"Do you desire to be always beloved by your royal mistress?" demanded the perfumer.
"Yes, even if it cost me my life—even if my soul should be the sacrifice!" replied La Mole.
"Very good," said the Florentine, taking with the ends of his fingers some drops of water from a ewer and sprinkling them over the figure, at the same time muttering certain Latin words.
La Mole shuddered, believing that some sacrilege was committed.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I am christening this figure with the name of Marguerite."
"What for?"
"To establish a sympathy."
La Mole opened his mouth to prevent his going any further, but a mocking look from Coconnas stopped him.
Réné, who had noticed the impulse, waited. "Your absolute and undivided will is necessary," he said.