She could not have known, during those three days of riding, whether she would arrive in time.

The possibility that she might still warn him was real.

The possibility that she would not was equally real.

What she found was the second possibility confirmed.

Some accounts describe Giles LeClerc as having survived the initial attack long enough to reach Marie or to be found by her, badly wounded.

The details vary across sources.

What is consistent is that she learned, through direct observation, that Pierre was dead and the camp had been struck.

She had ridden three days into danger.