"We must ride forth as soon as possible. The duke is at the château."
"At the château!" she exclaimed in surprise. Then after a pause: "And Triboulet saw us. He will tell that you are here. I will come down at once. Wait," she added, as an afterthought seized her.
He heard her step to the window. "I think the gates of the château are open," she said. "I am not sure; it is so far."
"Do you see any one on the road leading down?"
"No," came the answer.
"Nor could I. But perhaps they have already passed."
Again the jester returned to the tap-room, where he found the landlord polishing the pewter tankards.
"The horses?" said the fool sharply.
"The stable boy will bring them to the door," was the response, and the innkeeper held a pot in the air and leisurely surveyed the shining surface.
"The reckoning?"