"And what is your opinion of all this?" Catherine asked Chiverni.
"There will be fighting," said the cautious gentleman. "The King of Navarre——"
"Oh! say the Queen!" Catherine put in.
"Very true, the Queen," said Chiverni, smiling, "has made the Prince de Condé the chief of the reformed party; he, as a younger son, may dare much; and Monsieur le Cardinal talks of sending for him to come here."
"If only he comes!" cried the Queen, "I am saved!"
So it will be seen that the leaders of the great Reforming movement had been right in thinking of Catherine as an ally.
"This is the jest of it," said the Queen; "the Bourbons are tricking the Huguenots, and Master Calvin, de Bèze, and the rest are cheating the Bourbons; but shall we be strong enough to take in the Huguenots, the Bourbons, and the Guises? In front of three such foes we are justified in feeling our pulse," said she.
"They have not the King," replied Albert. "You must always win, having the King on your side."
"Maladetta Maria!" said Catherine, between her teeth.
"The Guises are already thinking of diverting the affections of the middle class," said Birague.