"But that, Marie, is unworthy of your character, of your mind."
"Louis, she is too beautiful."
"I do not think Raoul will find fault with her on that score."
"Nor would one greater than Raoul."
"Whom do you mean?" cried the count, now for the first time startled.
"I have seen eyes fixed upon her in deadly admiration, which never admire but they pollute the object of their admiration."
"The king's, Marie?"
"The king's."
"And then—?"
"And then I have heard it whispered that the Baron de Beaulieu has asked her hand of the Sieur d'Argenson."