At
that moment the king entered, leading a lady apparelled in
magnificent attire, the contour of whose face and outline of
whose figure distinguished her as a woman of supreme and sensuous
loveliness.
His majesty, suceedingly rich in waving feathers, glittering
satins, and fluttering ribbons, returned the gracious bows of his
courtiers to right and left; and, unconscious of the curious and
perplexed looks they interchanged, advanced to where his wife
sat, and introduced my Lady Castlemaine. Her majesty bowed and
extended her hand, which the countess, having first courtesyed
profoundly, raised to her lips. The queen either had not caught
the name, or had disassociated it from that of her husband's
mistress; but in an instant the character of the woman presented,
and the insult the king had inflicted, flashed upon her mind.
Coming so suddenly, it was more than she could bear; all colour
fled from her face, tears rushed to her eyes, blood gushed from
her nostrils, and she fell senseless to the floor.
Such strong evidence of the degree in which his young wife felt
the indignity forced upon her, by no means softened his majesty's
heart towards her, but rather roused his indignation at what he
considered public defiance of his authority. But as his nature
was remote from roughness, and his disposition inclined to ease,
he at first tried to gain his desire by persuasion, and therefore
besought the queen she would suffer his mistress to become a lady
of the bedchamber.
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