"Master," said François, frowning darkly, "reflect before you speak."
"I apologized beforehand for my temerity, and asked to be permitted to hold my peace."
"I bear witness to that," said Diane; "you yourself bade him speak, Sire; and now that he has begun—"
"It is always time to stop," said Madame d'Etampes, "when one knows that what one is about to say is a falsehood."
"I will stop if you choose, madame," said Benvenuto; "you know that you have but to say the word."
"Yes, but I choose that he shall continue. You are right, Diane; there are matters here which must be probed to the bottom. Say on, monsieur, say on," said the king, keeping his eyes fixed upon the sculptor and the duchess.
"My conjectures were taking a wide range when an incredible discovery opened a new field to them."
"What was it?" cried the king and Diane de Poitiers in the same breath.
"I am getting in very deep," whispered Cellini to the duchess.
"Sire," said she, "you do not need to hold the lily in your hand to listen to this long discourse. Your Majesty is so accustomed to hold a sceptre in a firm grasp, that I fear the fragile flower may be broken in your fingers."