"But does he suppose that I will use the Huguenots as a means of defence?"
"Oh, madame," cried Chiverni, surprised by her perspicacity, "we never thought of placing you in such a difficult position."
"Did he know what a position I am in?" asked the Queen calmly.
"Pretty nearly. He thinks you made a dupe's bargain when, on the death of the late King, you accepted for your share the fragments saved from the ruin of Madame Diane. Messieurs de Guise thought they had paid their debt to the Queen by gratifying the woman."
"Yes," said Catherine, looking at the two Gondis, "I made a great mistake there."
"A mistake the gods might make!" replied Charles de Gondi.
"Gentlemen," said the Queen, "if I openly take up the cause of the Reformers, I shall be the slave of a party."
"Madame," said Chiverni eagerly, "I entirely agree with you. You must make use of them, but not let them make use of you."
"Although, for the moment, your strength lies there," said Charles de Gondi, "we must not deceive ourselves; success and failure are equally dangerous!"
"I know it," said the Queen. "One false move will be a pretext eagerly seized by the Guises to sweep me off the board!"