noon
There was an old rider among them who had seen the sack of Rome , and the dead face of the great Constable the idol of the Free Companies . But he had a taste for simples and much skill in them ; and when Madame had once seen Badelon on his knees in the grass searching for plants , she lost her fear of him . Bigot , with his low brow and matted hair , was the abject slave of Suzanne , Madame St. Lo 's woman , who twitted him mercilessly on his Norman _ patois _ , and poured the vials of her scorn on him a dozen times a day . In all , with La Tribe and the Carlats , Madame St. Lo 's servants , and the Countess 's following , they numbered not far short of two score ; and when they halted at noon , and under the shadow of some leafy tree , ate their mid-day meal , or drowsed to the tinkle of Madame St. Lo 's lute , it was difficult to believe that Paris existed , or that these same people had so lately left its blood-stained pavements . They halted this morning a little earlier than usual . Madame St. Lo had barely answered her companion 's question before the subject of their discussion swung himself from old Sancho 's back , and stood waiting to assist them to dismount . Behind him , where the green valley through which the road passed narrowed to a rocky gate , an old mill stood among willows at the foot of a mound .