CHAPTER XXII.
"SIRE, YOU SHALL BE KING."
"Sire," said Rene to Henry, "I have come to speak of something which hasbeen on my mind for some time."
"Perfumery?" said Henry, smiling.
"Well, yes, sire,--perfumery," replied Rene, with a singular nod ofacquiescence.
"Speak, I am listening to you. This is a subject which has alwaysinterested me deeply."
Rene looked at Henry to try, in spite of his words, to read theimpenetrable thought; but seeing that it was perfectly impossible, hecontinued:
"One of my friends, sire, has just arrived from Florence. This friend isgreatly interested in astrology."
"Yes," interrupted Henry, "I know that it is a passion withFlorentines."
"In company with the foremost students of the world he has read thehoroscopes of the chief gentlemen of Europe."
"Ah! ah!" exclaimed Henry.
"And as the house of Bourbon is at the head of the highest, descended asit is from the Count of Clermont, the fifth son of Saint Louis, yourmajesty must know that your horoscope has not been overlooked."
Henry listened still more attentively.
"Do you remember this horoscope?" said the King of Navarre, with a smilewhich he strove to render indifferent.
"Oh!" replied Rene, shaking his head, "your horoscope is not one to beforgotten."
"Indeed!" said Henry, ironically.
"Yes, sire; according to this horoscope your majesty is to have a mostbrilliant destiny."
The young prince gave a lightning glance which was almost at once lostunder cover of indifference.
"Every Italian oracle is apt to flatter," said Henry; "but he whoflatters lies. Are there not those who have predicted that I wouldcommand armies? I!" He burst out laughing. But an observer less occupiedwith himself than Rene would have noticed and realized the effort ofthis laugh.
"Sire," said Rene, coldly, "the horoscope tells better than that."
"Does it foretell that at the head of one of these armies I shall winbattles?"
"Better than that, sire."
"Well," said Henry; "you will see that I shall be conqueror!"
"Sire, you shall be king."
"Well! _Ventre saint gris_!" exclaimed Henry, repressing a violentbeating of his heart; "am I not that already?"
"Sire, my friend knows what he promises; not only will you be king, butyou will reign."
"In that case," said Henry, in the same mocking tone, "your friend musthave ten crowns of gold, must he not, Rene? for such a prophecy is veryambitious, especially in times like these. Well, Rene, as I am not rich,I will give your friend five now and five more when the prophecy isfulfilled."
"Sire," said Madame de Sauve, "do not forget that you are alreadypledged to Dariole, and do not overburden yourself with promises."
"Madame," said Henry, "I hope when this time comes that I shall betreated as a king, and that they will be satisfied if I keep half of mypromises."
"Sire," said Rene, "I will continue."
"Oh, that is not all, then?" said Henry. "Well, if I am emperor, I willgive twice as much."
"Sire, my friend has returned from Florence with the horoscope, which herenewed in Paris, and which always gives the same result; and he told mea secret."
"A secret of interest to his majesty?" asked Charlotte, quickly.
"I think so," said the Florentine.
"He is searching for words," thought Henry, without in any way coming toRene's rescue. "Apparently the thing is difficult to tell."
"Speak, then," went on the Baroness de Sauve; "what is it about?"
"It is about all the rumors of poisoning," said the Florentine, weighingeach of his words separately, "it is about all the rumors of poisoningwhich for some time have been circulated around court." A slightmovement of the nostrils of the King of Navarre was the only indicationof his increased attention at the sudden turn in the conversation.
"And your friend the Florentine," said Henry, "knows something aboutthis poisoning?"
"Yes, sire."
"How can you tell me a secret which is not yours, Rene, especially whenthe secret is such an important one?" said Henry, in the most naturaltone he could assume.
"This friend has some advice to ask of your majesty."
"Of me?"
"What is there surprising in that, sire? Remember the old soldier ofActium who, having a law-suit on hand, asked advice of Augustus."
"Augustus was a lawyer, Rene, and I am not."
"Sire, when my friend confided this secret to me, your majesty stillbelonged to the Calvinist party, of which you were the chief head, andof which Monsieur de Conde was the second."
"Well?" said Henry.
"This friend hoped that you would use your all-powerful influence overMonsieur de Conde and beg him not to be hostile to him."
"Explain this to me, Rene, if you wish me to understand it," said Henry,without betraying the least change in his face or voice.
"Sire, your majesty will understand at the first word. This friend knowsall the particulars of the attempt to poison Monseigneur de Conde."
