To-day she wore a bedgown of stained dark blue velvet, trodden-over slippers, and a soiled linen cap; yet she cost the Prince more in clothes than ever the charming and elegant Anne of Egmont had done.
Though it was not yet dark, the windows were tightly closed and curtained, and candles flared and guttered untidily on the various tables. The Princess had sat all day in this artificial light, and the atmosphere of the chamber was thick and close. As Rénèe entered Anne looked up.
"You were out yesterday," she said, breaking the utter silence she had preserved for two days.
"Yes, Highness, it was my hour."
"Where did you go?"
"About the town, as always."
"I saw you in the Gardens with Count Louis," sneered Anne.
"I met him," replied Rénèe, unmoved. "We spoke together for, I think, two minutes."
"Why were you so late?"
"There was a rhetoric play, Highness, and I was hindered by the crowd."