CHAPTER III
AN EXCITING DAY AND EVENING
As the Lady Clotilde and her train were about to ride away the nextmorning, Le Glorieux said to Antoine, "I think I will go back to theshrine of Saint Roch. You may wait for me. It is only a little way andwe can soon overtake the others."
"But why do you wish to visit the shrine?" asked the boy.
"I want to say a little prayer for the gout."
"I never heard you complain of the gout."
"And small wonder, for I have not a sign of it."
"Then why do you want to pray to be cured of a malady which you neverhad?"
"I am afraid that I may have it," said the fool. "Brittany is a veryrich country; the Duchess Anne is the greatest heiress in Christendom,and of course there is to be found at her court everything that theappetite craves, and some day all this may bring on the gout. There isnothing like taking things in time, and it may be a good while before Ishall again be so near the good saint."
"Very well," said Antoine, "go, if you like, and I will wait by theroadside for you."
Beseeching the saint]
So Le Glorieux rode back to the shrine, which was some half a mile outof his way, and remained for a good while, for he remembered a number ofother maladies that might attack him in the future, and he thought itwas well to be on the safe side by beseeching the saint to keep them allat a respectful distance.
Finishing his orisons at last, he rode forward with as brisk a pace asPittacus was willing to carry him, but to his surprise and indignationAntoine was not waiting for him, nor was he able to overtake the others.There was nothing to do, therefore, but to ride on alone to the city ofRennes, where the court of Brittany was then staying, and where he hopedto arrive before nightfall.
But Le Glorieux missed the company of his comrade, upon whom he resolvedto be revenged for thus leaving him in the lurch, and he rode alongturning over his wrongs in his mind with a mien far less gay than he waswont to present.
He found as the day began to grow older and the clock of his appetitepointed to the time to refresh himself, that the only meal obtainablewas a crust of black bread and a cup of goat's milk procured at apeasant's hut along the way.
"I prayed to be defended from gout," reflected the fool, "but I hopeSaint Roch does not intend to keep the disease at bay by allowing meonly coarse, plain food. Would it not be a terrible thing if he shouldput it into the Lady Anne's mind that feeding a jester well spoils hiswit?"
As the afternoon was warm, Le Glorieux said, "Pandora, you look sleepy;Pittacus, I am sure that you need a little rest, while I am drowsy. Iwill just take a small nap under this tree."
So, after securing the donkey to the tree, and allowing Pandora to perchon his saddle, with her cord attached to a ring at the back of it, LeGlorieux stretched himself on the ground, and soon was asleep.
A very sound sleeper, he remained wrapped in the unconsciousness ofslumber until the sun was seeking his bed in the west, when he wokesuddenly with a start, thinking that Antoine was calling him to get upin the morning. First rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them, thejester began to look around for his donkey, for, greatly to his surpriseand dismay, Pittacus no longer stood where his master had tied him, bothsteed and hawk having vanished as completely as if the earth hadswallowed them up. And still worse was to come, for a silk purse worn athis belt, which contained all of his worldly wealth, had disappearedwith his other property.
"Robbed!" groaned Le Glorieux, sinking to the ground and clasping hishands convulsively about his knees. "On a strange soil, afoot, andwithout a coin to bless myself with. Sometimes I begin to think that Iam growing wise, and then it is borne in upon me that I am nothing but afool after all, for what man in his senses would sleep beside the roadin broad daylight, with all his possessions unguarded?"
He made up his mind that he had been the victim of a highwayman, whichwas the natural conclusion at which to arrive, though, strange to say,his sword had not been taken, and his pistol, which he had placed on theground beside him, was still where he had left it.
"A coward," thought the fool, "to rob a man in his sleep, and not a brayfrom Pittacus, not a scream from Pandora, to give me warning! How kind Ihave been to those brutes, and they go with a stranger as cheerfully asif they were not leaving their best friend."
He remained for some time bewailing his ill-luck, and then, reminded bythe lateness of the hour that it was necessary to resume his journey, heset out disconsolately on foot.
After walking a short distance Le Glorieux beheld something, the sightof which amazed him quite as much as the discovery of the robbery haddone, and made him wonder if he were still dreaming. Secured to a treeand contentedly munching a bunch of thistles which happily were withinthe range allowed by the length of his halter, was Pittacus! "ButPandora?" cried the jester, for the bird was not tied to the saddle andhe feared that she had flown away.
