Duval strained to overhear their conversation but even their laughter was drowned out by the noises of the crowd. He thought that it was most probably some vicious pleasantry at the expense of the Catholic princess which gave them such perverse delight. Then it was his turn to chuckle as he reminded himself how short-lived their airs and graces would be. Shortly afterwards he watched with curiosity as the Doctor and Steven left. He wondered who they might be. Certainly they did not appear to be Frenchmen and his inclinations were that they were English, Protestants, no doubt, in Paris to support the Huguenot cause. Why else would they have been in the Auberge du Pont Romain which was becoming known among Catholics as a meeting place for Huguenots? He decided that their presence would be worth reporting to his new superior, the Abbot of Amboise, who was arriving that same evening to replace Cardinal Lorraine who had ben summoned to Rome three days before the royal wedding festivities. Duval had not yet met the Abbot but knew of him, by reputation, as a Man of God who sternly opposed all religious leanings not embraced by the Holy See.
