Cinq Mars, though not fully satisfied at the admission of so light a being as Madame de Chevreuse into secrets of such importance, could not help smiling at the account his companion gave; and as it was in vain to regret what was done, he turned to the present, asking what was to be done next. "No time is now to be lost," said he. "For the whole danger is now incurred, and we must not allow it to be fruitless." "Certainly not," answered Fontrailles. "You must ply the King hard to procure his consent as far as possible. In the next place, a counterpart of the treaty must be signed by all the confederates, and sent into Spain, for which I have pledged my word; and another, similarly signed, must be sent to the Duke of Bouillon in Italy. But who will carry it to the Duke? that is the question. I cannot absent myself again." "I will provide a messenger," said Cinq Mars. "There is an Italian attached to my service, named Villa Grande, a sort of half-bred gentleman, who, lacking gold himself, hangs upon any who will feed him. They laugh at him here for his long mustaches, and his longer rapier; but if he tell truth, his rapier has done good service; so, as this will be an undertaking of danger, he shall have it, as he says he seeks but to distinguish himself in my service, and being an Italian, he knows the country to which he is going." "If you can trust him, be it so," replied Fontrailles. "At present let us look to other considerations. We must seek to strengthen our party by all means; for though circumstances seem to combine to favour us, yet it is necessary to guard against any change. Do you think that the Queen could be brought to join us?" "Certainly not!" replied the Master of the Horse; "and if she would, to us it would be far more dangerous than advantageous. She has no power over the mind of the King--she has no separate authority; and besides, though Richelieu's avowed enemy, she is so cautious of giving offence to Louis, that she would consent to nothing that was not openly warranted by him." "But suppose we are obliged to have recourse to arms," said Fontrailles, "would it not be every thing in our favour to have in our hands the Queen and the Heir apparent to the throne." "True," answered Cinq Mars; "but if we are driven to such extremity, she will be obliged to declare for some party, and that of necessity must be our's; for she will never side with Richelieu. We can also have her well surrounded by our friends, and seize upon the Dauphin should the case require it." "What say you, then, to trying the Count de Blenau? He is your friend. He is brave, expert in war, and just such a man as leads the blind multitude. But more, he is wealthy and powerful, and has much credit in Languedoc."