Chapter 26

A Dead Rose

Sovereigns and their thrones, statesmen and their intrigues, favourites
and their quarrels--of what moment are they to a man whose heart is on
fire and whose whole being resolves itself into but one thought of but
one creature? My lord Duke went to France as he was commanded; he had
been before at Versailles and Fontainebleau and Saint Germain, and
there were eyes which brightened at the sight of his tall form, and
there were men who while they greeted him with courteous bows and
professions of flattering welcome exchanged side glances and asked each
other momentous questions in private. He went about his business with
discretion and diplomatic skill and found that he had no reason to
despair of its accomplishment, but all his thoughts of his errand,
though he held his mind steady and could reason clearly on them, seemed
to him like the thoughts of a man in a dream who only in his private
moments awakened to the reality of existence.

"'Twas Fate again," he said, "Fate! who has always seemed to stalk in
between! If I had gone to her on that 'to-morrow,' I should have
poured forth my soul and hers would have answered me. But there shall
be another to-morrow, and I swear it shall come soon."

There was but a few hours' journey by land, and the English Channel,
between himself and London, and there was much passing to and fro; and
though the French Court had stories enough of its own, new ones were
always welcome, English gossip being thought to have a special heavy
quaintness, droll indeed. The Court of Louis found much entertainment
in the Court of Anne, and the frivolities or romances of beauties who
ate beef and drank beer and wore, 'twas said, the coquettish commode
founded on lovely Fontange's lace handkerchief, as if it were a
nightcap.

"But they have a handsome big creature there now, who is amazing," they
said with interest at this time. "She was brought up as a boy at the
_château_ of her father, and can fight with swords like a man, but is
as beautiful as the day and seven feet tall. It would be a pleasure to
see her. She is at present a widow with an immense fortune, and all the
gentlemen fight duels over her."

Both masculine and feminine members of the Court were much pleased with
this lady and found her more interesting and exciting than any of her
sister beauties. Naturally many unfounded anecdotes of her were
current, and it was said that she fought duels herself. It was not
long before it was whispered that the handsome Englishman Monsieur le
Duc d'Osmonde, the red blonde giant with the great calm eyes, was one
of the two chief pretendants to this picturesque lady's favour. Thus,
as was inevitable, my lord Duke