Pierre Pevel - By The Alchemist in the Shadows Page 0,67

Claw is behind it.'

The cardinal gathered his fingers into a steeple before his thin lips.

'The Black Claw, you say?'

'Yes, monseigneur.'

'With the complicity of other parties?'

'Yes. That of the duchesse de Chevreuse. And of the queen, monseigneur.'

Having said his piece, La Fargue fell silent.

A hush settled around the table as Richelieu stared at him for a long moment. Laincourt tried to remain as impassive as the

captain of the Blades, but the effort cost him and he detected signs of a similar struggle going on within La Houdiniere.

However indirectly, La Fargue had just accused the queen of treason.

'Do you have proof of this claim?' the cardinal finally enquired. 'Not proofs concerning these complicities, but of the plot itself?'

'Not as such, monseigneur. Only the documents delivered to us by La Donna which attest to—'

'Those documents do not attest to much, captain,' Richelieu interrupted in a severe tone of voice.

'Teyssier has given me a preliminary translation to read. The documents are incomplete and very vague, even supposing that they are authentic'

'La Donna can testify to that. Let her be interrogated.'

'Impossible.'

'Impossible, monseigneur? What do you mean?'

'The woman is no longer in our power,' said the cardinal in a voice that was too calm not to be worrying. 'After she escaped from you, during the few hours of liberty she enjoyed before being recaptured, she managed to communicate her situation to certain individuals who are very well-disposed towards her . . .'

As Richelieu spoke, La Fargue recalled Laincourt's prediction and, out of the corner of his eye, he watched for a reaction from the younger man. He was not the sort to say 'I told you so', implicitly or not. But nevertheless it appeared he had foretold matters correctly and, according to the cardinal, on the very day that Saint-Lucq had retaken La Donna into custody, an emissary from the Pope had demanded an audience with His Eminence to discuss the case of the beautiful lady spy.

'The threat was scarcely veiled,' said Richelieu. 'She was to be liberated at once, or else accused and presented to her judges. That is to say: the very members of the Parlement who would have insisted on asking questions and expressing loud protests concerning La Donna for reasons of which you arc already aware. Therefore, since it was not in the interests of the king to allow a scandal, and since the support of

His Holiness could be useful to the kingdom in the near future . . .'

La Fargue nodded with a sombre face. France was merely waiting for a pretext to invade Lorraine, a Catholic bastion at the very gates of the Holy Roman Empire, which was itself being torn apart by war.

'But all this matters little in the end,' the cardinal pursued. 'Madame de Chevreuse is part of this plot, you say? Very well, there will soon be no worries on that score. In fact I can tell you that the duchesse will shortly be placed under arrest, and for proven motives.'

'Which are, monseigneur?'

'Treason,' indicated Richelieu, with a gesture of his hand to indicate that he would say no more on this subject. 'Others, just as prestigious as La Chevreuse by their birth, rank, or fortune, will be similarly inconvenienced. Special trials will be held. Sentences will be pronounced. And heads will roll.'

La Fargue frowned. He feared he was beginning to understand where all this was leading.

'Are you ordering me to give up this mission, monseigneur?'

'Nothing can be allowed to compromise the success of the matter I have just mentioned.'

'But, monseigneur—'

'It is an affair of State, captain.'

'And a plot against the king is not?'

'It is a shadowy plot, at best.'

'A plot of which the Alchemist himself is the mastermind!' exploded La Fargue.

Silence fell, heavy as an executioner's axe.

La Fargue had raised his voice and, despite being willing to pardon the old gentleman many things, the cardinal had frozen, his eyes suddenly blazing with anger. Laincourt held his breath and saw the captain of the Blades, embarrassed, inhale deeply.

'I . . . I humbly beseech Your Eminence to forgive my outburst.'

Richelieu paused until his gaze grew more peaceful and then he finally said:

'The Alchemist, yes, of course . . . That name must bring some very bad memories to mind, captain .

. .'

'Indeed.'

'I therefore understand your . . . lapse. And I forgive it.'

'Monseigneur, said La Fargue in a more composed voice, 'thwarting this plot is above all a matter of protecting the king. But it is perhaps also a means of inflicting a terrible blow against the Black