King of Poland he would not be averse to staying in Paris to keep watch
over the crown of France?"

"Exactly."

"Be it so. I ask nothing better than for him to remain," said Henry;
"only that will change our entire plan. To leave without him I shall
need three times the guarantees I should have asked for had I gone with
your brother, whose name and presence in the enterprise would have been
my safeguard. But what surprises me is that I have not heard from
Monsieur de Mouy. It is not like him to stay away so long. Have you had
any news of him, madame?"

"I, sire!" exclaimed Marguerite, in astonishment; "why, how could you
expect"--

"Why, by Heaven, my dear, nothing would be more natural. In order to
please me, you were kind enough to save the life of young La Mole,--he
must have reached Nantes,--and if one can get to a place he can easily
get