an hour after noon
The rosy visions of the past night , and those fancies in particular which had made the dawn memorable , recurred to me , as his deeds in the body -LRB- so men say -RRB- to a hopeless drowning wretch . I grew to think of nothing but Bruhl and revenge . Even the absurd care with which Simon avoided the neighbourhood of Fanchette , riding anywhere so long as he might ride at a distance from the angry woman 's tongue and hand -- which provoked many a laugh from the men , and came to be the joke of the company -- failed to draw a smile from me . We passed through Contres , four leagues from Blois , an hour after noon , and three hours later crossed the Cher at Selles , where we stayed awhile to bait our horses . Here we had news of the party before us , and henceforth had little doubt that Bruhl was making for the Limousin ; a district in which he might rest secure under the protection of Turenne , and safely defy alike the King of France and the King of Navarre . The greater the necessity , it was plain , for speed ; but the roads in that neighbourhood , and forward as far as Valancy , proved heavy and , foundrous , and it was all we could do to reach Levroux with jaded horses three hours after sunset . The probability that Bruhl would lie at Chateauroux , five leagues farther on -- for I could not conceive that under the circumstances he would spare the women -- would have led me to push forward had it been possible ; but the darkness and the difficulty of finding a guide who would venture deterred me from the hopeless attempt , and we stayed the night where we were .