The king and the queen knew nothing about these poor creatures, except that they were heirlooms, assets inherited, along with the throne, from the former firm.

Nothing of their history had been transmitted with their persons, and so the inheriting owners had considered them of no value, and had felt no interest in them.

I said to the queen: "Then why in the world didn't you set them free ?" The question was a puzzler.

She didn't know _why_ she hadn't, the thing had never come up in her mind.

So here she was, forecasting the veritable history of future prisoners of the Castle d'If, without knowing it.