"But you know the king expected you this morning?"
"You double my despair, lady."
"His majesty was vexed at your not coming."
"My excuse is in my sufferings, and I must present my most humble excuses to his majesty."
"I am not saying this to cause you pain," said Lady Dubarry, seeing that the old noblewoman was angry, "but just to show you how set his majesty was on seeing you for the step which made him grateful. I regret the accident the more as I think it was due to your excitement from meeting a certain person abruptly at my house."
"The lady who came as I went away?"
"The same; my sister, Mademoiselle Dubarry; only she bore another name when you met her—that of Mademoiselle Flageot."
"Oh, indeed!" said the old dame, with unhidden sourness. "Did you send her to deceive me?"
"No, to do you a service at the same time as you did me one. Let us speak seriously. In spite of your wound, painful but not dangerous, could you make the effort to ride to Luciennes and stand up a short while before the king?"