"
"He was sorely wounded last night in a tavern scuffle."
The girl gave a little cry of disappointment.
"Only wounded, sire?"
The king laughed heartily.
"Your solicitude is adorable. Be of cheer. He may recover. And we
have clapped hands on his assassin. He shall pay the penalty."
Katherine drew a little nearer to the king. Her eyes were very
eager, and there was eagerness in the tones of her voice.
"Sire, I bear this man no malice for hurting Thibaut d'Aussigny."
"You are clemency itself. It would never do to have a woman on the
throne. But to hurt a great lord is to hurt the whole body politic.
He shall swing for it."
The girl frowned slightly.
"This man should not die, sire. Thibaut was a traitor, a villain--"
Louis' mirth deepened but he kept the gravity of his speech.
"Take care, sweeting, lest you wade out of your depth. But you women
are fountains of compassion. If this knave's life interests you,
plead for it to my lord the Grand Constable."
The girl made a gesture of despair.
"Thibaut is pitiless," she said. Her mouth hardened as she thought
of the man she hated and of her own failure to thrust him from her
path, but it softened again on the next words of the king.
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