A faint tinkle of bells called his attention to the tree, and there,tied to a limb, was Pandora, who seemed to be guarding her master'spurse, which was fastened to a twig beneath her.
Le Glorieux stared with astonishment at finding his belongings in thisstrange manner. That any one should have taken, and repenting havereturned them, he could not believe, and there was but one explanationof the occurrence that seemed at all reasonable.
It was an age in which witches, fairies, and all sorts of supernaturalbeings were believed to exist, and the fool had no doubt that a witchhad played this trick upon him. She would not need a donkey, foreverybody knew that when a witch wished to change her usual mode oftraveling, she could in the twinkling of an eye turn a bundle of faggotsinto a horse, which would do very well until she wished to cross water,when it would resume its original form. At any rate, Pittacus was nosort of a mount for a witch, not being sufficiently swift for thoselively ladies. A witch could change almost anything into a hawk, so shewould not need Pandora, and as to his purse, what use would money be toa creature who could have anything she wanted without the trouble ofpaying for it? Yes, a witch had done this just from pure mischief and adesire to meddle with something which did not in the least concern her.
Le Glorieux put his purse inside his doublet, determined that the nextperson who took it from him, whether witch or highwayman, must fight toget it. Then taking the bird on his wrist he said, "Pandora, you might,yes, you might have given just one little shriek to let me know what wasgoing on. But why do I reproach you, when no doubt _she_ cast a spellover you to keep you from making a sound?"
Then he remembered that with night coming on this was not a safelocality in which to remain, for if witches could cut such capers inbroad daylight, what might they not do under cover of darkness, whenthey are supposed to carry out their choicest and most fantasticschemes? So he hurriedly mounted and sped along the road as rapidly asthe donkey could travel.
It was not a pleasant ride through the murky twilight and the gatheringgloom of the forest, which he now had entered. The limbs of a dead treeseemed to be long gray arms reaching out to seize him, while to hisears, strained to catch the slightest sound, the crackle of the leavesin the breeze was the smothered laughter of certain ladies supposed toride on broomsticks, who were amusing themselves at the jester'sexpense.
It was some time after dark when he saw a number of lights dotting thegloom before him, and he knew that he was approaching Rennes. Greatlycheered by the sight, he put spurs to Pittacus, and in a short timearrived at the gates of the palace and galloped into the courtyard withall the assurance of a guest who is expected.
As Le Glorieux dismounted a small figure came running out to meet him.It was Antoine, who exclaimed, "Oh, Le Glorieux, how rejoiced I am thatyou have arrived in safety!"
"If harm had befallen me I should have borne it alone," returned thejester coldly, "as you did not wait for me as you promised to do."
"I--I--wanted to hurry," stammered the boy.
"Well, you _did_ hurry, and you were here long before me, and I hope youare sa
tisfied. Small difference does it make to you that those wretchedwitches played me such a scurvy trick. They might have turned me into asalamander for all you would have cared."
And without waiting for a reply the jester stalked away.
The various homes of the dukes of Brittany were sumptuous abodes, andFrancis the Second, the last of them, was a noble of great wealth whospent his money freely, and was fond of beautifying his surroundings. LeGlorieux walked through spacious apartments that were decorated, gilded,and carved, and hung with richest tapestries, but he trod the polishedfloors with the air of one who was perfectly at home in a palace, andaccustomed to luxurious surroundings. This was indeed the case, as hehad gone as a page to the court of Burgundy. He was so happy to be whereall was bright and cheerful and to have escaped from the dangers of theforest, that he did not mind the severe scathing given him for histardiness by the Lady Clotilde.
The young Duchess of Brittany was in the long salon surrounded by theladies and gentlemen of her court. She was one of the most interestingpersonages of Europe at that time, for, as has already been said, herfather's death had left her the richest heiress in Christendom, theowner of a province that France had been trying by hook or by crook togain possession of for the last five hundred years; a young maiden whosehand had already been sought by the heirs to the crowns of England,France, Austria, and Spain, although she was but fifteen years of age.
The young readers of this story whose parents bear all their burdens forthem will find it difficult to understand the position of the littleduchess. Her father had idolized her and had stood between her and allcare, but at his death, three years before the time when we first meether, she found herself at the head of a government with many weightymatters awaiting her decision, with a man she detested waiting to marryher, with clever statesmen plotting against her, and great nationsthreatening war. But now matters had taken a better turn; she hadrefused to marry the detested man, France had withdrawn its troops fromBreton soil, and once more peace smiled upon the land.
