The king looked at her with a dreamy smile, quite absorbed in her aspect. And indeed it was a charming and beautiful sight presented by this young queen of twenty years.
Her blue eyes were beaming in the full fire of youth, enthusiasm, and happiness; a sweet smile was always playing on her finely-formed mouth, with the ripe cherry lips. On both sides of her slightly-blushing cheeks her splendid auburn hair was flowing down in waving ringlets; her noble and pure forehead arose above a nose of classical regularity, and her figure, so proud and yet so charming, so luxuriant and yet so chaste, full of true royal dignity and winning womanly grace, was in complete harmony with her lovely and youthful features.
“Well?” asked the queen, smiling. “Not a word of welcome from you, my beloved husband?”
“I only say to you, God bless you on your new path, and may He preserve you to me as long as I live!” replied the king, deeply moved, and embracing his queen with gushing tenderness.
She encircled his neck with her soft, white arms, and leaned her head with a happy smile upon his shoulder. Thus they reposed in each other’s arms, silent in their unutterable delight, solemnly moved in the profound consciousness of their eternal and imperishable love.
Suddenly they were interrupted in their blissful dream by a low cry, and when they quickly turned around in a somewhat startled manner, they beheld the Countess von Voss, mistress of ceremonies, standing in the open door, and gloomily gazing upon them.
The king could not help laughing.
“Do you see now, my dear countess?” he said. “My wife and I see each other without any previous interruption as often as we want to do so, and that is precisely as it ought to be in a Christian family. But you are a charming mistress of ceremonies, and hereafter we will call you Dame d’Etiquette. [Footnote: The king’s own words.—Vide Eylert, part ii., p. 98.] Moreover, I will comply with your wishes as much as I can.”
He kindly nodded to her, and the mistress of ceremonies, well aware of the meaning of this nod, withdrew with a sigh, closing the door as she went out.
The queen looked up to her husband with a smile.