The queen, now tranquil about the whole affair, locked up the receipt, and thought no more of it.
But, in strange contradiction to this receipt, the jewelers received a visit two days after from M. de Rohan, who felt uneasy about the payment.
If the instalment had not been paid, he expected to find them naturally annoyed; but to his great satisfaction they received him with smiles.
“The queen has paid, then?” he asked.
“No, monseigneur, the queen could not procure the money, as the king had refused it to her; but she has guaranteed the debt, and that fully satisfies us.”
“Ah! so much the better; but how? Through the countess?”
“No, monseigneur. On hearing of the king’s refusal, which soon became public, we wrote to Madame de la Motte——”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“And she replied?”