Her own brother
in-law!

I hastened to change the subject. "The Pavannes," I made shift to say,
"must have had five minutes' start."

"More," Croisette answered, "if Madame and he got away at once. If all
has gone well with them, and they have not been stopped in the streets
they should be at Mirepoix's by now. They seemed to be pretty sure
that he would take them in."

"Ah!" I sighed. "What fools we were to bring madame from that place!
If we had not meddled with her affairs we might have reached Louis long
ago our Louis, I mean."

"True," Croisette answered softly, "but remember that then we should
not have saved the other Louis as I trust we have. He would still be
in Pallavicini's hands. Come, Anne, let us think it is all for the
best," he added, his face shining with a steady courage that shamed me.
"To the rescue! Heaven will help us to be in time yet!"

"Ay, to the rescue!" I replied, catching his spirit. "First to the
right, I think, second to the left, first on the right again. That was
the direction given us, was it not? The house opposite a book-shop
with the sign of the Head of Erasmus. Forward, boys! We may do it yet."

But before I pursue our fortunes farther let me explain. The room we
had guarded so jealously was empty! The plan had been mine and I was
proud of it. For once Croisette had fallen into his rightful place.
My flight from the gate, the vain attempt to close the house, the
barricade before the inner door--these were all designed to draw the
assailants to one spot. Pavannes and his wife--the latter hastily
disguised as a boy--had hidden behind the door of the hutch by the
gates--the porter's hutch, and had slipped out and fled in the first
confusion of the attack.

Even the servants, as we learned afterwards, who had hidden themselves
in the lower parts of the house got away in the same manner, though
some of them--they were but few in all were stopped as Huguenots and
killed before the day ended. I had the more reason to hope that
Pavannes and his wife would get clear off, inasmuch as I had given the
Duke's ring to him, thinking it might serve him in a strait, and
believing that we should have little to fear ourselves once clear of
his house; unless we should meet the Vidame indeed.

We did not meet him as it turned out; but before we had traversed a
quarter of the distance we had to go we found that fears based on
reason were not the only terrors we had to resist.