I saw the Archduchess's teeth meet, and a spot of colour that burned in her cheeks.
"You talk like a fool, child," she said fiercely. "You are being deceived on every side. It is not fit that that man should come into your presence. It is a disgrace that you should mention his name."
"Mr.—Monsieur Feurgéres has proved himself my friend," Isobel answered quietly.
The Archduchess's eyes were burning. She was a woman of violent temper, and it was fast becoming beyond her control.
"Child," she said, "I am your aunt, the daughter of the King of Waldenburg. You, too, are of the same race. You know well that I speak the truth. How dare you talk to me of a creature like Feurgéres? You have our blood in your veins. I command you to come with me, and break off at once and for ever these remarkable associations. You shall make what return you will later on to those whom you may think"—she darted a contemptuous glance at me—"have been your friends. But from this moment I claim you. Come!"
Isobel looked her aunt in the face. She spoke courteously, but without faltering.
"Madame," she said, "it is not possible for me to do as you ask. Whatever plans are made for my future, it is to my dear friend here," she said, looking across at me with shining eyes, "that I owe everything. And as for Monsieur Feurgéres, I have promised him to occupy this box for this evening, and I shall do so."
The Archduchess was very white.
"You force me to tell you, child," she said. "This creature Feurgéres was your mother's——"
"Your Highness!" I cried.