CHAPTER XII. THE KING RECEIVES
It may have been that Mademoiselle Nanon, the faithful confidante of Madame de Maintenon, had learned something of this interview, or it may be that Pere la Chaise, with the shrewdness for which his Order is famous, had come to the conclusion that publicity was the best means of holding the king to his present intention; but whatever the source, it was known all over the court next day that the old favourite was again in disgrace, and that there was talk of a marriage between the king and the governess of his children. It was whispered at the petit lever , confirmed at the grand entree , and was common gossip by the time that the king had returned from chapel. Back into wardrobe and drawer went the flaring silks and the feathered ha
