'Well, madame,' said he to the nearest of them, 'I hope you are behaving
rather better. When last I heard from Paris your doings were furnishing
the Quartier St. Germain with a good deal of amusement and gossip.'
'I beg that your Majesty will explain what you mean,' said she with
spirit.
'They had coupled your name with that of Colonel Lasalle.'
'It is a foul calumny, sire.'
'Very possibly, but it is awkward when so many calumnies cluster round
one person. You are certainly a most unfortunate lady in that respect.
You had a scandal once before with General Rapp's aide-de-camp. This
must come to an end. What is your name?' he continued, turning to
another.
'Mademoiselle de Perigord.'
'Your age?'
'Twenty.'
'You are very thin and your elbows are red. My God, Madame Boismaison,
are we never to see anything but this same grey gown and the red turban
with the diamond crescent?'
'I have never worn it before, sire?'
'Then you had another the same, for I am weary of the sight of it.
Let me never see you in it again. Monsieur de Remusat, I make you a
good allowance.
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