Soignies itself was reached towards four o'clock, and still they had not met her whom La Boulaye expected. Here, in a state of some wonder and even of some anxiety, Caron made straight for the Auberge des Postes. Bidding his men dismount and see to themselves and their beasts, he went in quest of the host, and having found him, bombarded him with questions.
In reply he elicited the information that at noon that day a carriage such as he described had reached Soignies in a very sorry condition. One of the wheels had come off on the road, and although the Marquise's men had contrived to replace it and to rudely secure it by an improvised pin, they had been compelled to proceed at a walk for some fifteen miles of the journey, which accounted for the lateness of their arrival at Soignies. They had remained at the Auberge des Postes until the wheel had been properly mended, and it was not more than an hour since they had resumed their journey along the road to Liege.
“But did both the citoyennes depart?” cried La Boulaye, in amazement, and upon receiving an affirmative reply it at once entered his mind that the Marquise must have influenced her daughter to that end—perhaps even employed force.
“Did there appear to be any signs of disagreement between them?” was his next question.
“No, Citizen, I observed nothing. They seemed in perfect accord.”
“The younger one did not by any chance inquire of you whether it would be possible to hire a berline?” asked Caron desperately.
“No,” the landlord answered him, with wondering eyes. “She appeared as anxious as her mother for the repairing of the coach in which they came, that they might again depart in it.”
La Boulaye stood a moment in thought, his brows drawn together, his breathing seeming suspended, for into his soul a suspicion had of a sudden been thrust—a hideous suspicion. Abruptly he drew himself up to the full of his active figure, and threw back his head, his resolve taken.
“Can I have fresh horses at once?” he inquired. “I need eight.”
The landlord thoughtfully scratched his head.