FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52  
53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   >>   >|  
h floor, Mademoiselle. I passed her as I was going up to get M. de Serac's laundry." "Ah, thank you, then I will wait for her." Marie Pascal took a seat in the office, but at the end of ten minutes she became bored and decided to go out and get a breath of the fresh morning air. As she reached the entrance she noticed an article of clothing lying on the ground. "A woman's chemise," she exclaimed, picking it up. "The laundryman must have dropped it." Then suddenly she grew pale and retraced her steps to the office. "Good God!" she cried, leaning for support upon the back of a chair. CHAPTER VII THE KING RECEIVES The elegant attache of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs bowed, saying: "I am extremely sorry to bring your Majesty this bad news." A voice from the depth of the cushions inquired: "What bad news?" "I am telling your Majesty that it would be difficult--even impossible for you to go to the Longchamps races as you had the intention of doing." "And why not?" "The President of the Republic opens to-day the exposition at the Bagatelle Museum. If your Majesty went to the Bois de Boulogne you would run the risk of meeting him. You would then be obliged to stop and talk a few moments, but as this interview has not been foreseen and arranged for it would be very awkward." "That is true." "That is all I had to convey to your Majesty." "Let me see, what is your name, Monsieur?" "I am Count Adhemar de Candieres, your Majesty." "Well, Count, many thanks! You may retire." The Count gracefully bowed himself out and with a convulsive movement of the cushions Jerome Fandor sprang up and burst out laughing. "Ah!" he cried, "I thought that chap would never go! Your Majesty!... Sire ... the King ... pleasant names to be called when you're not accustomed to them. I've already had twenty-four hours of it, and if it goes on much longer I shall begin to think it's not a joke. "And the King himself, what's become of him ... what is Frederick-Christian II doing now ... that's something I'd like to find out." The journalist had indeed sufficient food for thought. From the dawn of New Year's Day he had gone from surprise to surprise. At first he thought he had been brought to the Royal Palace Hotel at the instigation of the King. That would have been the simple solution of the affair. The King must have realized the awkward predicament in which his companion was placed and in
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52  
53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Majesty
 

thought

 

cushions

 

surprise

 

awkward

 

office

 
convey
 

Fandor

 

arranged

 
sprang

foreseen

 

laughing

 

Monsieur

 

gracefully

 
Candieres
 

retire

 

Adhemar

 
movement
 

convulsive

 

Jerome


journalist

 

sufficient

 
brought
 

predicament

 

companion

 

realized

 
affair
 

Palace

 
instigation
 
simple

solution

 

twenty

 

accustomed

 

pleasant

 

called

 

interview

 

Christian

 

Frederick

 

longer

 
intention

clothing
 

ground

 

chemise

 

article

 
reached
 

entrance

 

noticed

 
exclaimed
 

picking

 

retraced