"That was very proper of you, Guillaume," said the constable. "Show the gentleman in here. And do you, Master Arnauld, take your place there behind that hanging, and don't let slip this opportunity of having a good look at the man with whom no doubt you will have some business to transact. It is for your benefit that I receive him, so keep your eyes and ears open." "I am quite sure, Monseigneur," replied Arnauld, "that I have already come across him in my travels. But no matter! It is just as well to be certain of it. Vicomte d'Exmès, is it?" The spy slipped behind the hangings, as Guillaume appeared, ushering Gabriel into the room. "Pardon me," said the young man, politely saluting the old constable; "but to whom have I the honor of addressing myself?" "I am the Constable de Montmorency, Monsieur; what is your will?" "Pardon me again," said Gabriel; "but what I have to say I must say to the king." "But you know that his Majesty is not at the Louvre, do you not? and in his absence--" "I will follow his Majesty or await his return," Gabriel interposed. "His Majesty is at the fêtes at the Tournelles, and will not return before evening. Don't you know that the marriage of Monseigneur le Dauphin is being celebrated to-day?" "No, Monseigneur; I only learned of it on my way hither. But I came by way of the Rue de l'Université and the Pont au Change, and did not pass through the Rue St. Antoine." "Then you ought to have followed the crowd. That would have shown you the way to the king." "But I have not yet had the honor of being presented to his Majesty. I am an entire stranger at court. I hoped to find Monseigneur le Cardinal de Lorraine at the Louvre. It was his Eminence for whom I inquired, and I can't imagine why I have been conducted to you, Monseigneur." "Monsieur de Lorraine," said the constable, "loves these sham fights, being a churchman; but I, who am a man of the sword,--I care only for real fighting, and that is why I am at the Louvre, while Monsieur de Lorraine is at the Tournelles." "If you please, Monseigneur, I will go and seek him there, then." "But, _mon Dieu_, stay and rest a bit, Monsieur; for you seem to have arrived from a distance,--from Italy, no doubt, since you entered the city by the Rue de l'Université." "From Italy, in truth, Monseigneur. I have no reason to conceal the fact." "You come from the Duc de Guise, perhaps? Well, what is he about down there?" "Permit me, Monseigneur, to inform his Majesty in the first instance, and to take my leave to the end that I may fulfil that duty." "So be it, Monsieur, since you are in such haste. No doubt," he added with an assumed air of pleasantry, "you are in a hurry to renew your acquaintance with some fair lady or other. I'll warrant that you are in haste and fear at the same time. Come, now, isn't that so, my young sir?" But Gabriel put on his coldest and most serious expression, and replied only with a low bow, as he left the apartment.