The Lady Anne was tall for a girl of her age; she was very fair, and hercheeks glowed with the bloom of health; her nose was straight, and whenshe smiled her mouth was particularly attractive, the expression of herface being always very pleasing. Her gown of soft dark silken materialwas more simple than those worn by some of her ladies, and on her brownhair she wore a kind of close cap made entirely of pearls.
"And you are Le Glorieux, sent by our cousin of Burgundy?" she said,after the jester had made his obeisance.
"Yes, Cousin Anne. Her Grace of Burgundy wished to send you somethingvery precious, for she entertains a great amount of respect and love foryou. She had a big emerald which Uncle Philip had taken from aFrenchman, who had taken it from a Spaniard, who had taken it from aMoor, which she was going to send you, but she said, 'No, that is not mymost precious possession. The jewel of my heart is Le Glorieux, whoscintillates day and night; he shall be presented to the most beautifuland the wisest of rulers.'"
The duchess laughed as she said, "Never did I expect to own so large ajewel. Our cousin of Burgundy is most kind."
Passing the Lady Clotilde as he moved behind the chair of the duchess,Le Glorieux whispered to the former, "At least we shall not be bored byreminiscences here, for her Grace is too young to have had any past.Cousin Clotilde, did you ever hear of the princess who kissed thepoet?"
The Lady Clotilde thought jokes a great waste of time, and she rarelysaw the point to one when she heard it, but now she actually smiled, anact so unusual with this good lady that the jester afterward declared toAntoine that the muscles of her face creaked, being rusty from disuse.
Time for the rich of the fifteenth century was divided quite differentlyfrom what it is to-day. At dawn the watchman blew a horn to announce theapproach of day, after which the servants and retainers about the castlebegan their serious duties, while the heads of the family dressed, saidtheir prayers, and attended mass in their own chapel.
At ten o'clock dinner was ready, and after remaining at table as long aspossible, the gentlemen adjourned to the courtyard to play tennis, agame which is hundreds of years old. Supper was at four, after which thelords and ladies of the manor were ready to be amused at whatever formof divertisement that presented itself.
The duchess and her ladies had been playing at cards called "_tarots_,"from their checkered backs, a game for which the Lady Anne, at leastto-night, did not seem to care, for she threw the cards about carelesslyand appeared to be thinking of something else.
She seemed to be relieved and to give a ready assent when a pageannounced that there were certain performers below who craved the honorof playing before her Grace, the Duchess of Brittany. Theaters as wenow have them were then unknown, and strolling players traveled over thecountry doing their various tricks at inns or in the houses of the rich,where they were paid according to the generosity of the audience. Duringthe day they performed in courtyards, but to-night they appeared in thegrand salon, the assembled company moving to one end of it to givegreater room.
First came a man with a performing monkey, whose antics excited roars oflaughter, followed by a _jongleuse_, or female juggler, who won a greatdeal of admiration by her dexterity in whirling a little drum about onthe very tips of her fingers. Then came a man who could turn a number ofsomersaults without touching his hands to the floor, which would seem tohave been a dangerous feat to attempt, for before each performance hewas careful to make the sign of the cross.
This ended the program of the players, and Le Glorieux, who had watchedthem from his place on the floor, where, sprawling with his elbowresting on a cushion, he was making himself as comfortable as possible,was now anxious to have Antoine appear, for he knew that in his way theboy was far more talented than any who had to-night performed before thecourt. So, with the permission of the duchess, he went to fetch Antoine.
"Now, my young friend," said he, taking the boy by the ear, "I want youto do us both credit. No choking and squeaking to-night, if youplease."
"You do not know what it is to be seized with a panic," retorted Antoinesulkily. "Very easy it is for you, who have the impudence to floutkings, to talk thus to one who is frightened of strangers."
"Fie!" exclaimed Le Glorieux. "Do not think of what the people think ofyou; think of what you think of them, and you will have no trouble,"which, although a sentence having a good many "thinks" in it, is not abad rule to follow when performing in public.
Antoine seemed to heed his friend's advice, for he began a lively air soinspiring that the duchess kept time with her small fingers on the armof her chair, while Le Glorieux sprang up and danced in a series ofglides and whirls, with his fantastic figure reflected in the polishedfloor.
A good while before the period of which I am telling you there weretrouveres and troubadours who used to compose songs while they weresinging them. Antoine, being a born musician, often did the same thingwhen he was in the humor for it, and that, too with considerablesuccess.
