Indeed, indeed, Madame, your Majesty's brilliance blinds my eyes with humility.
[Enter Prince Charles, a slender, exotic-looking gentleman.]
Prince
Dear Cousin, how delicious you are looking—so royal and alert. [He bends over her hand.] Ah! [His vitality seems suddenly to leave him at the thought.] I have just been trying to lessen Josephine's habitual ennui by making her my victim at croquet.
Queen
[With a slight lounge into sentimentality.]
I am sure she, like many others, is easily your victim—at croquet. But come, let us be alone, let us dismiss this chain of faces, they confine my thoughts. I would like to talk well, I would like to talk fantastically, that is, I wish you would think of something original for tonight's entertainment.
[She signals to the courtiers that they may leave.]
After all it is the prelude to your nuptials. Let us think of something to surprise Josephine.
Prince