He looked at the queen in amazement; she did not acknowledge his salutation, but gazed at him, with a threatening frown, from the height of her royal majesty.
"Aha! is it you, Monsieur le Duc?" she said at last after a pause of some duration; "come hither that I may offer you my congratulations upon your selection of officials within your jurisdiction."
"What have I done, madame, I pray to know?" demanded the wondering nobleman; "what has happened?"
"It has happened that you appointed to be governor of Vayres a man who has fired upon the king; that is all."
"I, madame!" cried the duke. "Your Majesty is most certainly in error; I did not appoint the governor of Vayres,—at least, not that I am aware of."
D'Épernon made this reservation because his conscience reproached him with not always making his appointments without assistance.
"Ah! this is interesting," said the queen; "Monsieur Richon was not appointed by you, perhaps?" And she emphasized the last word most maliciously.
The duke, who knew Nanon's talent for selecting fit men for the places to be filled, soon recovered his confidence.
"I do not recall the appointment of Monsieur Richon," said he, "but if I did appoint him he must be a faithful servant of the king."
"God's mercy!" retorted the queen; "Monsieur Richon, in your judgment, is a faithful servant of the king!—a faithful servant, in good sooth, who kills five hundred men for us in less than three days!"