He now began a weird little accompaniment suggesting the sighing of thewind through the woods, and then followed the woeful tale of witches whostole a knight's purse and horse and hawk, and later transformed theknight himself into a dancing dervish who kept on whirling and whirlingfor ever. There was a twinkle of mischief in the boy's eyes as he sang,and although the company thrilled deliciously at the blood-curdlingpassages, Le Glorieux knew quite well who was meant by the bewitchedknight.
When the song was finished the fool stalked forward and picked up thesinger by the back of the neck as a mother cat lifts her kittens. "Iunderstand it all now," said he. "Cousin Anne, I thought the witches hadplayed me a trick this afternoon, but it was this little villain, whoevidently skulked along behind me, awaiting his opportunity to do mesome mischief!"
"I am sure her Grace will not be interested in your private matters,"said the Lady Clotilde coldly.
But the duchess was young enough to be interested in nonsense, and shedemanded the whole story, Antoine explaining hi
s part of it by sayingthat he had been waiting all day to be revenged upon his comrade becausethe latter had insisted upon his singing at the inn on the previousnight. "But I did not know, your Highness, that he would sleep so long,else I should not have gone away and left him there. I was very unhappyabout him when night came on and he had not yet arrived."
Just as Antoine had finished speaking, a servant came to announce thecoming of some of her Grace's soldiers, saying that the captain of hertroop desired an audience, which was granted at once.
An officer now entered, a dark-browed man with a somewhat forbiddingface, who, after bending the knee to the duchess and saluting thecompany, began his story in the satisfied tone of one who feels that hehas been quick to see his duty and has done it rather better than mostpeople would have managed it in his place.
He said that he had stopped that morning at an inn for somerefreshments, and that the innkeeper had shown him a gold piece givenhis child the night before by a little girl whose costume did notwarrant the gift, and that the latter had seemed so much superior instation to the woman with whom she was traveling that he could not helpfearing that the child was being unlawfully conveyed away.
Later the officer and his men had overtaken the mysterious couple, andafter putting some questions the officer was convinced that the womanhad been sent to Brittany by the French, for she had become very muchconfused when he questioned her, and implored him to allow her to go onher way unmolested. Her words and manner excited his suspicions stillfurther, and without more ado he had taken them both prisoners, and hadbrought them to the palace with him. The woman was a foreigner, shesaid, but she acknowledged that she had lived for years in France, andhe did not hesitate to say that he believed her to be a spy.
The Lady Anne, so far from being gratified by this intelligence, lookedvery much annoyed. "We are no longer at war with France," she saidcoldly. "It would have been better to have believed the woman's accountof herself and let the two go on their way."
Considerably dismayed at thus being reproved where he had expected to becommended, the officer could not forbear to reply that France had brokenher word with Brittany in the past, and who could tell but that shemight be planning some new piece of treachery?
"Let the prisoners appear before me," said the duchess, and after somelittle delay the prisoners were brought in, and Le Glorieux and Antoinebeheld--as the former, at least, had suspected--the same woman and childwho had stopped at the inn on the previous night.
The woman was pale and frightened, and she sobbed bitterly as she kneltat the feet of her Grace of Brittany. The child too was pale, but shestood silent, with her small hands clasped before her, not offering tokneel, as did her companion.
"Oh, gracious lady, give us permission to go on our way at dawnto-morrow!" imploded the woman. "We have been brought out of our way byyour soldiers, and if we do not reach home soon I do not know what willhappen," and she concluded with another burst of tears.
"You should be German by your accent," said the duchess kindly. "Calmyourself and tell me your name and why you have come to Brittany."
The woman hesitated, and the child said quietly, "Tell her Grace yourname; there is no reason why you should not do so."
"Cunegunda Leutner; I am an Austrian, your Grace," was the reply.
"Then she is a subject of your own, after all, Cousin Anne, since youare to marry the Archduke of Austria, _Poco Danari_," interposed LeGlorieux, who was not afraid to rush in where angels fear to tread.
The little duchess blushed crimson at this speech. Perhaps she wasannoyed to hear the name _Poco Danari_, which means poverty-stricken,applied to her lover, and which had been given to Maximilian of Austriabecause his rich old father was too stingy to allow him necessary funds.Whatever the cause, she seemed about to administer a rebuke to the fool,then controlling herself turned again to the woman.
"And the girl, is she your child?"
