Her face was pale with
anger and her eyes shining with scorn; the parting curtains framed her
tall, slim figure, which leaned forwards in her fury of passion.
She had forgotten the Emperor, the Empress, everything, in her revulsion
of feeling against this craven whom she had loved.
'They told me what you were,' she cried. 'I would not believe them, I
_could_ not believe them--for I did not know that there was upon this
earth a thing so contemptible. They said that they would prove it, and
I defied them to do so, and now I see you as you are. Thank God that I
have found you out in time! And to think that for your sake I have
brought about the death of a man who was worth a hundred of you! Oh, I
am rightly punished for an unwomanly act. Toussac has had his revenge.'
'Enough!' said the Emperor sternly. 'Constant, lead Mademoiselle Bernac
into the next room. As to you, sir, I do not think that I can condemn
any lady of my Court to take such a man as a husband. Suffice it that
you have been shown in your true colours, and that Mademoiselle Bernac
has been cured of a foolish infatuation.
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