“I have seen him, sire,” was the reply of Don Juan. “Know you that he is the envoy of Blanche of Bourbon?”
“Ha! is it so?” continued Pedro. “Señor Diego, there is a deep grudge between you and him; and I know that he is plotting against my crown. And even thou, Don Juan, losest no love toward him.”
“What is your meaning, sire?” said Reboledo with a sarcastic smile. “You may speak plainly here.”
“I would not have him leave these walls. Thou knowest the proverb, ‘Teach the falcon while he is thine.’”
“Nay, then; he shall be severely taught, an’ it be your will,” said Reboledo.
“Plainly, he must be dispatched, Señor Diego, and I trust to thee to have it done. As for the act, my guards will not be wanting.”
After some slight arrangements, made as coolly as if for a festival, the prince and Reboledo left the king to his own thoughts, which certainly were far from agreeable. Distrust is the inevitable poison of those who themselves break trust, and Pedro dared not leave the performance of the deed to his accomplices.
They might have some secret cause of hatred toward himself, and might save his intended victim for the furtherance of their own schemes.
——