The spy slipped behind the hangings, as Guillaume appeared, ushering Gabriel into the room.
"Pardon me," said the young man, politely saluting the old constable; "but to whom have I the honor of addressing myself?"
"I am the Constable de Montmorency, Monsieur; what is your will?"
"Pardon me again," said Gabriel; "but what I have to say I must say to the king."
"But you know that his Majesty is not at the Louvre, do you not? and in his absence—"
"I will follow his Majesty or await his return," Gabriel interposed.
"His Majesty is at the fêtes at the Tournelles, and will not return before evening. Don't you know that the marriage of Monseigneur le Dauphin is being celebrated to-day?"
"No, Monseigneur; I only learned of it on my way hither. But I came by way of the Rue de l'Université and the Pont au Change, and did not pass through the Rue St. Antoine."
"Then you ought to have followed the crowd. That would have shown you the way to the king."
"But I have not yet had the honor of being presented to his Majesty. I am an entire stranger at court. I hoped to find Monseigneur le Cardinal de Lorraine at the Louvre. It was his Eminence for whom I inquired, and I can't imagine why I have been conducted to you, Monseigneur."