"The greatest of all causes, monsieur--money. Diane loves gold as a swallow loves a fly. When a woman is avaricious she will let nothing stand between her and her desire. Again, it is no disrespect to the Vidame, your noble brother, to say he would sell his soul for a hundred crowns, and Dom Antony de Mouchy is worse than either he or Diane. Why, man, they have shared between them the wretched estate of a journeyman tailor! The property of a street-hawker, burnt in the Place Maubert, was granted to them, and they took it." "It is almost incredible!" I exclaimed. "But it is true," said De Lorgnac. "It appears to me," I said, "that my departure for Italy will be a little delayed." "If you were as superstitious as I am," and Le Brusquet smiled as he spoke, "you would say that departure is a dream of the past." "Why?" "_Eh bien_, a month ago, you left Paris from this very house never to return, and here you are back again! It is my belief that your fate is against your leaving Paris, and your game will have to be played here. That slice of the Romagna you intended for your own helping will go to fill another's plate." I laughed, and De Lorgnac rose. "There is Quinte with Cartouche at the door," he said, "and I must be off. Be at the door of the Queen's apartments a little before compline, and so, _au revoir_!" "We have almost an hour and a half still," said Le Brusquet, "and if it were not safer for you to be indoors as much as possible I would suggest spending a half-hour at the Bourgogne." "I think it would be better to stay here; but tell me, do you know anything definite about this design of the Duchess?" "No. All that I know is that there is something afoot. Vieilleville was approached; but, to his honour, refused to have anything to do with it. I know, however, no details." "Then all we can do at present is to wait and watch." He nodded, and poured himself out some wine. Leaving him to sip his Joue I retired to change my dress, and shortly after we rode out to the Louvre. On arrival there we proceeded at once to Le Brusquet's apartments, where he received a joyous welcome from his ape. "Here," he said, as he put the little beast down and took a sword from the wall, "here is the sword you lent me that night. You see it is clean and sharp as ever." "Let it remain, then, in your hands, monsieur, as a trifling remembrance of Bertrand d'Orrain." "I thank you! I shall guard it as it should be guarded. _Corbleu_! but it was a narrow affair that night; but for you Vendome might be wearing wings now, and the house of Besme extinct as the Sphinga." "It was a lucky chance. I suppose that old fox Camus still has his lair in the same place? I wonder what made him turn against me as he did----"