Page:Ten Years Later.djvu/505

Rh TEN YEARS LATEE. 493 remark to the young girl who had been so particularly noticed in the morning, they immediately drew their own conclusion to account for this coldness of manner; this con- clusion being, that although the king may have taken a sudden fancy to her, that fancy had already disappeared. One thing, however, must be remarked, that close beside La Valliere, among the number of the courtiers, M. Fou- quet was to be seen; and his respectfully attentive manner served to sustain the young girl in the midst of the varied emotions which visibly agitated her, M. Fouquet was just on the point, moreover, of speaking in a more friendly manner with Mile, de la Valliere, when M. de Colbert approached, and after having bowed to Fou- quet with a formality which the rules of the most resjjectful politeness could require, he seemed to take up a post be- side La Valliere, for the purpose of entering into conversa- tion with her. Fouquet immediately quitted hie place. These proceedings were eagerly devoured by the eyes of Montalais and Malicorne, who mutually exchanged their several observations on the subject. De Guiche, standing within the embrasure of one of the windows, saw no one but madame. But as madame, on her si-de, frequently glanced at La Valliere, De Guiche's eyes, following ma- dame's, were from time to time cast upon the young girl. La Valliere instinctively felt herself sinking beneath the weight of all the different looks, inspired, some by interest, others by envy. She had nothing to compensate her for her sutferings, not a kind word from her companions nor a look of affection from the king. No one could possibly ex- press the misery the poor girl was suffering. The queen- mother next directed the small table to be brought forward, on which the lottery tickets were placed, two hundred in number, and begged Mme. de Motteville to read the list of the names. It was a matter of course that this list had been drawn out in strict accordance with the laws of etiquette; the king's name was first on the list, next the queen-mother, then the queen. Monsieur, madame, and so on. All hearts throbbed anxiously as the list was read out; more than three hundred persons had been invited, and each of them was anxious to learn whether his or her name was likely to be found among the number of privileged names. The king listened with as much attention as the others, and when the last name had been pronounced he noticed that La Valliere had been omitted from the list. Every one^ of course, could remark this omission. The