“I would give much for that.”
“Well, then, the end is worth the means.”
“I believe you are right, mother; but whom shall I send?”
“Seek among your friends.”
“My mother, I do not know a single man to whom I could confide such a mission.”
“Confide it to a woman, then.”
“My mother, would you consent?”
“My son, I am very old, and very weak, and death will perhaps await me on my return; but I will make this journey so rapidly that your brother and his friends will not have had time to learn their own power.”
“Oh, my good mother!” cried Henri, kissing her hands, “you are my support, my benefactress!”
“That means that I am still Queen of France,” murmured she.