'Which is it?' I heard the minister whisper.
'The girl from the Imperial Opera,' said Berthier.
'Is the little Spanish lady out of favour then?'
'No, I think not. She was here yesterday.'
'And the other, the Countess?'
'She has a cottage at Ambleteuse?'
'But we must have no scandal about the Court,' said Talleyrand, with a
sour smile, recalling the moral sentiments with which the Emperor had
reproved him. 'And now, Monsieur de Laval,' he added, drawing me aside,
'I very much wish to hear from you about the Bourbon party in England.
You must have heard their views. Do they imagine that they have any
chance of success?'
And so for ten minutes he plied me with questions, which showed me
clearly that the Emperor had read him aright, and that he was
determined, come what might, to be upon the side which won. We were
still talking when Constant entered hurriedly, with a look of anxiety
and perplexity which I could not have imagined upon so smooth and
imperturbable a face.
'Good Heavens, Monsieur Talleyrand,' he cried, clasping and unclasping
his hands.
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