little by little it drew nearer, voices were more distinctly heard;
women in the street were uttering cries of distress--

"Fly, fly! God has forsaken us; the Hungarians are in the town!"

The tears of Marie's children were the answer to these cries; and little
Margaret, raising her hands to her mother, expressed her fear in speech
that was far beyond her years. Renaud, without one look at this touching
picture, drew his son towards the door.

"Stay," said the princess, extending her hand with a solemn gesture: "as
God sends no other aid to my children, it is His will that the sacrifice
be accomplished."

She fell on her knees before the priest, bending her head like a victim
who offers her neck to the executioner. Robert des Baux took his place
beside her, and the priest pronounced the formula that united them for
ever, consecrating the infamous deed by a sacrilegious blessing.

"All is over!" murmured Marie of Durazzo, looking tearfully on her
little daughters.

"No, all is not yet over," said the admiral harshly, pushing her towards
another room; "before we leave, the marriage must be consummated."

"O just God!" cried the princess, in a voice torn with anguish, and she
fell swooning to the floor.

Renaud des Baux directed his ships towards Marseilles, where he hoped
to get his son crowned Count of Provence, thanks to his strange marriage