"No, your Grace, but I have cared for her from the day she was born."
"What brought you to Brittany?"
"For the reason I told your Grace's soldiers. I visited the shrine ofSaint Roch, the blessed saint whose fame for healing all maladies isknown far and wide."
"You do not look like an invalid," remarked the duchess, surveying thestout figure and round face of the speaker.
"It is the migraine, your Grace, a pain which has troubled me day andnight, and which leeches tell me is liable to reach the heart. Oh, dearand gracious lady, I should not care for myself; life is not so preciousthat I should want to cling to it; it is for this little one that I wantto live, and for that reason I have taken this long journey to implorethe blessed saint to cure me, that my life may be spared until she nolonger needs me."
"Is the child an orphan?"
"Her mother is dead, your Grace. Her mother bade me always to be afriend to her, and I promised."
"Her father is married to a woman who is unkind to her?"
"He--he--is about to be married, your Grace," stammered the woman.
"Cousin Anne," again interrupted the jester, "this woman is telling thetruth about the visit to the shrine of Saint Roch. I saw her and thechild going there this morning just as I was coming away after a longprayer to be relieved of the gout, which I never have had, but which mayovertake me like a thief in the night."
Every one smiled at this remark save the duchess, who again turned tothe Austrian. "Why did you bring the child with you upon a journeyfraught with discomfort, if not with danger?"
"Because, your Grace, I have sworn never to leave her, and never a nightof her life has she slept without my first smoothing the coverlid overher little body."
"What is her name? Who is she?"
The Austrian was silent a moment. "If it please your Grace, there arereasons which forbid a reply to that question," she said slowly.
"But I insist upon a reply," said the Duchess Anne, with a touch of thatfirmness which made her appear older than her years.
The prisoner bent her head still lower as she replied in tones ofemotion, "Gracious lady, so well beloved by your subjects, show us alittle of that kindness you vouchsafe to others. We ask no favor but tobe allowed to depart early to-morrow morning. It is _necessary_ for usto go. I know not what will happen if we are longer delayed. Believe me,I am speaking the truth."
"Truly," said the young duchess gently, "we each have a right to thesecret of our hearts." After a moment's reflection she said, "You shallgo within five days at most, and in a company that will insure yourprotection. Until your departure you shall be made as comfortable aspossible, and you shall not leave my domains empty-handed. This much atleast I owe you for the discomfort you have suffered through myoverzealous soldiers."
To remain as a guest in this splendid abode, and to receive a sum ofmoney at the end of the visit, to say nothing of a safe conduct home,would not by most people be considered a hardship, but the womanlooked as if she had received a blow. "Oh, lady," she moaned, "yourGrace means to be kind, but let us go to-morrow. Not an hour longer mustwe wait. Even now our absence may be discovered."
"Discovered?" said the Lady Anne. "Why should a pious journey require somuch secrecy? But guard your secret if you like. You shall depart withinfive days, as I have said; it may be a little earlier; it will not belonger than that time."
"Alas," cried the woman, turning wildly to the child and seeming toforget all caution, "what will _she_ say when she finds that we areaway? Cold and revengeful as her father, she may send me to my death!"
"Of whom are you speaking?" asked the duchess wonderingly. "Who has thepower to punish so severely a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Roch?"
"I am Marguerite of Hapsburg!"]
Overcome by her emotion, the woman made no reply, but the child nowstepped forward and said in a voice that all might hear, "The Duchess ofBrittany has no right to keep me here against my will! I shall departwhen I please. My rank is higher than yours. You ask my name? You shallknow it, happen what will. I am the granddaughter of an e
mperor; I amthe future Queen of France. _I am Marguerite of Hapsburg!_"
An earthquake shaking the palace from turret to donjon keep would nothave caused a greater degree of surprise, for there was something inthe manner, the tone, and the expression of the child that left no roomfor doubt. Her exquisitely-poised head was thrown proudly back, andthough her full red lips quivered slightly, her eyes were dry andbright.
Strange to say, the fool of the company was the first to gain hisself-possession. With a swift, gliding step he advanced toward thelittle lady, and kneeling he pressed her hand to his lips. "Mary'slittle child!" he exclaimed with a half sob.
"You said last night that you would give a year of your life to see thedaughter of Mary of Burgundy, and now your wish is granted for naught,"said Marguerite, smiling.