"There has been an attempt to poison the Prince de Conde?" exclaimedHenry with a well-assumed astonishment. "Ah, indeed, and when was this?"
Rene looked fixedly at the king, and replied merely by these words:
"A week ago, your majesty."
"Some enemy?" asked the king.
"Yes," replied Rene, "an enemy whom your majesty knows and who knowsyour majesty."
"As a matter of fact," said Henry, "I think I have heard this mentioned,but I am ignorant of the details which your friend has to reveal. Tellthem to me."
"Well, a perfumed apple was offered to the Prince of Conde. Fortunately,however, when it was brought to him his physician was with him. He tookit from the hands of the messenger and smelled it to test its odor andsoundness. Two days later a gangrene swelling of the face, anextravasation of the blood, a running sore which ate away his face, werethe price of his devotion or the result of his imprudence."
"Unfortunately," replied Henry, "being half Catholic already, I havelost all influence over Monsieur de Conde. Your friend was wrong,therefore, in addressing himself to me."
"It was not only in regard to the Prince de Conde that your majestycould be of use to my friend, but in regard to the Prince de Porcianalso, the brother of the one who was poisoned."
"Ah!" exclaimed Charlotte, "do you know, Rene, that your stories partakeof the gruesome? You plead at a poor time. It is late, your conversationis death-like. Really, your perfumes are worth more." Charlotte againextended her hand towards the opiate box.
"Madame," said Rene, "before testing that, as you are about to do, hearwhat cruel results wicked men can draw from it."
"Really, Rene," said the baroness, "you are funereal this evening."
Henry frowned, but he understood that Rene wished to reach a goal whichhe did not yet see, and he resolved to push towards this end theconversation which awakened in him such painful memories.
"And," he continued, "you knew the details of the poisoning of thePrince de Porcian?"
"Yes," said he. "It is known that every night he left a lamp burningnear his bed; the oil was poisoned and he was asphyxiated."
Henry clinched his fingers, which were damp with perspiration.
"So," he murmured, "he whom you call your friend knows not only thedetails of the poisoning, but the author of it?"
"Yes, and it is for this reason that he wished to ask you if you woulduse over the Prince of Porcian the remains of that influence and havethe murderer pardoned for the death of his brother."
"Unfortunately," replied Henry, "still being half Huguenot, I have noinfluence over Monsieur le Prince de Porcian; your friend thereforewould have done wrong in speaking to me."
"But what do you think of the intentions of Monsieur le Prince de Condeand of Monsieur de Porcian?"
"How should I know their intentions, Rene? God, whom I may know, has notgiven me the pri
vilege of reading their hearts."
"Your majesty must ask yourself," said the Florentine calmly. "Is therenot in the life of your majesty some event so gloomy that it can serveas a test of clemency, so painful that it is a touchstone forgenerosity?"
These words were uttered in a tone which made Charlotte herself tremble.It was an allusion so direct, so pointed, that the young woman turnedaside to hide her blush, and to avoid meeting Henry's eyes. Henry made asupreme effort over himself; his forehead, which during the words of theFlorentine wore threatening lines, unbent, and he changed the dignified,filial grief which tightened his heart into vague meditation.
"In my life," said he, "a gloomy circumstance--no, Rene, no; I rememberin my youth only folly and carelessness mingled with more or less cruelnecessity imposed on every one by the demands of nature and the proofsof God."
Rene in turn became constrained as he glanced from Henry to Charlotte,as though to rouse the one and hold back the other; for Charlotte hadreturned to her toilet to hide the anxiety caused by their conversation,and had again extended her hand towards the opiate box.
"But, sire, if you were the brother of the Prince of Porcian or the sonof the Prince of Conde, and if they had poisoned your brother orassassinated your father"--Charlotte uttered a slight cry and raised theopiate to her lips. Rene saw the gesture, but this time he stopped herneither by word nor gesture; he merely exclaimed:
"In Heaven's name, sire, answer! Sire, if you were in their place whatwould you do?"
Henry recovered himself. With trembling hand he wiped his forehead, onwhich stood drops of cold perspiration, and rising to his full height,replied in the midst of the silence which until then had held Rene andCharlotte:
"If I were in their place, and if I were sure of being king, that is,sure of representing God on earth, I would act like God, I shouldpardon."
"Madame," cried Rene, snatching the opiate from the hands of Madame deSauve, "madame, give me back this box; my messenger boy, I see, has madea mistake in it. To-morrow I will send you another."
La reine Margot. English Page 23