"Hm!" observed Ambroise Paré, "you said not a word when I pulled the spear out of your face at Calais."
Catherine, in the middle of the semicircle formed right and left of the maids of honor and Court officials, kept silence. While looking at the two famous Reformers, she was trying to penetrate them with her fine, intelligent, black eyes, and study them thoroughly.
"One might be the sheath and the other the blade," Albert de Gondi said in her ear.
"Well, gentlemen," said Catherine, who could not help smiling, "has your master given you liberty to arrange a public conference where you may convert to the Word of God those modern Fathers of the Church who are the glory of our realm?"
"We have no master but the Lord," said Chaudieu.
"Well, you acknowledge some authority in the King of France?" said Catherine, smiling, and interrupting the minister.
"And a great deal in the Queen," added de Bèze, bowing low.
"You will see," she went on, "that the heretics will be my most dutiful subjects."
"Oh, madame!" cried Coligny, "what a splendid kingdom we will make for you! Europe reaps great profit from our divisions. It has seen one-half of France set against the other for fifty years past."
"Have we come here to hear chants in praise of heretics?" said the Connétable roughly.