love still
struggled against the awful thought of matricide; at last, seeing that
Charles remained speechless in spite of her entreaties, she repeated,
with a piercing cry--

"Speak, in God's name, speak before I die!"

"Mother, you are with child."

"What!" cried Agnes, with a loud cry, which broke her very heart. "O God,
forgive him! Charles, your mother forgives and blesses you in death."

Charles fell upon her neck, desperately crying for help: he would now
have gladly saved her at the cost of his life, but it was too late. He
uttered one cry that came from his heart, and was found stretched out
upon his mother's corpse.

Strange comments were made at the court on the death of the Duchess of
Durazzo and her doctor's disappearance; but there was no doubt at all
that grief and gloom were furrowing wrinkles on Charles's brow, which was
already sad enough. Catherine alone knew the terrible cause of her
nephew's depression, for to her it was very plain that the duke at one
blow had killed his mother and her physician. But she had never expected
a reaction so sudden and violent in a man who shrank before no crime.
She had thought Charles capable of everything except remorse. His
gloomy, self absorbed silence seemed a bad augury for her plans. She had
desired to cause trouble for him in his own family, so that he might have
no time to oppose the marriage of her son with the queen; but she had
shot beyond her mark, and Charles, started thus on the terrible path of
crime, had now broken through the bonds of his holiest affections, and
gave himself up to his bad passions with feverish ardour and a savage
desire for revenge. Then Catherine had recourse to gentleness and
submission. She gave her son to understand that there was only one way of
obtaining the queen's hand, and that was by flattering the ambition of
Charles and in some sort submitting himself to his patronage. Robert of
Tarentum understood this, and ceased making court to Joan, who received
his devotion with cool kindness, and attached himself closely to Charles,
paying him much the same sort of respect and deference that he himself
had affected for Andre, when the thought was first in his mind of causing
his ruin. But the Duke of Durazzo was by no means deceived as to the
devoted friendship shown towards him by the heir of the house of
Tarentum, and pretending to be deeply touched by the unexpected change of
feeling, he all the time kept a strict gua