“They are nothing to me,” was the reply. “I find the Count amusing sometimes, that is all.”
“Well, do not be seen with them too much. The King might hear of it.”
“The King?” Gertrude turned a startled look on her father.
“I said the King. I think you know what I mean.”
“Father! Do you really think he cares—that he notices—what I do?”
The Chancellor nodded.
“I am sure of it. I have watched him for some time, and, unless I am deceived, he thinks more of you than he has yet thought of any other woman.”
A bright blush came on the girl’s face.
“Do you really think so? I have sometimes thought—and yet, lately, I have doubted again. But, after all, even if the King did care for me, what could come of it?”
Her father indulged in a deep smile.