The Lady Anne now came forward, and clasping the princess in her armskissed her on both cheeks. "The little lady whom of all others I havemost desired to see!" she said. "Happily sheltered in the arms of my owndear father I heard of you, a tiny child away from your parents and in astrange country. And once I sent you a doll. I dare say you haveforgotten it," she went on, half laughing. "It was a fashion model thathad been sent to my grandmother, who was going to live at the court ofFrance in the time of Charles the Seventh, and it was one of my dearestpossessions. It wore a high pointed cap with a long flowing veil, and ithad long pointed shoes."
"It must have looked like the old Duchess of Burgundy," remarked LeGlorieux, who was again his old impudent self. "Did it talk of theprincess who kissed the poet, Cousin Anne?"
"It was dressed in the mode of the princess who kissed the poet," shereturned, laughing. "Do you remember it, Lady Marguerite?"
"Yes, Lady Anne, and I have it still. Since the day you sent it I alwayshave remembered you in my prayers. With it came a little chain set withpearls, but I liked the doll best."
Just here the jester began to laugh immoderately, slapping his knees andstamping at the same time, while every one else smiled in sympathy.
"What do you find so very amusing, Fool?" asked the Lady Anne.
He replied, "Some things that happen in royal families are so very funnythat they would make Pandora, my hawk, laugh, though she is such a sulkylittle brute. Once explained to Pittacus, my donkey, and he would smileuntil every tooth in his head could be seen. You asked if this child'sfather was married to a woman who was unkind to her, and her nurse saidhe was about to be married. And you, Cousin Anne, ha! ha! you are to bethe cruel stepmother!"
There was no denying the fact that the Lady Anne was about to be thestepmother of the Lady Marguerite, for Maximilian, who was still youngand handsome, was shortly to marry the young Duchess of Brittany.
But again the duchess seemed to be embarrassed, and she turned her backto Le Glorieux as she said, "My dear Lady Marguerite, I will not keepyou here a moment when you must be overcome with fatigue. I will sendyou to your apartments, where supper shall be served you, and then whenyou have retired and are resting I will come and talk to you, if I may."
The princess, so far from being conducted to the plain but comfortablequarters which would have been hers had her identity remained a secret,was now shown all the deference accorded a person of rank. Pages, maids,and even ladies of high degree, rushed about to make her comfortable, adelicious supper was served, and she lay down to rest beneath thegold-embroidered canopy of a couch even more sumptuous than her own bedin the palace of Amboise.
Cunegunda, who had been given a room next to that of her young mistress,after smoothing the silken coverlid over her young charge, satisfiedthat nothing dreadful was going to happen to-night, at least, hadretired, and was sleeping the sleep of the fatigued when the Lady Anneentered the apartment of her young guest.
The duchess had changed her gown for a long robe of dark blue silktrimmed in fur, with a little cap of the same, and in this plainer garbshe seemed younger and less stately than in the earlier part of theevening.
The princess, with her bright hair flowing over the cushions againstwhich she leaned, seemed pathetically young, and it is a singular factthat about these two children revolved the most important events in thehistory of Europe at that time, events which drove great statesmen totheir wits' end, and changed the map of France for all time.
"And now tell me all about it"]
Sitting on the edge of the bed the Lady Anne took the hand Margueritestretched out to her, and stroking it gently, said simply, "And now tellme all about it. I long to know why France so lightly guards a princessintrusted to her keeping."
"It was as Cunegunda told you," was the reply. "She was suffering andthe leeches frightened her. She always has been my nurse. When I was ababy, and, by the desire of our subjects, was sent with my brother tolive in Flanders, my beautiful young mother--whom I can notremember--made Cunegunda promise never to leave me, for she knew that mynurse loved me, and love can not be bought. My mother, as you know, waskilled when hunting, but Cunegunda never forgot her promise. She came toFrance with me, and though there are with me Lady Ravenstein and othersof my father's court, I feel that none of them is so fond of me as she,for I know that if necessary she would give her life for mine. Anne ofBeaujeu, Duchess of Bourbon and sister to the king, is like King Louis,her father, and she would not scruple to take a cruel revenge shouldshe feel so inclined. We both dislike her very much, and that is why weare anxious to return before she hears of our absence."
"Did no one know that you had left the palace of Amboise?" asked theduchess.
"Only a few of the servants, who were bribed to keep silence. TheDuchess of Bourbon lately has been away, and I have seen but little ofher. Some of the other ladies have been ill, and one of them is about tobe married. Cunegunda gave it out that I had been attacked by somecontagious childish malady, I do not know what, and this kept them awayfrom my apartments, and we stole out early one morning and mounting ourmules came away."
