“No, madame, I do not know her.”
“But, sir, if you had some suspicion.”
“How should I?”
“Oh, from this portrait, perhaps.”
“Yes, certainly, the portrait,” said the cardinal, rather uneasily.
“Well, sir, this portrait you still believe to be that of Maria Theresa?”
“I believe so, certainly.”
“Then you think——?”
“That you have received a visit from some German lady who has founded one of these houses!” But it was evident that the cardinal doubted, and he was pondering how this box, which he had seen a hundred times in the hands of the queen, came into the possession of this woman. Had the queen really been to see her? If she had been, was she indeed unknown to Jeanne? Or, if not, why did she try to hide the knowledge from him. If the queen had really been there, it was no longer a poor woman he had to deal with, but a princess succored by a queen, who bestowed her gifts in person.
Jeanne saw that the cardinal was thoughtful, and even suspicious of her. She felt uneasy, and knew not what to say.