of the King of Hungary or else of the
grandson of the King of France."

"Ah, I understand your surprise: you may learn from this that an uncle's
intentions are not always the same as his nephew's."

"In that case, sire, if I dared--if my lord would deign to give me
leave--if I had an opinion I might give, I would humbly entreat your
Excellency to reflect that this would mean the abduction of a minor."

"Since when did you learn to be scrupulous, Master Nicholas?"

These words were uttered with a glance so terrible that the poor notary
was crushed, and had hardly the strength to reply--

"In an hour the contract will be ready."

"Good: we agree as to the first point," continued Charles, resuming his
natural tone of voice. "You now will hear my second charge. You have
known the Duke of Calabria's valet for the last two years pretty
intimately?"

"Tommaso Pace; why, he is my best friend."

"Excellent. Listen, and remember that on your discretion the safety or
ruin of your family depends. A plot will soon be on foot against the
queen's husband; the conspirators no doubt will gain over Andre's valet,
the man you call your best friend; never leave him for an instant, try to
be his shadow; day by day and hour by hour come to me and report the
progress of the plot, the names of the plotters."

"Is this all your Excellency's command?"

"All."

The notary respectfully bowed, and withdrew to put the orders at once
into execution. Charles spent the rest of that night writing to his
uncle the Cardinal de Perigord, one of the most influential prelates at
the court of Avignon. He begged him before all things to use his
authority so as to prevent Pope Clement from signing the bull that would
sanction Andre's coronation, and he ended his letter by earnestly
entreating his uncle to win the pope's consent to his marriage with the
queen's sister.

"We shall see, fair cousin," he said as he sealed his letter, "which of
us is best at understanding where our interest lies. You would not have
me as a friend, so you shall have me as an enemy. Sleep on in the arms
of your lover: I will wake you when the time comes. I shall be Duke of
Calabria perhaps some day, and that title, as you well know, belongs to
the heir to the throne."

The next day and on the following days a remarkable change took place in
the behaviour of Charles towards Andre: he showed him signs of great
friendliness, cleverly flattering his inclinations,