happiness.
"The Princess is very ill but hopes to reach Normandy before the
summer begins. My husband will be obliged to be often in Rome but
will come to me from time to time, as I cannot leave the Princess
at present. She is trying, however, to select among her
acquaintance another lady in waiting—the more willingly as she is
not pleased with my marriage. Is that a satisfaction to you? I
expect to spend the winter in Rome.
"MARIA CONSUELO DEL FERICE."
This was the letter by which Maria Consuelo announced her marriage to the father whom she so sincerely hated. For cruelty of language and expression it was not to be compared with the one she had written to him after parting with Orsino. But had she known how the news she now conveyed would affect the old man who was to learn it, her heart might have softened a little towards him, even after all she had suffered. Very different were the lines Orsino received from her at the same time.