e terms of his grandfather's will,
inherit the kingdom by right of his wife Marie in the case of Joan's
dying without lawful issue, sent to the queen two commands: first,
that she should not dream of contracting a new marriage without first
consulting him in the choice of a husband; secondly, that she should
invest him at once with the title of Duke of Calabria. To compel his
cousin to make these two concessions, he added that if she should be so
ill advised as to refuse either of them, he should hand over to justice
the proofs of the crime and the names of the murderers. Joan, bending
beneath the weight of this new difficulty, could think of no way to
avoid it; but Catherine, who alone was stout enough to fight this nephew
of hers, insisted that they must strike at the Duke of Durazzo in his
ambition and hopes, and tell him, to begin with--what was the fact--that
the queen was pregnant. If, in spite of this news, he persisted in his
plans, she would find some means or other, she said, of causing trouble
and discord in her nephew's family, and wounding him in his most
intimate affections or closest interests, by publicly dishonouring him
through his wife or his mother.

Charles smiled coldly when his aunt came to tell him from the queen
that she was about to bring into the world an infant, Andre's posthumous
child. What importance could a babe yet unborn possibly have--as a fact,
it lived only a few months--in the eyes of a man who with such admirable
coolness got rid of people who stood in his wary, and that moreover by
the hand of his own enemies? He told the empress that the happy news
she had condescended to bring him in person, far from diminishing his
kindness towards his cousin, inspired him rather with more interest and
goodwill; that consequently he reiterated his suggestion, and renewed
his promise not to seek vengeance for his dear Andre, since in a certain
sense the crime was not complete should a child be destined to survive;
but in case of a refusal he declared himself inexorable. He cleverly
gave Catherine to understand that, as she had some interest herself in
the prince's death, she ought for her own sake to persuade the queen to
stop legal proceedings.

The empress seemed to be deeply impressed by her nephew's threatening
attitude, and promised to do her best to persuade the queen to grant all
he asked, on condition, however, that Charles should allow the necessary
time for carrying through so delicat