“Oh,” thought the old man, “I will draw you down from your stilts. I will find out your weak side.” Then aloud, “You have overlooked one thing, Philippe.”
“What, sir?”
“When you left for America, there was a king, but no queen, if it were not the Dubarry; hardly a respectable sovereign. You come back and see a queen, and you think you must be very respectful.”
“Doubtless.”
“Poor child!” said his father, laughing.
“How, sir? You blame me for respecting the monarchy—you, a Taverney Maison-Rouge, one of the best names in France.”
“I do not speak of the monarchy, but only of the queen.”
“And you make a difference?”
“Pardieu, I should think so. What is royalty? a crown that is unapproachable. But what is a queen? a woman, and she, on the contrary, is very approachable.”
Philippe made a gesture of disgust.