"Is no other than that scoundrel D'Avranches, Madame de Maine's valet-de-chambre."
"Ah! I was astonished that she was not in it."
"Oh! she is at the head, and if monseigneur would like to be rid of her and her clique, we have them all."
"Let us attend to the most pressing."
"Yes, let us think of Villeroy. Have you decided on a bold stroke?"
"Certainly. So long as you confine yourself to parading about like a man at a theater or a tournament, very well; so long as you confine yourself to calumnies and impertinences against me, very good; but when it becomes a question of the peace and tranquillity of France, you will find, Monsieur le Marechal, that you have already compromised them sufficiently by your military inaptitude, and we shall not give you an opportunity of doing so again by your political follies."
"Then," said Dubois, "we must lay hold of him?"
"Yes; but with certain precautions. We must take him in the act."
"Nothing easier. He goes every morning at eight o'clock to the king."
"Yes."