"Do not worry, he will believe me."
"Do you think he has such confidence in you?"
"No, God forbid, but he believes everything the queen says."
"And is the queen true to us?"
"Oh! I have proof of it. Besides, she is ambitious and is dying for this far-off crown of Navarre."
"Well! three days before the hunt send me word where it will take place—whether it is to be at Bondy, at Saint Germain, or at Rambouillet. Monsieur de la Mole will ride ahead of you; follow him, and ride fast. Once out of the forest if the queen mother wants you she will have to run after you; and I trust that her Norman horses will not see even the hoofs of our Barbary steeds and our Spanish ponies."
"Agreed, De Mouy."
"Have you any money, sire?"
Henry made the same grimace he made all his life at this question.
"Not much," said he; "but I think Margot has some."