She pressed her again in her arms, then returned to her chamber,
sadder and more hopeless than she had ever been before.

But this unusual sadness commenced to annoy her; her heart was not
accustomed to feel sorrow, and her remorseful, dreary feeling made
her shudder. "If the carriage would but come!" she murmured, and
then, as if to excuse her thoughtlessness, she added, "it is now my
holy duty to listen to the prince; I must regain the respect of my
child. Yes, yes, I must become the wife of Henry I I can accomplish
this, for the prince loves me truly."

And now, she was again the coquette, whose captivating smile
harmonized perfectly with her alluring costume--no longer the tender
mother, no longer the sinner suffering from repentance and self-
reproach.

She stood before the glass, and arranged her disordered dress and
smoothed her dishevelled hair.

"I must be bewitching and fascinating," she murmured, with a smile
that showed two rows of pearl-like teeth; "the prince must gain
courage from my glance, to offer me his hand. Oh, I know he is quite
prepared to do so, if it were only to annoy his brother!" As she saw
the carriage drive up, she exclaimed, with sparkling eyes, "The
battle begins--to victory!"




CHAPTER IV.