Part 135 (2/2)
Light as were the steps of the queen, Henry heard them and turned round.
”You, madame!” he exclaimed.
”Yes,” said Marguerite. ”Quick! Read this!” and she handed him the open letter.
It contained these lines:
”_Sire: The moment has come for putting our plan of flight into execution. The day after to-morrow there will be hunting along the Seine, from Saint Germain to Maisons, that is, all along the forest._
”_Go to the hunt, although it is hawking; wear a good coat of mail under your suit; take your best sword and ride the best horse in your stable. About noon, when the chase is at its height, and the King is galloping after the falcon, escape alone if you come alone; with the Queen of Navarre if the queen will follow you._
”_Fifty of our men will be hidden in the Pavilion of Francois I., of which we have the key; no one will know that they will be there, for they will have come at night, and the shutters will be closed._
”_You will pa.s.s by the Alley of the Violettes, at the end of which I shall be watching; at the right of this alley in an open s.p.a.ce will be Messieurs de la Mole and Coconnas, with two horses. These horses are intended to replace yours and that of her majesty the Queen of Navarre, if necessary._
”_Adieu, sire; be ready, as we shall be._”
”You will be,” said Marguerite, uttering after sixteen hundred years the same words that Caesar spoke on the banks of the Rubicon.
”Be it so, madame,” replied Henry; ”I will not fail you.”
”Now, sire, be a hero; it is not difficult. You have but to follow the path that is indicated, and make a beautiful throne for me,” said the daughter of Henry II.
An imperceptible smile rose to the thin lips of the Bearnais. He kissed Marguerite's hand, and went out to explore the corridor, whistling the refrain of an old song:
”_Cil qui mieux batt.i.t la muraille_ _N'entra pas dedans le chasteau._”[17]
The precaution was wise, for just as he opened the door of his sleeping-room the Duc d'Alencon opened that of his antechamber. Henry motioned to Marguerite, and then, aloud, said:
”Ah! is it you, brother? Welcome.”
At the sign from her husband the queen had understood everything, and stepped hurriedly into a dressing-closet, in front of the door of which hung a thick tapestry. The Duc d'Alencon entered with a timorous step and looked around him.
”Are we alone, brother?” asked he in a whisper.
”Entirely. But what is the matter? You seem disturbed.”
”We are discovered, Henry.”
”How?--discovered?”
”Yes, De Mouy has been arrested.”
”I know it.”
”Well, De Mouy has told the King all.”
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