Page:Ten Years Later.djvu/506

Rh 494 TEN" YEARS LATER. king flushed as if he had been much annoyed; but La Val- liere, gentle, and resigned, as usual, exhibited nothing of the sort. While the list was being read the king had not taken his eyes oS the young girl, who seemed to expand, as it were, beneath the happy influence she felt was shed around her, and who was delighted and too pure in spirit for any other thought than that of love to find an entrance either in her mind or her heart. Acknowledging this touching self-denial by the fixedness of his attention, the king showed La Valliere how much he appreciated its deli- cacy. When the list was finished the different faces of those who had been omitted or forgotten fully expressed their disappointment. Malicorne also was forgotten among the number of men; and the grimace he made plainly said to Montalais, who was also forgotten, "Cannot we contrive to arrange matters with fortune in such a manner that she shall not forget us?" to which a smile full of intelligence from Mile. Aure replied: "Certainly we can." The tickets were distributed to each person according to the number held. The king received his first, next the queen-mother, then Monsieur, then the queen and madame, and so on. After this, Anne of Austria opened a small Spanish leather bag containing two hundred numbers en- graved' upon small balls of mother-of-pearl, and presented the open sack to the youngest of her maids of honor for the purpose of taking one of the balls out of it. The eager ex- pectation, amid all the tediously slow preparations, was rather that of avidity than of curiosity. St. Aignan bent toward Mile, de Tonnay-Charente to whisper to her, "Since we have each a number, let us unite our two chances. The bracelet shall be yours if I win, and if you are successful, deign to give me but one look of your beautiful eyes." "No," said Athenais, "if you win the bracelet, keep it; every one for himself." "You are without any pity," said St. Aignan, "and I will punish you by a quatrain: " ' Beautiful Iris, to my vow You are too opposed ' " "Silence," said Athenais; "you will prevent me hearing the winning number." "Number one," said the young girl who had drawn the mother-of-pearl from the Spanish leather bag. "The king!" exclaimed the queen-mother. "The king has won," repeated the queen delightedly.