time, and Mme. Acquet rejoiced, hoping that the rest
of the sum would remain at her disposal. The Marquise had judged it
prudent to send Lanoe away to the fair at Saint-Clair which was held in
the open country about a league away, and they only saw him again at the
time fixed for their departure on Saturday. He has left an account of
the journey, which though evidently written in a bad temper, is rather
picturesque.

"I returned from the fair," he says, "towards one o'clock in the
afternoon, and while I was harnessing the horses I saw a valise and
night bag in the carriage. Colin, the servant at La Bijude, threw two
bundles of straw in the carriage for the ladies to sit on, and Mme. de
Combray gave me a portmanteau, a package which seemed to contain linen,
and an umbrella to put in the carriage. On the road I made the horses
trot, but Mme. Acquet told me not to go so fast because they didn't want
to arrive at Caen before evening, seeing that they had stolen money in
the carriage. I looked at her, but said nothing, but I said to myself:
'This is another of her tricks; if I had known this before we started I
would have left them behind; she used deceit to compromise me, not being
able to do so openly.' When I reproached her for it some days later she
said: 'I suspected that if I had told you of it, you would not have
gone.' During the journey the ladies talked together, but the noise of
the carriage prevented me from hearing what they said. However, I heard
Mme. Acquet say that this money would serve to pay some debts or to give
to the unfortunate. I also heard her say that Le Chevalier had great
wit, and Mme. de Combray replied that M. d'Ache's wit was keener; that
Le Chevalier had perhaps a longer tongue...."

The itinerary arranged by Lefebre, left the main road at
Saint-Andre-de-Fontenay near the hamlet of Basse-Allemagne; night was
falling when Lanoe's carriage crossed the Orne at the ferry of Athis.
From there they went to Bretteville-sur-Odon in order to enter the town
as if they had come from Vire or Bayeux. The notary had arrived during
the day at Caen, and after having left his horse at the inn at
Vaucelles, he crossed the town on foot and went to meet "the treasure"
on the Vire road. Just as eight was striking he reached the first houses
in Bretteville and was going to turn back, astonished at not meeting the
cart when Mme. Acquet called to him from a window. He entered; Mme. de
Combray and her daughter had st