Her Royal Lover: A Novel — page 106: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

98 HER ROYAL LOVER. Suddenly, a slender thread of light falls in the studio. The prince is dismayed. What vision 1s going to appear to him again? He holds his breath. He waits. In the meantime the light is increasing, the steps are becoming more distinct. This time, he does not dream! At all events he will assure himself. With his back turned to the door, his lantern closed, and himself concealed behind the portrait, it is impossible that any living being or phantom which comes may be able to see him; but, witha great presence of mind, he blows the lantern entire- ly out and goes quickly and crouches behind an im- mense tapestry which conceals one of the entrances of the atelier. The footsteps stop; a hand pushes the door open, and a woman, the princess, clothed in a long white dressing-gown, her hair unconfined over her shoul- ders, advances, lighted by a lamp which she holds in her hand; she walks softly, with precaution, as if seeking a lost object. She searches everywhere, examines all the corners of her studio; nothing! She goes toward a secretary where she generally writes, and of which she alone possesses the key. All the papers, all the drawers are minutely ex- amined. At each unsuccessful search, a genuine dispair manifests itself; before this fruitless inspec. tion real sobs escape from her parched throat: “My God! my God! it will be dreadful if I cannot find it!” cries she at last. Mineleko, whose arteries are beating almost to bursting, anxiously awaits the termination of this revealing scene. Now he trembles more than ever at being discovered, for he feels that he touches the key to the enigma; his impatience is difficult to Geom (C JOO Ss (E(0)