Leoni ended by joining his young companions in the deep embrasure of the window, taking him by the arm, and pressing him towards the diamond panes of the casement as if to draw his attention to something out beyond the terrace and the steep slope below. "Now," he said, in a quick whisper, "speak beneath your breath. You know where?" "In the tall, square-turreted cabinet three parts of the way down the long corridor by the King's private apartments." "Ah, I have not been there, and dared not raise suspicion by asking permission to go. Are you sure?" "Carrbroke has as good as told me it was there. He spoke of a charm with fateful powers of its own, and that the King held gems as sacred relics." "Ah!" ejaculated Leoni softly. "Boy, you make me begin to live." "Shall I tell you something more, sir?" "There can be nothing more that I wish to hear," whispered Leoni. "Boy, you have filled an empty void. But speak; tell me what more you have to say." "The King has a secret passage whose door is in the arras two chambers down the long corridor farther on." "Young Carrbroke told you so?" "Yes." "Bah! But it would be a secret way known only to himself, of no avail to us. It could not be found. Once the relic is in our hands, a silken rope and some window must be our way." "But I know the secret of the passage, sir, how to open the door, and where the passage leads." "Where, boy, where?" cried Leoni excitedly. "Down to the grounds, and then by a long winding alley through the private gardens to the riverside." "Hist!" whispered Leoni. "No more, boy, for your words have seemed to burn. Ah, it is strange! The workings too of fate. What I have striven for in vain has come to you without seeking, without thought. It is fate, boy, fate. The spirit of our great nation is working on our behalf, and has made you the chosen instrument of our success. We must, we shall succeed, and through you. Now silence; not another word but these. I say silence, Denis. It is for our master's sake and for _la France_." CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. THE CHAMBERLAIN HAS SUSPICIONS. Several days passed at the Court in a succession of gaieties including hunting, an excursion on the river, and at night banquet and dance. Henry was charmed with the pleasant sprightliness of his guest, whose lively French manner attracted him more and more. He distinguished himself in the field and in the chivalrous sports in the Castle Yard. There were moments when the King looked grim and slightly disposed to be jealous of the applause given to the Comte, and more than once Lord Hurst saw his master frown heavily upon seeing how great a favourite Francis had made himself with the courtiers, who were delighted with the change the gay Frenchman made in the monotony of their daily life. But Leoni felt that the luxurious seats he occupied at Windsor were stuffed with thorns, and that they were placed close to the edge of a mine that might at any moment explode.