“What have you been saying to that coxcomb?” asked the king.
“I, sire?”
“Yes, you.”
“I said, good evening.”
“Oh! was that all?”
St. Luc saw he was wrong. “I said, good evening; adding, that I would have the honor of saying good morning to-morrow.”
“Ah! I suspected it.”
“Will your majesty keep my secret?” said St. Luc.
“Oh! parbleu, if you could get rid of him without injury to yourself——”
The minions exchanged a rapid glance, which Henri III. seemed not to notice.