"But were you unwell that you sent for him?" continued the monarch: "You blush—you must have some secret, since you consult him instead of the regular doctors of the household. But have a care! Dr. Gilbert is one of my confidential friends, and if you tell him anything he will repeat it to me."
The Queen had become purple from being merely red.
"Nay, Sire," said Gilbert, smiling.
"What, has the Queen corrupted my friends?"
Marie Antoinette laughed one of those dry, half-suppressed laughs signifying that the conversation has gone far enough or it fatigues: Gilbert understood but the King did not.
"Come, doctor, since this amuses the Queen, let me hear the joke."
"I was asking the doctor why you called him so early. I own that his presence at Versailles much puzzles me," said the Queen.
"I was wanting the doctor to talk politics with him," said Louis, his brow darkening.
"Oh, very well," said she, taking a seat as if to listen.
"But we are not going to talk pleasant stuff; so we must go away to spare you an additional pang."