The master of the
house gave up his own bed to my brother, and I shared that of his
mother. 'Jacques' in his character of valet, was to attend on his
master, and sleep on the floor; and this gave the only opportunity of
exchanging any conversation freely, but even this had to be done with
the utmost caution, for the suite of rooms opened into each other,
and Solivet, who was very anxious about Eustace, came in and out to
see after him, little guessing how much this added to the inward
fever of anxiety which banished all sleep from his eyes.
The kind people thought him looking so ill the next morning that they
wanted to bleed him, and keep us there for a few days, but this was
not to be thought of, as indeed Eustace declared, when I felt some
alarm, that he could not be better till he was out of French
territory.
So we pushed on, and Solivet rode beside the window all day, making
our course far safer and easier in one way, but greatly adding in
others to the distressful vigilance that coloured Eustace's thin
cheeks and gleamed in his eyes, and made his fingers twitch at his
sword whenever there was an unexpected halt, or any one overtook us.
He conveyed us quite beyond the army, and brought us as far as
Beuvais, where he made himself our host at the Lion Rouge, and gave
us an excellent supper, which I could hardly swallow when I thought
of his barbarous intentions towards Clement, who had to wait on us
all the time, standing behind my chair and handing dishes.
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