“Monsieur the Cardinal de Rohan.”
“My enemy,” said the queen, smiling.
“Your enemy! Oh, madame!”
“It seems you are astonished that a queen should have an enemy. It is evident you have not lived at court.”
“But, madame, he adores you. The devotion of the cardinal equals his respect for you.”
“Oh, doubtless,” said the queen, with a hearty laugh; “that is why he is my enemy.”
Jeanne looked surprised.
“And you are his protégée,” continued the queen; “tell me all about it.”
“It is very simple; his eminence has assisted me in the most generous, yet the most considerate, manner.”
“Good; Prince Louis is generous; no one can deny that. But do you not think, Andrée, that M. le Cardinal also adores this pretty countess a little? Come, countess, tell us.” And Marie Antoinette laughed again in her frank, joyous manner.