Pétion at once proclaimed his discourtesy by claiming, as representative of the National Assembly, a seat with his face to the horses. The King and Queen made a sign to Madame Elizabeth, who at once changed places with him.
At last, all inside the royal carriage were satisfactorily arranged. On the back seat were the King, Pétion, the Queen; and on the front, Madame Elizabeth, face to face with Pétion, Madame Royale and the Dauphin face to face and knee to knee with the Queen, who was opposite, also, to Barnave.
At the first glance the Queen fancied that Barnave was dry, cold, and wicked.
Barnave had hoped to take the place of Mirabeau at the Assembly. He had succeeded in part; could not the Queen confer the rest?
Why not?
Had she not, at St. Cloud, given a secret interview to Mirabeau? Why should not he, Barnave, be accorded a similar favor.
But then, public rumor spread abroad that one of the three gentlemen on the box of the carriage, “M. Fersen,” was the accepted lover of the Queen.
Strange thing! As I have told you the good self-opinion of Barnave, he was yet jealous of M. de Fersen.
With the admirable shrewdness of women, the Queen discovered this before a quarter of an hour had elapsed.
She managed to get the three guards, named respectively MM. de Malden, de Valory, and de Moustier.