‘There is no lady at court more beautiful than the Princess,’ they agreed.
‘I will send my own special unguents for these wounds. I do not think there is any serious damage done. She will be healed in a week or so.’
Catherine pulled up the bedclothes and tucked them in with the solicitude of a fond mother.
Then she went back to be dressed for the ball which was to take place that night.
Her thoughts were busy while her women dressed her hair and arranged her jewels. She must keep a sharp eye on Charles. He was impetuous. He might easily expose the fact that there was a plot afoot to remove the Duke of Guise. Her beloved Henry, fortunately, had good sense, and he would show the right sort of friendship to Henry of Guise – just enough to allay his fears, and not so much that it would confirm his suspicions. But she could expect no such cleverness from her little madman, Charles.
She went to the King’s apartment and, dismissing all his attendants, spoke warningly to him.
‘I beg of you, when you see Guise to-night, do nothing rash.’
‘No, Mother. But I hate him. He is trying to take my throne. I am sure there will never be peace in this realm while the Guises are so powerful.’
‘That is true; but we must take every care. Promise me that you will not shout at him when you see him. For the love of the Virgin, do not let him see that you are thirsting for his blood.’
‘Nay, my mother. I am not such a fool as you think.’
‘Of course you are not. You are my clever little King.’
‘All the same,’ said Charles, ‘I shall not rest until he has been punished for what he has done to Margot.’
‘Rather let him be punished for what he may do to you and your brother, my darling.’
But what was the good of talking to Charles! He was hopeless. He was mad.
And in the magnificent ballroom, when Henry of Guise was announced, Catherine watched with dismay the angry colour flood the face of the King. Before she could prevent him, he was at the door, barring the way of the Duke.
‘Whither are you going, sir?’ demanded Charles in a high voice which could be heard all over the ballroom, for all had stopped talking to listen.
‘Sire,’ replied Guise, with excellent restraint, ‘I am here to serve your gracious Majesty.’
‘Monsieur,’ said Charles, with what he thought to be admirable calm, ‘I have no need of your services, so you may depart.’
Henry of Guise bowed low and immediately left the palace.
He knew now that he was in imminent danger, and Catherine felt that it would be as well to prepare potions – not only for the dangerous Duke of Guise, seducer of her daughter, but for that little fool who was known as the King of France.
In the hotel which was the stronghold of the family of Guise in Paris there was an immediate conference that night.
The Cardinal of Lorraine was there with his brothers, Louis the Cardinal of Guise, Claud the Duke of Aumale, Francis the Grand Prior, and René the Duke of Elboeuf. There were also the young Duke’s brothers and sister – Charles, Louis and Catherine; his widowed mother would not move from the side of her son, whom she regarded continually with an expression alternating between adoration and fear.
It was rarely that the entire family was assembled together in this way; but they had come hastily to Paris, summoned thither by the Cardinal of Lorraine, whose spies had informed him that for some time the Queen Mother had marked down Duke Henry as one of her victims.
The Cardinal of Lorraine was speaking. ‘At any moment now the blow may be struck. Henry, my nephew, if you have ever been in danger, you are in danger now.’
‘I can protect myself,’ said Henry.
‘You would protect yourself on the field of battle, my boy. You would meet any, I know, in combat, and emerge the victor. But when the serpent slyly coils about you – so quietly that you do not know your body is encircled – what can you do? Take your sword and strike off its head? Do not think of such a foolish thing! The fangs are inserted, and only in the last agonies of death do you see the slimy snake uncoil itself and quietly slip away.’
‘You must leave Paris at once,’ said the frightened Duchess. ‘My darling, you must take horse and fly to Lorraine. I will come with you. I cannot bear that you should leave my sight.’
But Aumale and his brothers shook their heads.
‘Flight is no good,’ said the Grand Prior. ‘Doubtless she has her creatures in Lorraine.’
‘What then?’ cried the Duchess. ‘Would you have him stay here?’
The Cardinal of Lorraine straightened his rich robes.
‘No. There is one way out of this and one way only. I must have been inspired when I advised my nephew to pay court to Madame de Clèves. The Queen Mother, the crazy King and his brothers are terrified. They are afraid that Margot will marry Henry in spite of them all. That is why they are determined to remove the cause of their fear. We must show them that their fears are groundless. Show them that, and Henry is no more in danger than he ever was, than any of us are continually. It is very simple. Henry must with all speed relinquish his plan to marry the Princess. He must show he is sincere in this by an immediate marriage with the Princess of Clèves.’
‘That I will not do!’ cried Henry. ‘I have promised to marry Margot, and I stand by my word.’
‘Very fine and noble!’ said the Cardinal of Lorraine. ‘But do we want Margot to marry a corpse? You see, my dear family, how very wise I was in selecting the Princess of Clèves. She is worthy to marry into our family. A marriage with Marguerite de Valois would have been more desirable, but there is only one way now to save our beloved Henry, and that is by his immediate marriage to the lady of Clèves.’
‘It is quite impossible,’ said Henry. ‘I prefer to face any danger than do that.’
‘Nonsense! If you do not, you face certain death.’
‘I prefer it to dishonour.’
‘Oh, come, foolish boy. You are too romantic. The family of the Princess of Clèves will agree to this marriage as eagerly as the lady herself. As for our Princess Margot, well, you will no doubt be able to take your pleasure with her after she has forgiven you.’
‘You do not understand, my uncle, what you suggest. You do not know.’
‘I have been in love, my boy. I was once young and romantic, even as you are. But love palls; it is like rich fruit, delicious while it is ripe; but it cannot last for ever. But the good of a great and noble house is the most important thing in the life of its members. My boy, it is not of yourself and your love that you must think now, but of your family’s honour. We must show the Queen Mother and her sons that she cannot destroy members of our house. We know when to take a step backwards; we know when we must adjust our policy; but we will have no more assassinations. We must not let them think that when we displease them it is easy to dispose of us.’
‘I am pledged to the Princess Margot,’ said the young Duke. ‘I will take none other.’
The Cardinal of Lorraine shrugged his shoulders; the Duchess wept; the Duke’s brothers pleaded with him; his sister implored him to save his life; and his uncles called him a fool.
All night they argued with him; and in the early hours of the morning, the gibes of the Cardinal of Lorraine, the good sense of his family, and most of all the passionate tears of his mother, caused the young Duke to give way.
Once he had given his consent, the Cardinal of Lorraine lost no time in presenting himself at the Louvre and asking for an audience with the Queen Mother.
‘I have come,’ said the Cardinal, ‘to ask your Majesty’s most gracious consent to the marriage of my nephew Henry, Duke of Guise, to Catherine, Princess of Clèves.’