“Oh, if Louise is there,” I murmured.
“You are charming, M. de Brancas,” said the princess, and she gave me an adorable smile. “Now take your reward. Sit by her side and whisper a few sentences such as that into those little pink ears of hers. She will soon be smiling.”
The end of the second act gave me the opportunity of changing my seat.
“Oh, mademoiselle,” I whispered, as I sat down beside her, “believe me, there are only two hands in the whole world that I desire to kiss,—those two which are lying in your lap.”
“Who was the lady you were with this afternoon?” she asked, not deigning to glance at me, but gazing straight in front of her.
“Mlle. de Launay,” I answered.
“Mlle. de Launay?”
“Yes.”
“You know her, then?”
“Richelieu introduced us. Madame du Maine asked me to accompany her this afternoon on an errand. On our way back to the Tuileries we found the way blocked by the flooded street. She was in haste, and as there was no other way, I carried her across. I did not enjoy the task, I assure you, mademoiselle.”