The deputies bowed as one man.
“He is well, Your Highness,” replied one of them, evidently the chief, “and begs to present his respects and good wishes.”
“I thank him,” and the regent bowed in turn. “And what message do you bring from him?”
I noticed that one of the men was wetting his lips convulsively, and as he hesitated for an answer a tapestry was raised and a man entered, whom I knew instinctively to be Dubois. The regent glanced at him impatiently, but said nothing.
“You may remember, M. le Regent,” began the spokesman, in a trembling voice, “that some days ago the king sent to you a request for the hand of your daughter, Mlle. de Valois, in marriage.”
“I remember it very well,” said the regent, a storm gathering on his brow as he began to suspect some unpleasant dénouement. “What then?”
“Since that time,” continued the ambassador, “the king has considered the matter more carefully, and has found that he acted in haste, and that his health will not permit this marriage. He desires, therefore, to withdraw the request.”
“What!” cried the regent, bounding from his chair and seeming about to fall upon the delegates, “withdraw the request? Do you know what you are saying, messieurs? And what is the reason for this extraordinary action?”
“I have already had the honor of telling Your Highness,” faltered the man. I did not wonder that he had entered the room with livid face and trembling knees.
“Pardon me,” interrupted a smooth voice, which made me start and filled me with disgust, and the Abbé Dubois stepped forward, “I believe I can throw some light upon the matter. I received a moment ago a message from my agent who has been near the King of Sardinia, and I was about communicating it to Your Highness when I found the delegation here. My correspondent writes that the king yesterday received word of a certain encounter of the night before in the gardens of the Palais Royal.” I colored as I felt the speaker’s eyes on mine, but I returned his gaze without winking. “In view of this information, he has changed his mind about desiring to wed Mlle. de Valois.”