The two officers thanked me for my information, and proceeded to the “Hotel du Grand Monarque,” in the court of which they dismounted, having thrown the bridles of their horses to the stable boys in attendance.
It was evident that the persons expected would arrive from the opposite side of the city—that is to say, the side on which Paris lies.
It was, therefore, but lost time to stay in the Low Town.
I walked up to the High Town, crossed the bridge, and returned to M. Gerbaut’s just as they were sitting down to dinner. Notwithstanding the stifling heat, the Place de Latry was crowded.
During dinner, Father Gerbaut lost himself in vain conjectures as to what was going on. Sophie, on the contrary, said not a word, scarcely lifted her eyes from her plate, and ate little or nothing.
Not being authorized by M. Drouet to tell what I knew, I also held my peace.
In the meantime, in order that the reader may fully understand what was about to take place, it is necessary for me to describe the scene of action.
Varennes, as I before told you, is divided into two parts, the High Town and the Low Town. The High Town was called the Château.
On coming from Clermont, you enter Varennes by a straight road, which, for more than two leagues, has not a single curve in it, with the exception of where it enters Neuvilly.