She did not once look at Lucas, yet I think she saw him wince under her stab. The Duke of Mayenne was right; not even Mlle. de Montluc loved her enemies.
"You are a good girl, Lorance," Mayenne said.
"Will you let the boy go now, Cousin Charles?" she asked.
"Yes, I will let your boy go," he made answer. "But if I do this for you, I shall expect you henceforth to do my bidding."
"You have called me a good girl, cousin."
"Aye, so you are. And there is small need to look so Friday-faced about it. If I have denied you one lover, I will give you another just as good."
"Am I Friday-faced?" she said, summoning up a smile. "Then my looks belie me. For since you free this poor boy whom I was like to have ruined I take a grateful and happy heart to bed."
"Aye, and you must stay happy. Pardieu, what does it matter whether your husband have yellow hair or brown? My brother Henri was for getting himself into a monastery because he could not have his Margot. Yet in less than a year he is as merry as a fiddler with the Duchesse Katharine."
"You have made me happy, to-night at least, monsieur," she answered gently, if not merrily.
"It is the most foolish act of my life," Mayenne answered. "But it is for you, Lorance. If ill comes to me by it, yours is the credit."