“Ah!” cried the duke, while the blood mounted to his face.
“Ah! the dogs are going to fight over their bones,” said Chicot; but to his surprise, and the king’s, the Duc de Guise suddenly became calm, and exclaimed, in an almost joyful tone:
“You are an adroit politician, monseigneur, if you did this.”
“Yes, I did; but I would not conclude anything without speaking to you.”
“Why so, monseigneur?”
“Because I did not know what it would lead us to.”
“Well, I will tell you, monseigneur, not to what it will lead us—that God alone knows—but how it will serve us. The League is a second army, and as I hold the first, and my brother the Church, nothing can resist us as long as we are united.”
“Without counting,” said the Duc d’Anjou, “that I am heir presumptive to the throne.”
“True, but still calculate your bad chances.”
“I have done so a hundred times.”