She sat pale, and very thoughtful, and the Princesse de Conti,
watching her furtively, observed that her eyes were moist.
"I will answer for the Queen's virtue," she stated afterwards,
"but I cannot speak so positively for the hardness of her heart,
since without doubt the Duke's tears affected her spirits."
But it was not yet the end. As Buckingham was nearing Calais, he
was met by a courier from Whitehall, with instructions for him
regarding the negotiations he had been empowered to carry out
with France in the matter of an alliance against Spain--
negotiations which had not thriven with Louis and Richelieu,
possibly because the ambassador was ill-chosen. The instructions
came too late to be of use, but in time to serve as a pretext for
Buckingham's return to Amiens. There he sought an audience of the
Queen-Mother, and delivered himself to her of a futile message
for the King. This chimerical business--as Madame de Motteville
shrewdly calls it--being accomplished, he came to the real matter
which had prompted him to use that pretext for his return, and
sought audience of Anne of Austria.
It was early morning, and the Queen was not yet risen. But the
levees at the Court of France were precisely what the word
implies, and they were held by royalty whilst still abed.
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