three o’clock
The next day he was struck down with grief when , on going to see her , he found her a prisoner . But Gabrielle sent her nurse to tell him she would die sooner than be false to him ; and , moreover , that she knew a way to deceive the guards , and would soon take refuge in the cardinal 's library , where no one would suspect her presence , though she did not as yet know when she could accomplish it . Etienne on that returned to his room , where all the forces of his heart were spent in the dreadful suspense of waiting . At three o'clock on the afternoon of that day the equipages of the duke and suite entered the courtyard of the castle . Madame la Comtesse de Grandlieu , leaning on the arm of her daughter , the duke and Marquise de Noirmoutier mounted the grand staircase in silence , for the stern brow of the master had awed the servants . Though Baron d'Artagnon now knew that Gabrielle had evaded his guards , he assured the duke she was a prisoner , for he trembled lest his own private scheme should fail if the duke were angered by this flight . Those two terrible faces -- his and the duke 's -- wore a fierce expression that was ill-disguised by an air of gallantry imposed by the occasion .