The queen ran to a little table, on which were ink, paper, and pens. She wrote two lines, sealed the letter with her private seal, and gave it to Mme. Bonacieux. “And now,” said the queen, “we are forgetting one very necessary thing.” “What is that, madame?” “Money.” Mme. Bonacieux blushed. “Yes, that is true,” said she, “and I will confess to your Majesty that my husband—” “Your husband has none. Is that what you would say?” “He has some, but he is very avaricious; that is his fault. Nevertheless, let not your Majesty be uneasy, we will find means.” “And I have none, either,” said the queen. Those who have read the _Memoirs_ of Mme. de Motteville will not be astonished at this reply. “But wait a minute.” Anne of Austria ran to her jewel case. “Here,” said she, “here is a ring of great value, as I have been assured. It came from my brother, the King of Spain. It is mine, and I am at liberty to dispose of it. Take this ring; raise money with it, and let your husband set out.” “In an hour you shall be obeyed.” “You see the address,” said the queen, speaking so low that Mme. Bonacieux could hardly hear what she said, “To my Lord Duke of Buckingham, London.” “The letter shall be given to himself.” “Generous girl!” cried Anne of Austria. Mme. Bonacieux kissed the hands of the queen, concealed the paper in the bosom of her dress, and disappeared with the lightness of a bird. Ten minutes afterward she was at home. As she told the queen, she had not seen her husband since his liberation; she was ignorant of the change that had taken place in him with respect to the cardinal—a change which had since been strengthened by two or three visits from the Comte de Rochefort, who had become the best friend of Bonacieux, and had persuaded him, without much trouble, that no culpable sentiments had prompted the abduction of his wife, but that it was only a political precaution. She found M. Bonacieux alone; the poor man was recovering with difficulty the order in his house, in which he had found most of the furniture broken and the closets nearly emptied—justice not being one of the three things which King Solomon names as leaving no traces of their passage. As to the servant, she had run away at the moment of her master’s arrest. Terror had had such an effect upon the poor girl that she had never ceased walking from Paris till she reached Burgundy, her native place. The worthy mercer had, immediately upon re-entering his house, informed his wife of his happy return, and his wife had replied by congratulating him, and telling him that the first moment she could steal from her duties should be devoted to paying him a visit.