"It is there, madame." "And where is Monsieur de Bouillon to sign?" "On the same line with Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld." "But you do not tell me where Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld will sign." "Immediately below Monsieur le Duc d'Enghien." "Monsieur le Duc d'Enghien should not sign such a document. A child!--think of it, Lenet." "I have thought of it, madame. When the king dies, the dauphin succeeds him, though it be but for a single day. Why should it not be with the house of Condé as with the house of France?" "But what will Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld say? What will Monsieur de Bouillon say?" "The first has said, madame, and went away after he had said; the second will know nothing about it until it is done, and consequently will say what he pleases; it matters little." "There is the cause of the duke's coolness to you, Claire." "Let him be cool, madame," said Lenet; "he will warm up at the first gun Maréchal de la Meilleraie fires upon us. These gentlemen long to fight: very well, let them fight." "Be careful not to irritate them too far, Lenet," said the princess; "we have only them." "And they have only your name; just let them try to fight on their own account, and you will see how long they will hold out; give and take." Madame de Tourville had entered the room a few seconds before, and the radiant expression of her countenance had given place to an anxious expression, which was deepened by the last words of her rival, the councillor. She stepped forward hastily. "Is the plan I laid before your Highness," she said, "so unfortunate as not to meet the approval of Monsieur Lenet?" "On the contrary, madame," Lenet replied with a bow, "I have carefully retained the larger part of your draft; the only difference is that, instead of being signed in chief by the Duc de Bouillon or the Duc de La Rochefoucauld, the proclamation will be signed by Monseigneur le Duc d'Enghien; the names of those gentlemen will come after the prince's name." "You will compromise the young prince, monsieur." "It is only just that he should be compromised, madame, since the troops are fighting for him." "But the Bordelais love the Duc de Bouillon, they adore the Duc de La Rochefoucauld, and they do not know the Duc d'Enghien." "You are wrong," said Lenet, as usual taking a paper from that pocket whose enormous capacity had amazed Madame la Princesse, "for here is a letter from the President of the Parliament of Bordeaux, in which he begs me to have the young duke sign the proclamation." "Oh! a fig for the Parliaments, Lenet!" cried the princess; "it's not worth while to escape from the power of Monsieur de Mazarin if we are to fall into the power of the Parliaments." "Does your Highness wish to enter Bordeaux?" "To be sure." "Very good; then that is the _sine qua non_; they will not burn a match for any other than Monsieur le Duc d'Enghien." Madame de Tourville bit her lips.