“They say this!” said the king, turning pale. “What do they not say? Had the queen really bought it afterwards, I should not have blamed her. She is a woman, and the necklace is marvelously beautiful; and, thank God, she could still afford it, if she wished for it. I shall only blame her for one thing, for hiding her wishes from me. But that has nothing to do with the king, only with the husband. A husband may scold his wife if he pleases, and no one has a right to interfere. But then,” continued he, “what do you mean by a robbery?”
“Oh! I fear I have made your majesty angry.”
The king laughed. “Come, tell me all; tell me even that the queen sold the necklace to the Jews. Poor woman, she is often in want of money, oftener than I can give it to her.”
“Exactly so; about two months ago the queen asked for 500,000 francs, and your majesty refused it.”
“True.”
“Well, sire, they say that this money was to have been the first payment for the necklace. The queen, being denied the money, could not pay——”
“Well!”
“Well, sire, they say the queen applied to some one to help her.”
“To a Jew?”
“No, sire; not to a Jew.”