It was about the fourth day after the camp was formed that I returned from the Court; but as the whole open country was at that time in the hands of the enemy, I had very nearly been taken by a strong party on the return from foraging. Strange to say, also, I had well nigh again fallen into the hands of Gaspard de Belleville, who commanded the escort, having been at one time within two hundred yards of him. Nothing but my horse's speed saved me; for being close pursued by some cravates attached to the foragers, I was obliged to swim the river, which, however, was done with ease, and I found myself in security on the other bank. Monsieur de Villardin welcomed me with every sign of joy, and immediately asked what Monsieur le Tellier had done for me. He smiled when I told him, saying that he had hoped the Court would have shown me some more substantial mark of favour. "However," he added, "the King no doubt gave you the barony, which costs nothing but parchment and wax, because he had nothing else to give. As to the pension of three thousand crowns, as I know there has not been such a sum in the royal treasury for many months, you must not calculate upon that." On examining our camp, I found that Monsieur de Villardin, who kept the open field, though some of the officers had been fortunate enough to obtain quarters in the little hamlets, had caused his tent to be divided into four small apartments, of which he assigned me one; and as our time passed very dully without any event of importance to occupy our attention, I had no excuse even to myself for delaying longer the communication which I had promised Suzette to make. The Duke behaved to me not only as a father, but as a kind and affectionate one; and whenever we were not engaged in some military duty, we were either sitting together in the division of the tent which he called his saloon, or walking along the banks of the rivers, mingling various subjects of conversation with observations upon the enemy's movements, of which we caught a sight from time to time. I thus had plenty of opportunities for telling my tale, had I been able to make up my mind to do so; but the more my affection for Monsieur de Villardin increased, the more proofs, of tenderness and regard he gave me, the less willing I became to wring his heart by all the long details of so painful a theme. Thus again I let day after day slip by, till one morning, as we were walking slowly along towards Château Ablon, which Turenne had taken some time before by a coup de main, the Duke afforded me himself an opportunity of introducing the subject, which I felt must not be longer neglected, if I ever intended to perform my task.