"He does not know, madame," I answered severely.
"What?" she cried, in affected surprise. "When he gave it to me himself!"
"He did not, madame."
"He did, sir!" she retorted, firing up. "Or if he did not, prove it—prove it! And, by the way," she continued, lowering her voice again, and reverting to her former tone of spiteful badinage, "how is the dear queen? I heard that she was indisposed yesterday, and kept the King in attendance all day. So unfortunate, you know, just at this time." And her eyes twinkled with malicious amusement.
"Madame," I said, "may I speak plainly to you?"
"I never heard that you could speak otherwise," she answered quickly. "Even his friends never called M. de Rosny a wit; but only a plain, rough man who served our royal turn well enough in rough times; but is now growing—"
"Madame!"
"A trifle exigeant and superfluous."
After that, I saw that it was war to the knife between us; and I asked her in very plain terms If she were not afraid of the queen's enmity, that she dared thus to flaunt the King's favours before her.
"No more than I am afraid of yours," she answered hardily.