The mention of such a possibility alarmed Mademoiselle beyond measure, and she anxiously inquired of Madame de Maintenon if she thought there was any chance of such a misfortune.
"Not if by your generosity you bind his Majesty, as it were, to fulfil the pledge he has now given," was the discreet reply.
Thus did Madame de Maintenon unfold her tactics and work on the weak mind of the love-sick Princess. She saw that the point was already gained, and, fearing to destroy the favourable impression she had made, left Mademoiselle to ruminate on the approaching return of Lauzun, and all the happiness in store for her. Hastening back to Versailles, she communicated her success to the King and to Madame de Montespan, who were equally delighted at the triumph of their unworthy artifices.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CONNUBIAL BLISS.
THE Duc de Maine was invested with the principality of Dombes and the county of Eu. The deeds were signed in Madame de Montespan's apartments at Versailles.
The sacrifice once made nothing could exceed the ecstasy of Mademoiselle. After a separation of many years, Lauzun would be restored to her arms! He was free—he would be with her in a few days! The exquisite certainty of bliss intoxicated her senses.
On her return to the Luxembourg she flew to her room, and took a hand mirror from her toilette. She gazed at herself in it attentively; she asked herself, as she had already done a hundred times before, "Can he still love me? Are my eyes bright? Are my cheeks rosy? Is my hair abundant as in the old days when Lauzun praised it?"