“And I swear that I shall not!” screamed Charlotte. “I will die first!”
“And perhaps you wish some one else to die first also,” continued the regent in an unchanged voice.
“Some one else? I do not understand, monsieur.”
“Permit me to tell you a little more of my news and you will understand perfectly. You know, doubtless, that yesterday I released the Duc de Richelieu from the Bastille and sent him to join his regiment at Bayonne?”
“Well?”
“Well, to-day at noon, at Orleans, he chose to leave his escort and return to Paris.”
“Continue, monsieur.”
“He was not closely pursued, for his escort had their orders. I suspected that he would do something of the kind, and I also suspected the reason. Do you know what I have sworn, mademoiselle?”
She did not answer, and there was a moment’s pause.
“I have sworn that Richelieu’s head shall fall if he comes in my way again. I set a very pretty trap for him and he has walked straight into it. In this trap you were the bait, my dear.”