"Here; do not leave the castle until I see you again."
"The time will seem very long. Farewell."
Antonio hurriedly crossed the park in the direction of Laon. Pietro was waiting for him at the gate.
"Well, Antonio, what have you done?" he asked.
"He believed everything I told him.--He is so guileless. To-morrow you and I must go to La Flèche.--He sends me to see his betrothed."
"I shall simply state that Rechberg and the French Countess have come here together, and that report says they are to be married soon, as the Emperor urges the alliance, and Rechberg himself makes little opposition."
"Perhaps not, at first; but she will begin to doubt, and I know how to change doubts into certainty."
"You shall know in due time. Now you had better leave me, for we are near the palace-yard; but do not forget to-morrow at daybreak."
Antonio entered the court-yard, where he met the Count of Champagne on his way to see the Bishop, who was awaiting him in the King's antechamber.
"I have had a hard battle to fight, Count," said the prelate. "His Majesty is very uneasy about Barbarossa's military organizations. I warn you to be prepared for everything."
"I have not acted without proper authority," he said; "your own letter gave me full powers."
"Certainly! shield yourself behind the instructions received from me; it will induce Louis to reflect on the past. Perhaps he is already ashamed of his conduct."
At this moment the King entered. The courtiers were interrupted, for Manasés had still much to tell the Count; but there was nothing to be done but to wait for a more favorable opportunity. Henry advanced towards his sovereign and then knelt and kissed his hand respectfully. The French prince, though naturally kind and generous, often allowed himself to be led away by evil counsellors. His frivolous and vacillating character made him the tool of parties who profited by their influence, to allure him to the commission of bad actions. But as soon as his spirit had regained its wonted calm, he at once rejected the advice and the decisions which had been suggested to him. This explains the continued series of weaknesses which marked his reign. His conduct towards Alexander III. was an exact reflex of his character, and at one time he was for, at another against him. A powerful faction had sprung up since His Holiness had declared the necessity of resisting the encroachments of the clergy, and of defending the Church against the disloyal nobility. At the head of this faction was Queen Adèle, the sister of the Count of Champagne, and a relative of the Antipope Victor, and every means was employed to picture to the king, in the most gloomy colors, the dangers which his kindness towards Alexander might entail upon the French monarchy. A strong argument was the inevitable peril of a war with Germany, and the prospect of an alliance between Frederic and Henry of England, the sworn enemy of France.