"I am ready to obey you, my lord," he replied, after a moment's reflection.

"When you are at Cluny," continued Manases, "keep your ears and eyes open; let nothing escape you. Watch, above all, the prelates who reside there, and see upon what terms Henry and Alexander appear to be.

Mingle with the servants of the house, for you must know every nook and corner in it, and the va.s.sals will suspect nothing."

"You will be satisfied with me, my lord."

"But, take care, the Italian roads are infested with banditti, and Clemence cannot travel without an escort."

"You need have no apprehension on that score; the best sword in Germany will accompany her."

"Who will it be?"

"Erwin of Rechberg."

"Very good; he will then leave the castle. But are you sure of him?"

"Perfectly. Rechberg is a valiant knight: if it be necessary, I will tell him her name, and that will be sufficient for him to consider it a duty not to leave her until she is at her journey's end."

"Antonio, be active, faithful, and discreet, and you will lose nothing.

Now go; invent some pretext to hasten your departure."

Antonio found the d.u.c.h.ess ready, but Erwin was not to be found; he had gone, early in the morning, to the Imperial camp, and thither the spy went to look for him.

_CHAPTER x.x.xVIII_.

_THE QUEEN OF FRANCE_.

The Count of Champagne had secured the cooperation of a more powerful ally than the Bishop of Orleans. His sister Adele, as we have already stated, was Queen of France. The indecent haste with which this marriage had been consummated--within a fortnight after the death of Queen Constance--joined to the general absence of affection that he had shown for his deceased wife, had excited the indignation of the people against the King, while the new alliance had created for him many new enemies, not the least formidable of whom was the King of England.

Adele exercised an immense influence over her husband. She was a relative of the Antipope Victor, whose cause she warmly espoused, and, consequently, did all in her power to further an alliance between Louis and Barbarossa. Pope Alexander, on the contrary, was odious to her, on account of his opposition to her marriage, and his threats of excommunication. After a long interview with her brother, she repaired to the King's apartments. Louis was seated in a high-backed chair, his head resting upon his hands, his eyes cast down, and his whole face bearing an expression of anger and uneasiness.

"Adele," said the monarch, perceiving his young wife, "since Alexander is in France, I have not had an hour of repose."

This remark (a propos to the very subject which interested the Queen most) gave Adele the opportunity of exerting her influence for her relatives, and to gratify her revenge towards Alexander; and she said,--

"You have the power, Sire, to send the cause of your uneasiness out of France."

"The wish certainly, but not the power."

"Are you then no longer master in your own kingdom?"

"Circ.u.mstances are stronger than my will. I cannot show myself hostile to Alexander, without alienating from me the majority of the prelates.

Besides, he is our guest, and the supreme chief of Christendom."

"You cannot be forced to observe the laws of hospitality towards one who has brought trouble under your roof."

"Oh, my dear!" said the King; "we are scarcely at that point yet."

"I know it; but matters are still in a very unfortunate position," said Adele, with an expression of discouragement. "If the support which you give to Alexander satisfies the prelates, it displeases the great va.s.sals of the crown."--This observation was just.

"The Emperor at the head of a powerful army, is already on our frontiers; Henry of England is mustering his troops in the North. Who, except your va.s.sals, can extricate France from her peril? Can Alexander help you in any way against the dangers which you incur on his account?"

"Honor and duty enjoin on our va.s.sals to answer our summons; do you think they would hesitate to obey?" said Louis.

"The situation is perhaps more critical than you imagine, Sire. If you destroy the contract made with the Emperor, if you protect Alexander, Barbarossa will cross the frontier at once. All will desert your cause, even my brother."

She hid her face in her hands, and wept bitterly.

"What is that you say, Adele?" exclaimed the King. "Is it, as we hope, merely anxiety which makes you speak thus, or have you really any knowledge of such treachery?"

"My dear husband, be prepared for the worst! Yes, the Count Henry of Champagne and Troyes, the most powerful of your va.s.sals, has promised to go over to the Emperor, if you violate a single article of the treaty which he signed."

"What do you say, madam?" cried Louis, angrily.

"He confessed it to me secretly. In spite of my prayers and my tears, he has sworn to keep his oath."

"Ah! the villain, the caitiff!" he cried, pacing the room. "By Saint Denis! we will arrest and imprison the traitor."

"It is too late, dear husband. The Count has left the Court."

"What! has the wretch retired to his castle?"

The last question was dictated less by anger than by anxiety.

"No; he has gone to the Court of the Emperor."

"Doubtless to receive there the price of his perfidy! Oh, the villain!"

"He has even intimated," continued Adele, who was endeavoring to alarm the King,--"that other va.s.sals of the crown were inclined to follow his example. 'We prefer,' said he to me, 'to bear allegiance to a free and independent Emperor, than to obey a va.s.sal of the Pope."

"Where do I stand?" cried Louis, sadly, and giving way to all the indecision of his character; "rebellion against the throne, rebellion against the Church, surrounded by traitors in my own palace!"

"The danger is near and threatening. But you have the power to ward off the blow," said Adele.

"I have the power: I? Has not your brother already left the Court? will not the other traitors follow him? Will they not, perhaps to-morrow, rise in rebellion against their sovereign? Oh! I perceive their treasonable plan; it is skilfully organized."

"You exaggerate, Sire," hastily added the wily princess. "It is possible that my brother may return to-morrow. In that case, you will do well to dissemble your anger.--He must not suppose that you suspect his hostile designs."

"My dearest friends, my own family rebel against me!" said Louis, with emotion. "I see in it the finger of G.o.d. For years past, I have trampled underfoot the commandments of the holy Church,--the wrath of Heaven is let loose against me!"

"Do not despair," resumed Adele; "seek rather to avoid the storm; but lose no time, for events are urgent. Only observe the treaty which he has signed in your name, and my brother will be faithful to you, against all the world."

"But I have agreed to the interview, and yet the traitor has gone!"