Everything looked very different now--the bright sunshine
was pouring in at the windows, and large fires of juniper, and other
sweet-smelling woods, had completely done away with the damp, chilly,
heavy atmosphere that pervaded the long disused rooms when she was in
them before.
In the splendid dining-room she found a table sumptuously spread, and
her father already seated at it, in his large, high-backed, richly
carved chair, behind which stood two lackeys, in superb liveries. As she
approached him she made a most graceful curtsey, which had nothing in
the least theatrical about it, and would have met with approbation even
in courtly circles. A servant was holding the chair destined for her,
and with some timidity, but no apparent embarrassment, she took her seat
opposite to the prince. She was served with soup and wine, and then with
course after course of delicate, tempting viands; but she could not eat
her heart was too full--her nerves were still quivering, from the terror
and excitement of the preceding day and night.
She was dazzled and agitated by this sudden change of fortune, anxious
about her brother, now lying at the point of death, and, above all,
troubled and grieved at her separation from her lover--so she could only
make a pretence of dining, and played languidly with the food on her
plate.
Pages:
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567