“I entreat you to listen,” whispered Lady Elizabeth, who sat on a stool.
“Listen to what?”
“That Lord Charny has also seen the Marquis Favras since he came home, a gentleman whose lealty we know, and he says that the King has but to say a word,” went on the Queen, “or make a sign, and this very night, you will be at Peronne.”
The King kept still. His brother twisted a jack of hearts all to rags.
“Repeat this as the marquis put it,” said he to Isidore.
“Your Majesty, thanks to measures taken by Marquis Favras, he declares that the King has but the cue to give to be in safety in Peronne this blessed night.”
Turning sharply on his brother, the King said as he fixed his eyes on him:
“Are you coming if I go?”
“I” said the other, turning pale and trembling. “I have not been notified, and I have made no preparations.”
“You know nothing about it, and yet you found the money for Favras?” exclaimed the monarch. “You not notified, and the moves in the game have been reported to you hour by hour?”