s and grey walls behind them seemed to present a picture at once
peaceful and joyous. Yet I knew that treachery and death were lurking in
the midst--even as between the parterres and the walls lay the dark
sluggish moat; and it was only by an effort that, as I rode up, I could
make answer to the thousand obliging things with which I was greeted and
of which not the least polite were said by M. d'Entragues and his son. I
took pains to observe Mademoiselle Susette, a beautiful girl still in
her teens, but noways comparable as it seemed to me, in expression and
vivacity to her famous sister. She was walking beside the King, her
hands full of flowers, and her face flushed with shy excitement. I came,
with little thought, to the conclusion that she, at least, knew nothing
of what was intended by her family; who, having made the one sister the
means of gratifying their avarice, were now baiting the trap of their
vengeance with the other. Having obtained what they needed, they were
ashamed of the means by which they had obtained it: and would fain
avenge their honour, while holding to that they had got by the sale of
it.

Henry parted from the maid at length, and mounted his horse amid a
ripple of laughter and compliments, D'Entragues holding the stirrup, and
his son the cloak. I observed that the latter, as I had expected, was
prepared to accompany us, which rendered my plan more feasible. Our road
lay for a league in the direction of the Rock of the Serpents, the track
which passed the latter--and was a trifle shorter--presently diverging
from it. For some distance we rode along in easy talk, but on
approaching the point of separation, the King looked at me with a
whimsical air, as though he would lay on me the burden of finding an
excuse for avoiding the shorter way. I had foreseen this and looked
round to ascertain the positions of our company. I found that La Varenne
and D'Entragues were close behind us, while the troopers with La Trape
and Boisrose were a hundred paces farther to the rear, and Vitry and
Coquet had dropped out of sight. This being so, I suddenly reined in my
horse so as to back it into that of D'Entragues, and then wheeled round
on the latter, taking care to be between him and the King. "M. Louis
d'Entragues," I said, dropping the mask and addressing him in a low
voice but with the scorn which I felt and which he deserved. "Your plot
is known! If you would save your life confess to his Majesty here and
no