"And you will cause it to be executed—?"
"To-morrow."
The queen-mother absolutely shuddered, for the blow was sudden.
"To-night! to-morrow! you do not reflect," she replied. "The king is too ill and weak, and his intellect is not clear enough to understand what you mean to ask of him."
"There is no necessity that he should understand, provided that he signs," retorted the cardinal.
"But his hand is not strong enough to hold a pen."
"It can be guided for him," taking keen delight in the alarm which he saw depicted in the expression of his dear foe.
"Listen," said Catherine, very gravely. "I must give you a warning and some good advice. My poor son's end is nearer than you think. Do you know what Chapelain, the first physician, told me?—that he did not think the king would be alive to-morrow evening, unless by a miracle."
"So much the more reason for us to hasten," said the cardinal, coldly.
"Yes," rejoined Catherine, "but if François II. is not alive to-morrow, Charles IX. reigns; and the King of Navarre will perhaps be regent. What a terrible reckoning would he demand for the infamous punishment of his brother? Would you not be in your turn tried and condemned?"