This was the King, attended by Valory.
Charny went up to meet them; for he had recognized Valory, and not the King. He was one of those who always wish to see a king kinglike. He sighed with pain, almost with shame, as he murmured:
"Come, Sire, come. Where is the Queen?" he asked of Valory.
"Coming with your brother."
"Good; take the shortest road and wait for us at St. Martin's Gate; I will go by the longer way round; we meet at the coach."
Both arrived at the rendezvous and waited half an hour for the Queen.
We shall not try to paint the fugitives' anxiety; Charny, on whom the whole responsibility fell, was like a maniac. He wanted to go back and make inquiries, but the King restrained him. The little prince wept and cried for his mother. His sister and the two ladies could not console him.
Their terror doubled when they saw Lafayette's carriage dash by, surrounded by soldiers, some bearing torches.
When at the palace gates, Viscount Charny wanted to turn to the left; the Queen, on his arm, stopped him and said that the count was waiting at the waterside gate of the Tuileries. She was so sure of what she asserted that doubt entered his mind.
"Be very careful, lady, for any error may be deadly to us," he said.