"Monsieur, I have asked you to come here because we can be alone here and uninterrupted, and that which I have to say to you concerns the life, perhaps, of Mademoiselle de Paradis. Monsieur, you may not believe me, but from that dreadful night at Le Jaquemart I have become a changed woman. I have learned, monsieur, how to pray, and, my God! the past--the past!" And she put her hands to her face and shuddered. "Madame, there is always a future." "But never for a woman! Oh, Monsieur d'Orrain--for I know your name now--you know this as well as I." I made no answer. What could I say? And she went on: "Listen! After that night I brought him--Trotto--back to Paris as soon as he was able to move. He was badly hurt, but not so badly as we thought; and he lives for revenge. Your brother the Vidame is in a house in the Rue des Lavandieres, into which he has recently moved. There I brought Trotto. Here I found Malsain and some others; and, believing me to be what I was before, they spoke freely before me. For you, monsieur, I warn you to fear the bravo's knife; they will not face you openly." "I will try and take care of myself. But what is it that concerns mademoiselle?" "This much I know, monsieur: the Vidame wants her for himself, or rather her wealth. The plan he has conceived is as follows:--the edict against the heretics is to be revived suddenly, and mademoiselle is to be accused. And you know what this means, with Dom Antoine de Mouchy as judge." "But how will this gain the Vidame his wish?" "To explain that, monsieur, is one of the reasons I have brought you here." And moving towards the window she opened it cautiously. As she did so there appeared, about three feet or more away, the grey and mottled surface of a blank wall. "Look!" she said. I looked out of the window. The walls of the two houses stood about three feet apart. Below me was a deep, narrow space, shut in on all sides except from the top. In the opposite wall was a window partly open, below which ran a narrow ledge. This window faced the one I was standing at, but was placed about a yard or so higher, so that anyone standing there could look into the room in which we were. All this I took in, and then turned to La Marmotte. "Monsieur," she said, "that house is where Antoine de Mouchy lives, and where, within an hour's time, he is to meet the Vidame and some others to discuss their plan. If you would learn it you must learn it from there." And she pointed to the window above me. I was about to speak, but she stopped me. "Listen! I know that house from garret to cellar, for I lived there once. That window leads to an empty room. A door to the right leads into De Mouchy's study, which looks over the Rue de la Harpe, and standing at that door you can hear every word that passes within. Will you risk it?" "The getting there is possible, but it is the retreat that I am doubtful of."