She would remain by the fountain. She liked its
sparkling and splashing, it refreshed her; the Intendant could come
for her in half an hour; she wanted to be alone; she felt in a hard,
unamiable mood, she said, and he only made her worse by stopping
with her when others wanted him, and he wanted others!
The Intendant protested, in terms of the warmest gallantry, that he
would not leave her; but seeing Angelique really desired at the
present moment to be alone, and reflecting that he was himself
sacrificing too much for the sake of one goddess, while a hundred
others were adorned and waiting for his offerings, he promised in
half an hour to return for her to this spot by the fountain, and
proceeded towards the Palace.
Angelique sat watching the play and sparkle of the fountain, which
she compared to her own vain exertions to fascinate the Intendant,
and thought that her efforts had been just as brilliant, and just as
futile!
She was sadly perplexed. There was a depth in Bigot's character
which she could not fathom, a bottomless abyss into which she was
falling and could not save herself.
Pages:
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618