she made of a passage in her boat. He got in, accompanied only by
the Duc de Guise, giving orders to his suite to cross the river
elsewhere and to join him at Champigny, which Madame de
Montpensier told him was not more than two leagues from there.

As soon as they were in the boat the Duc d'Anjou asked to what
they owed this so pleasant encounter. Madame de Montpensier
replied that having left Champigny with the Prince her husband
with the intention of following the hunt, she had become tired
and having reached the river bank she had gone out in the boat to
watch the landing of a salmon which had been caught in a net. The
Duc de Guise did not take part in this conversation, but he was
conscious of the re-awakening of all the emotions which the
Princess had once aroused in him, and thought to himself that he
would have difficulty in escaping from this meeting without
falling once more under her spell.

They arrived shortly at the bank where they found the Princess's
horses and her attendants who had been waiting for her. The two
noblemen helped her onto her horse where she sat with the
greatest elegance. During their journey back to Champigny they
talked agreeably about a number of subjects and her companions
were no less charmed by her conversation than they had been by
her beauty. They offered her a number of compliments to which she
replied with becoming modesty, but a little more coolly to those
from M.de Guise, for she wished to maintain a distance which
would prevent him from founding any expectations on the feelings
she had once had towards him.

When they arrived at the outer courtyard of Champigny they