"Father, he repeated his confession, again accusing the Duke of Anjou and the captain of the Duke's guards with having driven him to the commission of the crime, which he seemed deeply to repent. The exasperated soldiers executed instant justice upon the poisoner. They hanged him. His corpse is now swinging from the branch of an oak."[70]
At this moment a Huguenot officer covered with dust appeared at the threshold of the door. Monsieur Coligny said to him:
"I was waiting for you. Is the skirmish opened? Are all doing their duty well?"
"Yes, monsieur. A few companies of the royal army answered our attack, and have crossed the stream that covered their front."
"Monsieur La Rochefoucauld must have feigned a retreat towards the hill of Haut Moulin, behind which are massed the twenty cavalry squadrons of the Prince of Gerolstein. Have all my orders been executed?"
"Yes, monsieur. At the very moment that he despatched me to you, Monsieur La Rochefoucauld was executing the retreat. The Prince was in command of his cavalry. All the forces are in line of battle."
"All goes well," observed Coligny to Lanoüe; "I ordered the Prince's squadrons not to dismask and charge until the royal troops, drawn into disorder by their pursuit of our men, shall have arrived at the foot of the hill. We may expect a good result."
"Monsieur La Rochefoucauld also ordered me to make an important communication to you. From some royalist prisoners we learned this morning that the Queen and the Cardinal arrived in the camp of the Duke of Anjou."
Upon hearing of Catherine De Medici's arrival, the Admiral reflected for an instant, then drew near the table, dashed a few words down on a sheet of paper and handed it to the officer, saying:
"Monsieur, return at your fastest, and deliver this order to Monsieur La Rochefoucauld." And addressing Lanoüe as the officer left on the wings of the wind on his errand: "The presence of the Queen in the royal camp may suggest to Marshal Tavannes the idea of engaging in a decisive action. Come, my friend," he added, leaving the chamber, "I wish to consult with the Princes of Orange and Nassau before taking horse."