Her Royal Lover: A Novel — page 237: what you’re looking at

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

HER ROYAL LOVER. | 229 fruit of a painful labor? Alas! in less than a day, in less than an hour, all this labor of an entire year was annihilated. The city presented a truly heart-rending spectacle; everywhere there was nothing but debris. The decorations so joyously erected for the marriage festivities of the Princess Agusta, were now hang- ing mournfully; it was no longer joy that they an- nounced, but a grief universal, and difficult to repair. “Oh! I cannot, I dare not go out in such a storm!” These words escaped from the pale lips of the king’s morganatic wife. Monsieur de Brandt found himself in a very per- plexing situation. He really could not expose this fragile and nervous woman to depart in such a tem- pest. On the other hand, she wasin the royal pal- ace, and if any one found her there at an hour when | she would only appear there by an express com- mand. it would give much food for conjecture. “My God! what am I to do? he asked himself, embarrassed. In short. since she was now the wife of his sover- eign and since she would not and could not depart, it was necessary for him to consider. Recollecting very seasonably that there was a little apartment which opened upon the corridor of the ground floor, he offered his arm to Madame de Mineleko and quickly conducted her to this apart- ment. “Bolt the door, madam,” said he, “no one must see you, at any price, in the palace at this moment. | will go and notify my sovereign master, the king, of the place wherein I have had to conceal you, and I will watch that no one may come to disturb you.” As soon as Najeska Ivanowna was shut up in the * Eomichooks.com - =