"Were you not afraid to go on a journey without any one of authority inyour train, and with no one to guard you from highwaymen?"
"No, Lady Anne. Cunegunda loves me, you know, and she was better thanany one of rank. She made a little stuff gown for me, and she said thattraveling alone and unattended we should attract no attention, and couldgo on our way unmolested.
"I have been quite happy during the trip, for it was all so new and sostrange to me, and it was so pleasant not to be surrounded by people whowere always watching me. But it was my fault that we excited suspicion.I went down to the inn kitchen to see what the common people do whenthey are having a festival, and I felt that I must give a gold pieceto the baby who had been named Mary in memory of my dear mother. Itappears that ordinary people do not give away so much money, and that iswhat made the company at the inn suspicious."
"And no wonder, you innocent little girl," returned the Lady Anne,smiling. "A person of the station represented by your dress would havegiven, if anything, just the smallest piece of silver which is fastenedto a bit of leather to keep it from being lost."
"I am afraid," went on the princess, "of the consequences of our trip toCunegunda if our absence should be discovered, and as we have been awaylonger than we had planned, I fear that even those who were bribed tokeep silence will think that something has happened to us, and will feelit their duty to report our absence. Cunegunda is afraid of this, andshe is terrified when she thinks of Anne of Beaujeu. But as we shall goto-morrow morning, perhaps we shall be in Amboise before we have beenmissed."
"Indeed, you are not going to-morrow morning, my dear little sister andcousin," said Anne, using the term employed by royalties when addressingeach other.
"Then I am afraid that we shall have a great deal of trouble when we doreturn," said the princess coldly. "Of course we can not help ourselves;we must remain here if you command it, but I can not see how if willbenefit you to make us stay against our will. I had hoped that it wouldbe different when you had been told who you were detaining; I am sorrynow that I revealed our secret."
She turned he
r head slightly, and a tear rolled over her temple anddropped into the meshes of her bright hair.
The duchess thrust her arm under the child's head, and clasping heraffectionately said, "Do you think, foolish little one, that I amkeeping you here for spite? Within a few days you shall set out forAmboise with an escort that even a queen would not disdain."
"It would avail us nothing to return in royal style if we were to bepunished sorely at the end of the journey," returned Marguerite dryly.
"You shall not be punished. I already have sent a messenger to the Kingof France explaining your absence, stating that you are in my keeping,and that you will return in safety."
"The King? Oh, the King would not care. But it is not he who rulesFrance at present; it is his sister, Anne of Beaujeu."
"Let it be Anne of Beaujeu, then," cried the young duchess. "I promisethat not one of your golden hairs shall be touched, and that yourfaithful nurse shall not be harmed in the least."
She rose as she spoke and looked down upon her guest with a proud smile."France will hardly refuse a request made just now by Anne ofBrittany," she said.
"I feel that you will do what you promise, though I do not quiteunderstand," returned Marguerite with a sigh of relief.
For a few moments Anne remained silent, playing with the gilt cords thatlooped back the curtains of the bed. Then she said, "You evidently donot know that since our recent conflict with France a treaty has beensigned whereby I am allowed safe conduct to join the King of the Romans,your father, in Austria. I may sail from St. Malo or go through France,as I choose. I shall take the latter route, and you and your attendantshall go with my suite to the nearest point to Amboise, where you cantravel the remainder of the way in safety. Even before I knew your rankI did not like to think of a dainty little creature like you travelingover the country with none to guard you but a woman of the people, and Iwas going to let you make the journey under my protection. But now youshall ride by my side on the prettiest palfrey in my stables, or in oneof my litters if you prefer it." And she gave Marguerite a light kiss onthe brow.
"Oh, I am so glad that you are going to marry my father!" cried theprincess, with sparkling eyes. "He sent me his portrait by the Austrianambassador, and he is as beautiful as a knight of the Holy Grail. If Iwere not the heiress of Burgundy and Flanders, but only a littlepeasant girl, I could live under my father's roof as other children do.But this happiness is not to be granted me, for it is arranged that I amto be Queen of France."
"Those in whose veins courses royal blood may not do as their heartsdictate," said Anne thoughtfully. "But let us talk no more to-night, forit is time for those bright eyes to be closed in sleep."
The two girls embraced affectionately; then the duchess left the room.