“Impossible,” replied Maulévrier. “She is gone with the Comtesse de Chateaubriand and the king to Lyons.”
“Gone!” exclaimed Bourbon, starting up. “Has the king set out? I thought he meant to pass the night here?”
“He has changed his mind, and has just quitted the château with his suite.”
“And you have allowed Diane to accompany him?” demanded Saint-Vallier, with a look of agony.
“Mort-Dieu! I could not prevent it,” replied Maulévrier—“even if I had the wish,” he added to himself.
Saint-Vallier made no remark, but it was easy to perceive his anguish.
Greatly excited by the unlooked-for intelligence, Bourbon could scarcely rest upon the couch.
“I cannot comprehend why the king should depart so suddenly,” he said to Warthy. “Has he taken the troops with him?”
“No,” replied the other. “He is only attended by the archers of the royal guard, and the young nobles forming his retinue. The Grand-Master and the Duke de Longueville are left behind with their men.”
“For what purpose?” demanded Bourbon, sternly.