"Will you kill me, sire--me, your brother-in-law?" exclaimed Henry.
Charles IX. turned away to the open window. "I must kill someone," he cried, and firing his arquebuse, struck a man who was passing.
Then, animated by a murderous fury, Charles loaded and fired his arquebuse without stopping, shouting with joy when his aim was successful.
"It's all over with me!" said Henry to himself. "When he sees no one else to kill, he will kill me!"
Catherine de Medici entered as the king fired his last shot. "Is it done?" she said, anxiously.
"No," the king exclaimed, throwing his arquebuse on the floor. "No; the obstinate blockhead will not consent!"
Catherine gave a glance at Henry which Charles understood perfectly, and which said, "Why, then, is he alive?"
"He lives," said the king, "because he is my relative."
Henry felt that it was with Catherine he had to contend.
"Madame," he said, addressing her, "I can see quite clearly that all this comes from you and not from brother-in-law Charles. It was you who planned this massacre to ensnare me into a trap which was to destroy us all. It was you who made your daughter the bait. It has been you who have separated me now from my wife, that she might not see me killed before her eyes!"