Her voice was clear and accentuated. Though pale, she was excited as if by fever. The general sent for a glass of water, in which she dipped her fingers; the refreshing coolness calmed her.
During this time the prefect and the commander of the National Guard were notified of what had happened. The prefect was the first to arrive. He entered the room in which Madame was sitting, with his hat on his head, ignoring that a woman was a prisoner there,--a woman whose rank and whose misfortunes deserved more respect than had ever been shown her.
He approached the duchess, looked at her, touched his hat cavalierly, and said:--
"Yes, that is really she."
Then he went out to give some orders.
"Who is that man?" asked the princess.
The question was a natural one, for the prefect had presented himself without any of the distinctive signs of his high administrative position.
"Madame can surely guess," said the general.
She looked at him with a slight laugh.
"I suppose it must be the prefect," she said.