His face fell amazingly. ‘Where is she?’ he answered, faltering between surprise and alarm at my sudden onslaught. ‘Here, she should be. I left her here not an hour ago. Mon Dieu! Is she not here now?’ His alarm increased mine tenfold. ‘No!’ I retorted, ‘she is not! She is gone! And you--what business had you, in the fiend’s name, to leave her here, alone and unprotected? Tell me that!’ He leaned against the balustrade, making no attempt to defend himself, and seemed, in his sudden terror, anything but the bold, alert fellow who had ascended the stairs two minutes before. ‘I was a fool,’ he groaned. ‘I saw your man Simon here; and Fanchette, who is as good as a man, was with her mistress. And I went to stable the horses. I thought no evil. And now--My God!’ he added, suddenly straightening himself, while his face grew hard and grim, ‘I am undone! My master will never forgive me!’ ‘Did you come straight here?’ I said, considering that, after all, he was no more in fault than I had been on a former occasion. ‘We went first to M. de Rosny’s lodging,’ he answered, ‘where we found your message telling us to come here. We came on without dismounting.’ ‘Mademoiselle may have gone back, and be there,’ I said. ‘It is possible. Do you stay here and keep a good look-out, and I will go and see. Let one of your men come with me.’ He uttered a brief assent; being a man as ready to take as to give orders, and thankful now for any suggestion which held out a hope of mademoiselle’s safety. Followed by the servant he selected, I ran down the stairs, and in a moment was hurrying along the Rue St. Denys. The day was waning. The narrow streets and alleys were already dark, but the air of excitement which I had noticed in the morning still marked the townsfolk, of whom a great number were strolling abroad, or standing in doorways talking to their gossips. Feverishly anxious as I was, I remarked the gloom which dwelt on all faces; but as I set it down to the king’s approaching departure, and besides was intent on seeing that those we sought did not by any chance pass us in the crowd, I thought little of it. Five minutes’ walking brought us to M. de Rosny’s lodging. There I knocked at the door; impatiently, I confess, and with little hope of success. But, to my surprise, barely an instant elapsed before the door opened, and I saw before me Simon Fleix! Discovering who it was, he cowered back, with a terrified face, and retreated to the wall with his arm raised. ‘You scoundrel!’ I exclaimed, restraining myself with difficulty. ‘Tell me this moment where Mademoiselle de la Vire is! Or, by Heaven, I shall forget what my mother owed to you, and do you a mischief!’ For an instant he glared at me viciously, with all his teeth exposed, as though he meant to refuse--and more. Then he thought better of it, and, raising his hand, pointed sulkily upwards. ‘Go before me and knock at the door,’ I said, tapping the hilt of my dagger with meaning.