Pierre Pevel - By The Alchemist in the Shadows Page 0,111

Chevreuse.

On learning this news, Agnes adopted a suitably serious expression, asked whether there was anything she could do to assist and upon being told there was not, she withdrew. Then she moved quickly without seeming to be in any great hurry. She smiled again at monsieur d'Uzes, left the apartments and followed the corridor as far as a small door hidden behind a curtain. She wailed until no one was looking at her and then

promptly disappeared through this exit. She had discovered it that afternoon, during a discreet examination of the castle's layout.

The queen's bedchamber communicated with the antechamber where the ladies of her suite gathered, but also with another small room where the duchesse would sleep tonight, a bed having been installed there for the occasion. Agnes found this room lying empty. She slipped inside and, on tiptoe, went to press her ear to the door behind which Anne d'Autriche and madame de Chevreuse were alone.

One of them was pacing back and forth.

It was the queen who, in a nervous tone, was explaining that after much reflection and much prayer she no longer wished to go through with a certain project. That it was madness and she should never have agreed to it in the first place. How could she have ever believed in the success of this enterprise? But she saw things more clearly now. Yes, she was going to renounce the whole thing.

'Madame,' the duchesse replied calmly, 'there is still time to back out. Everything will be done according to your wishes. You only need to give the order.'

'Very well. Then I am giving the order.'

'What could be accomplished this evening may never be possible again. The stars are not —'

'I don't care about the stars!'

'Are you certain you have thought this through, madame? Your Majesty's duties—'

'My duties forbid me to betray the king! As for the rest, I must place myself in the hands of divine Providence. One day my prayers shall be heard.'

'I las it occurred to you that if you renounce this project, you will still have to confess everything to the king? For the secret will come out, madame. Believe me, secrets always come out in the end.

The cardinal's men are everywhere.'

'I shall beg for the king's pardon.'

'And for those who have lent you their assistance?'

'I will not allow you to be persecuted, Marie.'

'I was not thinking of myself, but of all the others.'

'How can one reproach them for having obeyed their queen ?'

'Richelieu can, and he will.'

There was a silence.

Then Agnes heard madame de Chevreuse rise and take a few steps ... A drawer was opened and closed . . . Then her steps returned . . . And the duchesse said:

'I had hoped to spare you this ordeal, madame. I'd hoped that . . . Well, look at this.'

'What is it?'

'I beg you, madame, read. And see what they have been hiding from you.'

There was a rustling of heavy silk fabric: Anne d'Autriche had just sat down. The two women remained silent, until the queen asked in a strangled voice:

'All this ... Is it true?'

'I believe so. I fear so.'

'The king really intends to repud—'

'Yes, madame.'

The queen began to sob.

It might have been a spectral rider passing in the night.

But in fact it was a dust-covered Laincourt who was galloping on an ashen horse. He had been riding since Paris at a speed that risked killing his mount. He charged through villages, cut across fields and farmyards whenever possible, leapt over hedges, ditches and streams, taking all manner of risks. He now knew the purpose of the pentacle. And thanks to his friend the bookseller, he also knew that the master of magic serving the duchesse de Chevreuse was not who he claimed to be.

Faster, boy! Faster!

Laincourt would arrive at the Chateau de Dampierre within the hour.

But would he be in time?

At Dampierre, supper was being served, the queen having reappeared before anyone began to wonder about her absence.

Three tahles had been set up in the castle's great hall. The high table was at the rear. The two others, much longer, faced one another and were perpendicular to the first. At these tables, the guests were seated on only one side, with their backs to the wall, while the servants waited on them from the space in the middle. Helped along by wine, the proceedings were very merry. Men and women ate with their fingers, exchanging anecdotes and jests, making fun of one another and laughing. Toasts were made, where a