He was one of
the equerries-in-waiting on the Duchess of Orleans, and thus happily
could not follow; and I never rejoiced more than when Gaspard and I,
with my two women, had turned our backs on St. Germain and began to
descend through the scattered trees of the forest towards Paris.
No less than forty carriages came out to meet the deputies on their
return, and our progress was very slow, but at last we found
ourselves at our hotel, where we were entirely unexpected, and the
porter was so much surprised that, instead of announcing us properly,
he rushed into the courtyard, screaming out: 'Madame! Monsieur le
Marquis!' The whole household came rushing down the steps pell-mell,
so that it was plain at the first glance that my mother was not
there. Annora was the first to throw herself into my arms, with a
shriek and sob of joy, which gave me a pleasure I cannot describe
when I contrasted this meeting with our former one, for now again I
felt that we were wholly sisters.
Gaspard sprang to the Abbe's neck, and declared himself tired of his
holidays, and quite ready to resume his studies. They would be much
pleasanter than running after the King and Duke of Anjou, and bearing
the blame of all their pranks. My mother, I heard, was at the
Convent of St. Jaques with her poor bereaved Queen, and she had left
my sister in the charge of Sir Francis and Lady Ommaney.
The old lady came to welcome me; Sir Francis was out gone to inquire
for the President Darpent; and before I had been an hour in the
house, I found how entirely different a world it was from that which
I had left, and how changed were the interests that absorbed it.
Pages:
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261