"I stayed till I had got all I wanted for the time," replied the good soldier, "though I may want more by and by."
It was now Marie's turn to blush; but Lorenzo came to her aid, saying, "I had hoped to ask the king's permission to-day at Pavia. I could not ask it yesterday, for his majesty was gone ere I received Signor Ramiro's letter."
"Well, let it pass," said De Vitry. "I give leave for the present, and the king will not call the lady back when you are forward on the march, I think."
"But, Seigneur de Vitry," said Leonora, "I fear truly we shall lose our way, for neither Lorenzo nor I know a step beyond Pavia, and all these soldiers are French I imagine."
"Have you not the renowned Antonio with you?" said De Vitry, gaily; "trust to him--trust to him; but never doubt him or ask if he is sure of the road, or he will let you run into a broken bridge and a swollen river. But get you to horse as speedily as may be. Where is my lord the count?"
"I am going to take leave of him," said Leonora, "and will show you the way."
"One moment, my lord," said Lorenzo, leading his commander a little aside; "tell me, I beg, why I am not suffered to halt in Pavia. There must be something more than you have said."
"Why, I believe it is simply this," answered De Vitry, after a moment's thought; "the good count regent is making a new road to Milan. He has already prepared to remove all the big rocks in the way; and the king thinks, and I think too, that he might judge it expedient to sweep away even the pebbles. The name of Visconti is not pleasant to him, Lorenzo--there are many druggists' shops in Pavia: so ask no more questions, my good friend, but mount and away. God speed you on your march and in your love. Well for you that you took the dark-eyed cousin. If you had chosen the other I would have cut your throat."
No need to pause longer on the parting; no need to follow them on that day's march, for it was without incident. It seemed very short too, to the young lovers, although the distance was greater than had been expected--all distances are. The seven miles from the villa to Pavia and the seven miles from Pavia to Belgiojoso stretched themselves into full sixteen miles, which is contrary to all rules of arithmetic, but still it is an invariable result. The day was charming. It was like youth: it might have been too warm but for certain clouds which shadowed the sky from time to time, and tempered the ardour of the sun. The heavy-armed horses suffered a little: but at length the pretty village--for it deserved not the name of town--which has since given a famous name to a beautiful, high-spirited, but unfortunate lady, appeared before them about four o'clock in the afternoon. Old St. Pierre, the king's harbinger, had been there for some hours with his twenty lances; the quarters were all marked out, and everything prepared.
"As the king must occupy his own lodging first, my lord," he said, "I cannot give you the best inn; but here is a very pretty little place at the edge of the village, where they seem good people, and I reserved that for you. I did not expect, indeed, so many ladies," he continued, looking towards Leonora and her maids, "but I dare say they can all be accommodated. Come and see."