Over forty minutes later, the leading painter looked at the freshly adorned farmhouse, nodded in satisfaction, and beckoned his subordinates to leave.
The soldiers guarding the house had not noticed that he was holding one more paint bucket than before, and his long-handled brush had disappeared.
Naturally, that paint bucket contained the military uniforms of Audric's two "younger brothers" and the work clothes of the three men, while the "long-handled brush" was left in the attic.
When the painters left the area, an officer of the French guards stopped them, checked their identification, and counted the number of people.
There were eight people coming, and still eight people leaving; everything was in order.
The officer nodded for his subordinates to let them pass. Even if he searched them exhaustively, he would not likely check with the soldiers guarding each farmhouse about the specifics of the painters.