Anne of Austria laughed as heartily as her daughter-in-law; so much so, indeed, that her sufferings again returned, and made her turn suddenly pale in the very midst of her enjoyment.
"What is the matter?" inquired Madame, almost terrified.
"Nothing, nothing; a pain in my side. I have been laughing too much. We were at the fourth chance, I think."
"I cannot see a fourth."
"I beg your pardon; I am not excluded from the chance of winning, and if I be the winner, you are sure of me."
"Oh! thank you, thank you!" exclaimed Madame.
"I hope you look upon yourself as one whose chances are good, and that my dream now begins to assume the solid form of reality."
"Yes, indeed; you give me both hope and confidence," said Madame, "and the bracelets won in this manner, will be a hundred times more precious to me."
"Well! then, good-by, until this evening." And the two princesses separated. Anne of Austria, after her daughter-in-law had left her, said to herself, as she examined the bracelets, "They are, indeed, precious; since, by their means, this evening, I shall have won over a heart to my side, and, at the same time, shall have guessed a secret."
Then, turning toward the deserted recess in her room, she said, addressing vacancy—"Is it not thus that you would have acted, my poor Chevreuse? Yes, yes; I know it is."