“In that case I must warn the king; what will he say to-morrow, if he finds his friends have caught cold?”
“Do not give yourself that trouble, monsieur,” said Quelus, “his majesty knows it.”
“Do you hunt larks?” asked Bussy, with an impertinent air.
“No, monsieur, we hunt the boar. We want a head. Will you hunt with us, M. Bussy?”
“No, really, I cannot. To-morrow I must go to the Duc d’Anjou for the reception of M. de Monsoreau, to whom monseigneur has just given the place of chief huntsman.”
“But, to-night?”
“Ah! To-night, I have a rendezvous in a mysterious house of the Faubourg St. Antoine.”
“Ah! ah!” said D’Epernon, “is the Queen Margot here, incognito, M. de Bussy?”
“No, it is some one else.”
“Who expects you in the Faubourg St. Antoine?”