Jacob presently gave two knocks, and, receiving permission, ushered in the Italians. Marie Touchet was instantly affected by the grandeur of Lorenzo’s presence, which struck all those who met him, great and small alike. The silvery whiteness of the old man’s beard was heightened by a robe of black velvet; his brow was like a marble dome. His austere face, illumined by two black eyes which cast a pointed flame, conveyed an impression of genius issuing from solitude, and all the more effective because its power had not been dulled by contact with men. It was like the steel of a blade that had never been fleshed.
As for Cosmo Ruggiero, he wore the dress of a courtier of the time. Marie made a sign to the king to assure him that he had not exaggerated his description, and to thank him for having shown her these extraordinary men.
“I would like to have seen the sorceresses, too,” she whispered in his ear.
V
THE ALCHEMISTS
Again absorbed in thought, Charles IX. made her no answer; he was idly flicking crumbs of bread from his doublet and breeches.
“Your science cannot change the heavens or make the sun to shine, messieurs,” he said at last, pointing to the curtains which the gray atmosphere of Paris darkened.
“Our science can make the skies what we like, sire,” replied Lorenzo Ruggiero. “The weather is always fine for those who work in a laboratory by the light of a furnace.”
“That is true,” said the king. “Well, father,” he added, using an expression familiar to him when addressing old men, “explain to us clearly the object of your studies.”
“What will guarantee our safety?”
“The word of a king,” replied Charles IX., whose curiosity was keenly excited by the question.
Lorenzo Ruggiero seemed to hesitate, and Charles IX. cried out: “What hinders you? We are here alone.”
“But is the King of France here?” asked Lorenzo.
Charles reflected an instant, and then answered, “No.”
The imposing old man then took a chair, and seated himself. Cosmo, astonished at this boldness, dared not imitate it.
Charles IX. remarked, with cutting sarcasm: “The king is not here, monsieur, but a lady is, whose permission it was your duty to await.”
“He whom you see before you, madame,” said the old man, “is as far above kings as kings are above their subjects; you will think me courteous when you know my powers.”
Hearing these audacious words, with Italian emphasis, Charles and Marie looked at each other, and also at Cosmo, who, with his eyes fixed on his brother, seemed to be asking himself: “How does he intend to get us out of the danger in which we are?”
In fact, there was but one person present who could understand the boldness and the art of Lorenzo Ruggiero’s first step; and that person was neither the king nor his young mistress, on whom that great seer had already flung the spell of his audacity,—it was Cosmo Ruggiero, his wily brother. Though superior himself to the ablest men at court, perhaps even to Catherine de’ Medici herself, the astrologer always recognized his brother Lorenzo as his master.