But she did not laugh long. There were other matters which were not so amusing. Her beloved son was far away in Poland and she yearned for him. Charles was becoming more obstinate, more suspicious of his mother every day. So that situation gave her little to laugh at.

Charles must die. She had promised herself and Henry that. But the death of the King would have to be a slow one. Heaven knew she had everything on her side. His physical state was such that, when speaking of it, Monsieur Paré was very grave. He coughed incessantly and spat blood. His violent moods would often end with those fits of coughing, When she watched him, writhing on the floor, his jacket stained with blood, she would assure herself that it could not now be long.

His wife had given birth to a girl. That was a blessing. Surely he would never have the strength to give the Queen another child. But one could not be sure, and while Charles lived there was great cause for anxiety.

Why should he live? In her private closet she had many powders and potions which had solved such problems for her before and would do so again. But slow deaths were not so easy to achieve as quick ones. If it had just been a matter of giving one dose, that could have been achieved . . . if not at one time, then at another. But when there must be continual doses, it was not so easy.

Neither René, nor Cosmo, nor Lorenzo would be anxious to assist at the death of a King. Moreover Charles was surrounded by certain women, and, ironical as it was, each of these women, while being in herself quite insignificant, unimportant and altogether meek, seemed to stand by the side of the King like an angel with a flaming sword. There was his mistress, the mild Marie Touchet, his wife, the milder Elisabeth, and Madeleine, his nurse. All suspected the King’s mother of trying to shorten his life, and all were prepared to die to save him from her.

And, always hovering close to the King, was Monsieur Paré, the Huguenot, who should have been dispatched during that fateful August and who, owing his life to the King, was determined to pay his debt of gratitude by prolonging the King’s life.

But it was those three women who were the worst obstacles. They were more effective than an armed guard. And what could one do? Remove them? She had not the power to do that, for the King would not allow it; he was the master now. They had succeeded in turning him away from his mother.

And so the King grew weaker, and there were rumours throughout Paris that his mother was responsible for his low state of health. But he continued to live, to the delight of those three women who loved him and to the chagrin of his unnatural mother.


* * *

Margot’s friend, the flighty little Duchesse de Nevers, had a new lover. Little Henriette was so much in love that Margot was inclined to be envious.

Henriette whispered to Margot of her experiences. ‘He is so charming . . . so different. So handsome! So bold! And he is in the service of your brother, Monsieur d’Alençon.’

Margot was alert. ‘Indeed! I would hear more of this.’

‘He has a fair complexion and the most splendid white teeth. You should see them flash when he smiles . . . and he smiles continually.’

‘His name?’ demanded Margot.

‘Annibale. Le Comte Annibale de Coconnas.’

Margot sighed with relief.

‘I like the sound of him. So he is in the service of my brother. How odd that Poor Alençon, who is so unprepossessing himself, should have such handsome men in his service! Tell me more.’

‘He is very quick to anger, Madame, and his hair is reddish rather than brown. His eyes seem golden. I am asking him to my apartments to supper. Would Your Majesty honour us by coming tonight?’

Margot’s eyes sparkled. ‘What if you were discovered? Monsieur le Duc de Nevers . .

‘Has his own affairs to attend to, as Your Majesty well knows.’

‘I do not think that I should come,’ said Margot, deciding at once that she would not miss this for anything, and that it was just what she needed to relieve the monotony of her days. Any gentleman of Alençon’s suite was of interest to her as she might be able to talk to him of that most fascinating La Mole.

‘If you do not come, there will be no supper . . . for it is to be arranged solely on Your Majesty’s account.’

‘What does this mean?’ demanded Margot.

‘I suppose I must tell you, although it is supposed to be a secret. A friend of Monsieur de Coconnas is so enamoured of you that he is plunged in deepest melancholy and can neither eat nor sleep until he speaks with you. My Annibale is a most warm-hearted man, a most compassionate man and he . .

‘Enough of your Annibale, Henriette. We know he is charming. Tell me of the melancholy gentleman.’

‘He is very handsome, and it seems that he saw you and spoke to you, and you to him. You seemed so gracious that he has imagined that his wildest dreams may not be without some hope of fulfilment, and his name is . . .’

‘Le Comte Boniface de la Mole!’ said Margot.

‘You knew then, Madame?’

