"I would rather face those villains of last night for another hour than go
before the king," Guy said, as he prepared to follow the attendant; "but I
trust that good may come of my interview, and that I can interest the king
in the case of my mistress."
Joining the usher, who was waiting at the entrance, and who saluted him
courteously--for the manner in which the message had been communicated to
the usher showed him that the young squire was in no disgrace with the
king--Guy walked with him to the Louvre, which was a short half-mile
distant. Accompanied as he was by a royal officer, the guard at the gate
offered no interruption to his passage, and proceeding across the court-
yard he entered the great doorway to the palace, and, preceded by the
usher, ascended the grand staircase and followed him along a corridor to
the apartments occupied by the king.
CHAPTER XI
DANGER THREATENED
On being ushered into the royal apartment Guy was led up to the king, who
was seated in a large arm-chair. He was stroking the head of a greyhound,
and two or three other dogs lay at his feet. Except two attendants, who
stood a short distance behind his chair, no one else was present. The king
was pale and fragile-looking; there was an expression of weariness on his
face, for in the intervals between his mad fits he had but little rest. He
was naturally a kind-hearted man, and the troubles that reigned in France,
the constant contention among the great lords, and even among the members
of his own family, were a constant source of distress to him.
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