Her Royal Lover: A Novel — page 241: what you’re looking at

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

HER ROYAL LOVER. 233 well, time, a rare thing, egotism and love being in perfect accord, the marriage was decided on. Nearly two hours had expired before the king could consent to withdraw from his wife’s arms. Monsieur de Brandt was becoming angry. Since noon, the hour wherein the celebration of his secret marriage had taken place, the king had not ap- peared at court; this prolonged absence might be remarked by the mother-in-law. What plausible reasons could he give to explain it? And now three o’clock was striking! Charles Ferdinand, making a superhuman effort, came at last out of the boudoir of the late queen. Poor woman! she who had loved him so much and on whom he had lavished so many oaths of fidelity and of love! Her specter should have leaped in her tomb; the ingrate, upon the trembling breast of the new wife, had completely forgotten the cherished dead. Eomicbooks.com