‘As you said, Henriette, we met. He is charming and your Annibale is coarse compared with him. That melancholy of which you speak . . . it is very deep. One feels he must be a poet, a dreamer. One longs to chase away his gloom. His eyes are startlingly blue. He is like a beautiful Greek statue. Already I think of him as my Hyacinth.’

‘If you will but attend our supper party, Madame, you will make your Hyacinth very happy.’

‘I will consider it.’

‘He intends to go to Cosmo Ruggieri this very afternoon to ask, first for some charm which will make you decide to attend the party, and then for another which will make you regard him favourably.’

‘But this is insolence!’ cried Margot delightedly.

‘You must forgive him, Madame. He is so much in love. And when a man cannot eat or sleep, Your Majesty must understand that he cannot go on like that.’

‘These are the tales they tell us, Henriette.’

‘But, Madame, this is true. Annibale swears it. La Mole has seen you often. He never misses a chance of seeing you. But he loved from afar . . . and then . . . when you spoke to him . . .’

‘Henriette, this afternoon, we will go to Ruggieri, and we will make him hide us, so that we may look at this young man and hear what he says.’

The two frivolous young women could not stop laughing-Margot embraced her dear friend, Henriette. Margot was delighted by the prospect of a love affair which she was sure would be one of the most charming she had ever experienced. It was just what she needed to keep intact her pride and annoyance with the Duke of Guise.


* * *

Heavy cloaks concealing them, Margot and Henriette de Nevers left the Louvre for the house of the Ruggieri brothers.

Margot allowed Henriette to lead the way into the shop, as she felt that she was more likely to be recognized by the apprentice than was Henriette.

The shop was small and dark and it smelt of the perfumes and cosmetics which were sold to any who cared to buy them. The secret business of these sinister brothers was carried on beyond the shop.

The apprentice came forward, bowing, for in spite of their cloaks, it was obvious that these ladies were of the quality.

‘My mistress wishes to see your master,’ said Henriette, at which the young man, nodding gravely, announced that he would carry the news of the ladies’ arrival to his master. In a few moments he returned with Cosmo Ruggieri.

Margot threw back her cloak and Cosmo said at once,: ‘Please come this way.’

When the two young women were with him on the other side of that door which led from the shop, he locked it, and asked them to follow him, which they did. He led the way up a staircase and unlocking a door in a corridor ushered them into a small room, the walls of which were hung with tapestry of a not very elaborate kind.

‘What can I do for Your Majesty?’ asked Cosmo.

The two of them were laughing so much that they could scarcely tell him. At length Margot said: ‘There is a young Count coming here this afternoon to ask you for a charm. He is in love, and we want to overhear what he says to you. You can put us somewhere where we can look on without being seen. I know you often hide my mother here. I know there are numerous secret hiding-places and holes in the wall through which it is possible to watch what goes on in some of your chambers. You must take this young man to a room which is fitted with one of these secret places, and the Duchess and I will look on. If you refuse I shall know that you do not wish to please me.’

As Cosmo certainly did wish to please the young Queen of Navarre, who was too important a person to be flouted, he smiled deprecatingly and said: ‘It is possible, if you two young ladies do not mind waiting in rather cramped quarters, perhaps for some time, as I shall have to secrete you in your hiding-place before the gentleman arrives.’

‘Conduct us to the hiding-place at once,’ said Margot.

Cosmo bowed and led them along a corridor and up a short staircase to a small apartment. As they entered this room, Henriette gripped Margot’s arm and Margot smiled at her scornfully, noting her superstitious fear. Margot herself was merely enchanted with what lay before them.

They were in the laboratory of the Ruggieri brothers. Its walls were panelled and strewn about the room were strange and gruesome objects,. On one bench lay a human skeleton from which Henriette found it difficult to take her eyes. The signs of the Zodiac adorned the ceiling; and on the wooden panels were carefully drawn cabalistic signs. A huge murky mirror hung on one wall and the two young women saw their reflections, grey and ghostlike beneath two human skulls which seemed to be hanging from the ceiling. Over a fire a cauldron was steaming and the smoke swirled about the room, so it appeared to Margot and Henriette, in fantastic shapes. On a large table were pictures of the stars and the planets, a balance, strange instruments, wax figures, several jars in which could be seen the bodies of small animals, or parts of their bodies, in various stages of decomposition. The light from two oil lamps which were fixed on brackets in the wall did not succeed in lighting the corners of the room, so that it seemed to extend farther than their eyes could see. The scented oil in the lamps fought, not quite successfully, with the unpleasantly odorous objects in the room.