IN THE APARTMENTS OF THE ROYAL CHILDREN
The king, on returning to his own apartments, did not find his daughter
there; but the usher who was in attendance told him that after waiting
for him a long while Madame Diane had gone to the rooms set apart for
the king's children, leaving word that she should be informed as soon as
his Majesty returned.
"Very well," said Henri, "I will join her there. Leave me, for I will go
alone."
He passed through a large hall, then a long corridor, at the end of
which he softly opened a door, and stood looking behind a long
half-drawn curtain. The children's cries and shouts of laughter had
drowned the noise of his steps; and he was able, himself unseen, to
watch a most delightful and graceful picture.
Standing at the window, Mary Stuart, the beautiful young bride, had
gathered around her Diane de Castro, and Elisabeth and Marguerite de
France, all three very assiduous to help her, and chattering away for
dear life, smoothing out a fold in her dress or fixing a lock of hair
that had escaped from its fastening,--in short, giving that finishing
touch to her lovely toilette which only women know how to give. At the
other end of the room, the brothers, Charles, Henri, and François, the
youngest of all, laughing and shouting at the top of their voices, were
pushing with all their strength against a door which François the
dauphin, the young bridegroom, was trying in vain to open, while the
little rogues were determined to prevent him from having a sight of his
wife till the last moment.
Jacques Amyot, the preceptor of the princes, was talking seriously in a
corner with Madame de Coni and Lady Lennox, the governesses of the
princesses.
There in one apartment, within a space that could be covered by one
glance, was assembled a large part of the history of the future, its
woes, its passions, and its glory. There were the dauphin, who became
François II.; Élisabeth, who married Philip II., and became Queen of
Spain; Charles, who was Charles IX.; Henri, who was Henri III.;
Marguerite de Valois, who married Henri IV., and was Queen of Navarre;
François, who was successively Duc d'Alençon, d'Anjou, and de Brabant;
and Mary Stuart, who was twice a queen, and a martyr too.
The illustrious translator of Plutarch watched with a gaze at once sad
and absorbed the sports of these children and the future destinies of
France.
"No, no, François, you shall not come in!" cried rather harshly the
brutal Charles Maximilien, who was in after years to give the word for
the fearful slaughter of Saint Bartholomew.
And with his brothers' help he succeeded in pushing the bolt, and thus
made an entrance out of the question for poor François, who was too
frail in any event to have made his way in, even against these children,
and who could only stamp in his vexation, and beg from the other side of
the door.
"Dear François, how they do torment him!" said Mary Stuart to his
sisters.
"Keep quiet, do, Madame la Dauphine, at least until I put in this pin,"
laughed little Marguerite. "What a fine invention these pins are, and
what a great man the one who thought of them last year ought to become!"
said she.
"And now that the pin is in place," said gentle Élisabeth, "I am going
to open the door for poor François, in spite of these young fiends; for
it makes me sad to see him so sad."
"Oh, yes, you know all about that, you do, Élisabeth," said Mary
Stuart, sighing; "and you are thinking of your courtly Spaniard, Don
Carlos, son of the King of Spain, who fêted us and amused us so at St.
Germain."
"See how Elisabeth is blushing," cried little Marguerite, clapping her
hands mischievously. "The fact is that he was very fine and gallant,
this Castilian of hers."
"Come, come," said Diane de Castro, the eldest of the sisters, in a
motherly sort of way, "it isn't right to jest so among sisters,
Marguerite."
Nothing could have been more fascinating than the sight of these four
lovely maidens, each so different from the others, and each so perfect
in herself. Beautiful flowers just opening their buds: Diane, all purity
and sweetness; Élisabeth, serious and affectionate; Mary Stuart, all
captivating languor; and Marguerite a sparkling madcap. Henri, moved and
fascinated, could not feast his eyes enough with the charming picture.
However, he had to make up his mind to go in. "The king!" they cried
with one breath; and all, boys and girls together, rushed to meet their
king and father. Only Mary Stuart held back a little, and went softly
and drew the bolt which was keeping François prisoner. The dauphin lost
no time in coming in, and the young family was complete.
"Good-morning, my dears," said the king. "I am very glad to find you all
so well and happy. Were they keeping you out, François, my poor boy?
But you are going to have time enough now to see your betrothed
sweetheart often and always. Are you very fond of one another, my
children?"
"Oh, yes, Sire, I do love Mary!" and the passionate boy pressed a
burning kiss on the hand of her who was to be his wife.
"Monseigneur," said Lady Lennox, sharply and rather sternly, "one does
not kiss a lady's hand in public in that way, especially in his
Majesty's presence. What will he think of Madame Mary and her
governess?"
"But isn't this hand mine?" said the dauphin.
"Not yet, Monseigneur," said the duenna; "and I propose to fulfil my
duty till the last minute."
"Don't be afraid," said Mary, in an undertone to her young husband, who
was beginning to sulk; "when she isn't looking, I will give it you
again."
The king laughed beneath his beard.
"You are very strict, my Lady; but then you are quite right," he added,
checking himself. "And you, Messire Amyot, you are not dissatisfied with
your pupils, I trust. Pay great regard to the words of your learned
preceptor, young gentlemen, for he is on intimate terms with the great
heroes of antiquity. Messire Amyot, is it long since you have heard from
Pierre Danot, who was our old master, and from Henri Étienne, our
fellow-pupil?"
"The old man and the young one are both well, Sire, and will be very
proud and happy to know that your Majesty has deigned to remember them."
"Well, children," said the king, "I wanted to see you before the
ceremony, and am very glad that I have seen you. Now, Diane, I am at
your service, my dear, so come with me."
Diane bowed low and followed the king from the room.