“But because he was also a man with ordinary desires, the King often chose a woman whom he found attractive to be his companion.”
As the Duke spoke, he watched Anoushka’s face and knew by the expression in her eyes that she was trying to understand exactly what he was saying.
“Did the King love the woman who was his mistress?” she asked.
“Usually,” the Duke replied, “and Louis XV not only loved Madame Pompadour but was faithful to her, which was unusual.”
“You mean that some Kings have had more than one mistress?”
“I see that you will have to read about Charles II of England,” the Duke said, “who had many mistresses, all of them very beautiful, one of the most important being a French woman. I have a portrait of Louise de Keroualle in my house in the country which is one of the finest
