“You saw the queen-mother?” he repeated sharply, “where and wherefore?”
Péron smiled at the priest’s quick attitude of suspicion.
“By accident only, mon père,” he said, and went on to relate briefly the story of the meeting near St. Gudule and the subsequent events.
“It was Guyon,” said Paschal Luce; “I have seen him twenty times, pacing up and down in the parvis of the cathedral, but I never divined his errand; hereafter, I will watch him.”
The priest had listened in silence, his face grave and thoughtful.
“You will have trouble,” he said to Péron; “it was ill timed and reckless to follow the man. Queen Marie de’ Medici is the center of a troublesome and dangerous hive, and she is plotting with Monsieur and with Spain to overthrow the cardinal and to gain control of the king and his affairs. The way is long from here to Paris, and these fellows may yet do you a serious mischief. You have taken your own life in your hand, and unhappily I cannot devise any means to protect you. You must get out of Brussels before sunrise to-morrow; it may be that they have not yet located you, and they will not expect you to leave so soon.”
“For my personal safety, I am not so concerned,” Péron replied calmly; “while I have a sword and pistol, I can at least make a fair fight; but I am sorry to have imperilled the safety of any packet I may bear.”
“I must find a way to fashion your message in such form that it can be easily disposed of,” the priest said; “and then you must trust rather to the speed of your horse than the strength of your sword. There are spots enough between here and St. Denis where a man might be made away with and no one be the wiser. Like enough, too, the men who came after you into that house were from Paris and have been at your heels all the time. When you have finished your supper, Paschal, go out and see if the house is watched.”
Péron’s face flushed. “At least I may do that much to amend my own carelessness,” he said.
“Nay, you will go to sleep,” Père Matthieu said sharply; “you will need to be in the saddle early, and you have a stretch before you which requires fresh strength and steady nerves. Moreover, Paschal understands this work, and you are not built for it,” he added, with a smile, measuring Péron’s strong figure and frank face; “you are a better musketeer than a diplomat, monsieur.”