The old princess shook her head, smiling bitterly and incredulously.
"Snake!" she hissed fiercely, looking at the girl; and then she added quickly:
"Did any of the others know?"
"No one but myself!" answered Natasha.
"Never dare to speak of her again! Never dare!" cried the old princess, and once more she sank back unconscious on the pillows.
About noon the next day she again came to herself, and ordered her son to be called. He came in quietly, and affectionately approached his mother.
The princess dismissed her maid, and remained alone with her son.
"You have no longer a sister!" she cried, turning to her son, with the nervous spasm which returned each time she spoke of her daughter. "She is dead for us! She has disgraced us! I curse her! You, you alone are my heir!"
At these words the young prince pricked up his ears and bent even more attentively toward his mother. The news of his sole heirship was so pleasant and unexpected that he did not even think of asking how his sister had disgraced them, and only said with a deep sigh:
"Oh, mamma, she was always opposed to you. She never loved you!"