"You found the emperor?" he said.
"Yes; and presented your message with some misgiving."
"And did he treat it with the scant consideration you expected?"
"On the contrary. His Majesty read it not once, but twice, and changed color."
"And then?"
The narrator paused and furtively surveyed the jestress. Her face was pale, emotionless; as they sped on, she seemed riding through no volition of her own, the while she was vaguely conscious of the dialogue of her companions.
"Whatever magic your letter contained," resumed Caillette, "it seemed convincing to Charles. 'My brother Francis must be strangely credulous to be so cozened by an impostor,' quoth he, with a gleam of humor in his gaze."
"Impostor!" It was the young girl who spoke, interrupting, in her surprise, the troubadour's story.
"You did not know, mistress?" said Caillette.
"No," she answered, and listened the closer.