ThispersonagewasnootherthanthefamousRuggiero，astrologertothequeen-mother。Tourillonwentbelowtohisownapartment，feelingconvincedthathewasonetoomanyinthatofhisguest。”Wherecanwetalkwithoutdangerofbeingoverheard？”saidthecautiousFlorentine。”Weoughttobeintheopenfieldsforthat，”repliedLecamus。”Butwearenotallowedtoleavethetown；youknowtheseveritywithwhichthegatesareguarded。NoonecanleaveOrleanswithoutapassfromMonsieurdeCypierre，”headded，——”notevenI，whoamamemberoftheStates-general。Complaintistobemadeatto-morrow’ssessionofthisrestrictionofliberty。””Worklikeamole，butdon’tletyourpawsbeseeninanything，nomatterwhat，”saidthewaryItalian。”To-morrowwill，nodoubt，proveadecisiveday。Judgingbymyobservations，youmay，perhaps，recoveryoursonto-morrow，orthedayafter。””MayGodhearyou——youwhoarethoughttotrafficwiththedevil！””Cometomyplace，”saidtheastrologer，smiling。”IliveinthetowerofSieurTouchetdeBeauvais，thelieutenantoftheBailliage，whosedaughterthelittleDucd’Orleanshastakensuchafancyto；itistherethatIobservetheplanets。Ihavedrawnthegirl’shoroscope，anditsaysthatshewillbecomeagreatladyandbebelovedbyaking。Thelieutenant，herfather，isacleverman；helovesscience，andthequeensentmetolodgewithhim。HehashadthesensetobearabidGuisistwhileawaitingthereignofCharlesIX。”
ThefurrierandtheastrologerreachedthehouseoftheSieurdeBeauvaiswithoutbeingmetorevenseen；but，incaseLecamus’visitshouldbediscovered，theFlorentineintendedtogiveapretextofanastrologicalconsultationonhisson’sfate。Whentheyweresafelyatthetopofthetower，wheretheastrologerdidhiswork，Lecamussaidtohim:——”Ismysonreallyliving？””Yes，hestilllives，”repliedRuggiero；”andthequestionnowishowtosavehim。Rememberthis，sellerofskins，IwouldnotgivetwofarthingsforyoursifeverinallyourlifeasinglesyllableshouldescapeyouofwhatIamabouttosay。””Thatisauselesscaution，myfriend；IhavebeenfurriertothecourtsincethetimeofthelateLouisXII。；thisisthefourthreignthatIhaveseen。””Andyoumaysoonseethefifth，”remarkedRuggiero。”Whatdoyouknowaboutmyson？””Hehasbeenputtothequestion。””Poorboy！”saidtheoldman，raisinghiseyestoheaven。”Hiskneesandankleswereabitinjured，buthehaswonaroyalprotectionwhichwillextendoverhiswholelife，”saidtheFlorentinehastily，seeingtheterrorofthepoorfather。”YourlittleChristophehasdoneaservicetoourgreatqueen，Catherine。IfwemanagetopullhimoutoftheclawsoftheGuisesyouwillseehimsomedaycouncillortotheParliament。Anymanwouldgladlyhavehisbonescrackedthreetimesovertostandsohighinthegoodgracesofthisdearsovereign，——agrandandnoblegenius，whowilltriumphintheendoverallobstacles。IhavedrawnthehoroscopeoftheDucdeGuise；hewillbekilledwithinayear。Well，soChristophesawthePrincedeConde——””Youwhoreadthefutureoughttoknowthepast，”saidthefurrier。”Mygoodman，Iamnotquestioningyou，Iamtellingyouafact。Now，ifyourson，whowillto-morrowbeplacedintheprince’swayashepasses，shouldrecognizehim，oriftheprinceshouldrecognizeyourson，theheadofMonsieurdeCondewillfall。Godknowswhatwillbecomeofhisaccomplice！However，don’tbealarmed。Neitheryoursonnortheprincewilldie；Ihavedrawntheirhoroscope，——theywilllive；butIdonotknowinwhatwaytheywillgetoutofthisaffair。
Withoutdistrustingthecertaintyofmycalculations，wemustdosomethingtobringaboutresults。To-morrowtheprincewillreceive，fromsurehands，aprayer-bookinwhichweconveytheinformationtohim。Godgrantthatyoursonbecautious，forhimwecannotwarn。A
singleglanceofrecognitionwillcosttheprince’slife。Therefore，althoughthequeen-motherhaseveryreasontotrustinChristophe’sfaithfulness——””They’veputittoacrueltest！”criedthefurrier。”Don’tspeakso！Doyouthinkthequeen-motherisonabedofroses？
SheistakingmeasuresasiftheGuiseshadalreadydecidedonthedeathoftheprince，andrightsheis，thewiseandprudentqueen！Nowlistentome；shecountsonyoutohelpherinallthings。Youhavesomeinfluencewiththe/tiers-etat/，whereyourepresentthebodyoftheguildsofParis，andthoughtheGuisardsmaypromiseyoutosetyoursonatliberty，trytofoolthemandmaintaintheindependenceoftheguilds。Demandthequeen-motherasregent；thekingofNavarrewillpubliclyaccepttheproposalatthesessionoftheStates-