"You have met with an adventure in the wood, I hear," said the duke, "and did not tell me of it."
"I did not think it right to intrude such subjects on your highness," answered the young man. "Had there been any thing to lead to it, I should have told you at once."
"Well, well," said the duke, "you shall tell me hereafter;" and then he added, somewhat irritably, "they have broken through my thoughts with these tales. I want you to do me a service."
"Your highness has but to command," said Jean Charost.
"I am ill, De Brecy," said the duke. "I feel more so than I ever did before; indeed, I have been rarely ill, and, perhaps--But that matters not. Whatever be the cause, I have a strange feeling upon me, a sort of presentiment that my life will not be very long extended. You heard the announcement that was made to me by man or shadow--I know not, and care not what--in the convent of the Celestins. But it is not that which has produced this impression, for I had forgotten it within an hour; but I feel ill; and I see not why there should not be influences in external and invisible things which, speaking to the ear of the soul, without a voice, announce the approach of great changes in our state of being, and warn us to prepare. However that may be, the feeling is strong upon me. I have ordered an imperial notary to be sent for, in order that I may make my will. In it I will show the world how I can treat my enemies--and my friends also; for I may show my forgetfulness of the injuries of the one, without failing in my gratitude to the other."
He leaned his head upon his hand for a moment or two, and then added, "I long earnestly to see my wife. Yet from causes that matter not to mention, I do not wish to send her a long letter, telling her of my state and of my feelings. I have, therefore, written a few lines, merely saying I am indisposed here at Beauté. I know that they will induce her to set out immediately from Blois, where she now is, and it must be the task of the messenger to prepare her mind for the changes that she must, and the changes that she may find here. Do you understand me?"
"I think I do, sir," replied Jean Charost, "fully."
"I should wish him, also," said the duke, "in case my own lips should not be able to speak the words, to tell her, that whatever may have been my faults, however passion, or vanity, or folly may have misled me, I have ever retained a deep and affectionate regard for her virtues, her tenderness, and her gentleness. I could say more--much more--I will say more if ever I behold her again. But let her be assured that my last prayer shall be to call down the blessing of God upon her head, and entreat his protection for her and for our children."
While he spoke, he continued to hold a sealed letter in his hand, and gazed at Jean Charost very earnestly. Nevertheless, he seemed to hesitate, and when he paused, he looked down upon the paper, turning it round and round, without speaking, for several minutes. Then, however, as if he had decided at length, he looked up suddenly, saying, "There is none I can send but Lomelini or yourself. Joigni is a rough brute, though bold and honest. Blaize has no heart, and very little understanding. Monluc would frighten her to death; for were he to see me now, he would think me dead already. There is none but you or Lomelini then. In some respects, it were better to send him. He is of mature age, of much experience, accurate and skillful in his dealings and passably honest; not without heart either, affectionately attached to her, as well he may be, brought up and promoted by her father; but there is in him a world of Italian cunning, a great deal of cowardly timidity, and an all-absorbing, sense of his own interests, the action of which we can never altogether count upon. Besides, she loves him not. I know it--I am sure of it, although she is too gentle to complain. He came hither as her servant. He found it more for his interest to be mine. She can not love him. But enough of that. I have conceived a regard for you, De Brecy, and you will find proofs of it. It is not a small one that I send you on this mission. There is something in the freshness of your character and in the frankness of your nature which will win confidence, and I wish you to set off at once for Blois. Bear this letter to the duchess, tell her in what state I am--but kindly, gently--and accompany her back hither. What men will you want with you? The country is somewhat disturbed, but I do not think there is much danger."
"One who knows the way will suffice, my lord," replied De Brecy. "A small party may pass more easily than a large one. I will only beg a stout horse from your highness's stables, which my man can lead, and which may both carry what we need by the way, and serve me in case of any accident to my own. I will undertake to deliver the letter, if I live to the end of the journey."