"Apropos," interrupted Laval, "is there any news from the court; how is the king?"
"No politics, gentlemen, if you please," said the governor. "Let us discuss poetry, arts, war, and even the Bastille, if you like, but let us avoid politics."
"Ah, yes," said Richelieu, "let us talk of the Bastille. What have you done with Pompadour?"
"I am sorry to say he forced me to place him in the dungeon."
"What had he done?" asked Gaston.
"He had beaten his jailer."
"How long has it been forbidden for a gentleman to beat his servant?" asked Richelieu.
"The jailers are servants of the king, M. le Duc," said De Launay, smiling.
"Say rather of the regent."
"A subtle distinction."