She proved to be a young woman of about twenty-two with lustrous black hair and an olive complexion. Her eyes were a velvety brown, her nose aquiline, her cheeks thin and her chin long. Her arms were well modelled and her hands were small with sensitive, tapering fingers. She was medium tall but on the thin side for her height. So considered on all counts by the standards of the day she would have been considered passably good-looking, but no great beauty. She had, however, one feature which made her face, once seen, unforgettable. To either side of the space above her arched nose dark eyebrows grew to nearly half-an-inch in depth, then gradually turning upward they tapered away to vanishing points at her temples.
Roger put her down at once as of Latin blood, and thought that he had never before seen hair of such exceptional blackness. But perhaps that was partly to be accounted for by its intense contrast with that of the Queen; for when Marie Antoinette first came to Court her hair had been so like spun gold that, long after her death, silks of an exquisite golden hue were still described as cheveux de la Reine.
As the olive-skinned young woman removed her mask, the Queen said to Roger: "Monsieur de Breuc, I present you to the Senorita d'Aranda. When the Senorita's father was recalled to Madrid after having represented his country for many years at our Court, he was kind enough to let me retain her among my Ladies for a while. It is not the least of my sorrows that she too will now soon be leaving me."
"You are indeed unfortunate, Madame, to lose so charming a companion," Roger murmured, making a gallant leg in response to the Senorita's grave curtsy. As he did so he wondered if she had inherited the intelligence and temper of her celebrated father. Don Pedro d'Aranda had been a brilliantly successful General and the Prime Minister of his country for seven years before being sent as Ambassador to France, and no one would have denied his great abilities; but he had the reputation of being extremely haughty and violently intolerant.
While the two younger people were exchanging courtesies, the Queen called out to her coachman in German: "Weber! You had better walk the horses, as we may remain here for some time." Then she seated herself on a cushion that had been placed for her and, as the carriage moved off, motioned to Roger and the Spanish girl to sit down one on either side.
This was the first opportunity Roger had had to see her at close quarters without her mask, and he thought that apart from some tiny wrinkles round her tender blue eyes and a slight darkening of her golden hair she showed few signs of approaching middle-age. She was, at that time, thirty-three years old and had had four children. It was common knowledge that for the first eight years of her wedded life she had, to her bitter grief, remained childless, because her husband had proved incapable of consummating the marriage; but her daughter, Madame Royale, was now ten years old; the Dauphin, a child whose sickliness gave her much anxiety, seven; her second son, the little Due de Normandie, a lusty boy of four; and there had been a second daughter, who had died at the age of eleven months. Yet, despite the strain and cares of motherhood, she had retained her beautiful figure. She had exquisite hands and arms; and her oval face, with its delicately arched nose and noble forehead, was so splendidly set on her fine shoulders that no woman could have better looked, as she was, a true daughter of the Caesars.
Roger had seen her in the past only from a distance, but even so he had been struck by her resemblance to his lovely Athenais, and now, at close quarters, he thought her far more beautiful than her dark-browed young companion. But he was not left in silent contemplation of their respective attractions for long, as the Queen said to him:
"Monsieur; the Senorita d'Aranda is, I know, positively dying to hear what befell you after you were robbed of your jewels in Le Havre, and I too have a great love for listening to such stories; pray continue your adventures."
So, much sooner than he had expected, Roger found himself launched in his self-sought role of troubadour; and, as his blessings included ample self-confidence, coupled with the ability to express himself easily, the task presented no difficulties. Fortunately, too, he had abundant material in the months that he had spent with old Dr. Aristotle Fenelon peddling quack medicines, so he was not called on to invent any particulars that he might have later regretted, and for over half an hour he kept the Queen and her lady pleasantly amused.
From their comments and laughter he had good reason to suppose that they would have been quite content to listen to him much longer; but at the end of that time the sound of approaching hoof-beats interrupted his discourse, bringing them all to their feet, and next moment the Queen's two gentlemen cantered into the clearing.
"I feared as much," murmured Roger. "That fine bay de Roubec was riding enabled him to get clean away." But, even as he spoke, he had good cause to forget the pseudo-Chevalier in swift concern for a new development which threatened to jeopardize the favour he had so skilfully acquired with the Queen. As the two richly clad riders pulled up their foam-flecked mounts he recognized them both as friends of the Marquis de Rochambeau.
One was the handsome Due de Coigny, whose name malignant slander had coupled with that of the Queen on the birth of her first child, and the other was the Comte de Vaudreuil, whom the scurrilous pamphlets of the day had also accused her of having taken for her lover.
Roger did not believe a word of such stories, as everyone at all well informed knew that, at the time of the Queen's first pregnancy, the one had been the lover of the Princess de Guemenee and the other of the Duchess de Polignac, and that Marie Antoinette herself was a model of wifely fidelity. The two noblemen were, however, her old and cherished friends, and were so devoted to her that when two years earlier the King had abolished the Due's post as First Equerry and the Comte's as Grand Falconer, on grounds of economy, both had remained on at Court for the pleasure of serving her.
Seeing that she had gone out that afternoon to despatch a letter at a secret rendezvous, it was not the least surprising that she should have chosen two such trusted friends to act as her escort; but their arrival on the scene brought Roger face to face with a situation which he had hoped would not arise until he had had a chance to secure a firm footing at Fontainebleau.
"Alas, Madame," cried de Coigny, on pulling up. "We lost our man some two miles distant heading in the direction of Courances."
"We kept him in sight that far," added de Vaudreuil, "but had gained little on him. I fear he used his lead to double back on reaching a point where several rides converge. After casting about for quite a while and finding no trace of him, we thought it best to return and confess our discomfiture to Your Majesty."
" 'Tis a pity," the Queen shrugged, "but of no vital import. And as we can give a good description of the fellow, the police may yet lay him by the heels for us. I thank you, gentlemen, for your exertions."
Turning to Roger, she said: "Monsieur, 'tis my wish that Monsieur le Due de Coigny and Monsieur le Comte de Vaudreuil should number you among their acquaintances." Then to them she added: "My friends, this gentleman has today rendered me a considerable service. His name is de Breuc, and I recommend him to you."
The three men exchanged polite bows. Then de Vaudreuil said with a little frown: "De Breuc? Your name is familiar to me, Monsieur, but I cannot recall where I have heard it before."
"I remember not only this gentleman's name, but also his face," put in de Coigny. "Surely, Monsieur, we have met upon some previous occasion?"
Roger saw that there was nothing for it but to take the plunge, so he bowed again, and said: "Messieurs. In any other circumstances I would not have had the forwardness to claim the honour of your previous acquaintance. But in the past both of you have spoken to me with some kindness on numerous occasions. I was for some time confidential secretary to Monsieur de Rochambeau."