“Never mind,” returned the brave Princess; “I prefer these adventures to the monotony of the round table of work in the sumptuous salons of the Tuileries.” The relief with which the letter announcing the safety of her sister was received by Queen Isabella can well be imagined, as in those days the limited communication by telegraph was stopped on account of the fog. The fall of Louis Philippe relieved England of the fear of the upset of the balance of European power from the astuteness with which he had arranged the marriages of the Spanish Queen and her sister. There was no doubt of the intentions which had led to the Duke of Montpensier being the brother-in-law of the Queen, and the unsuspicious girl was a prey to the reports which were spread by the ambitious Orleanists. CHAPTER X A ROYAL QUARREL AND THE RECONCILIATION It was soon seen that General Serrano’s influence with the Queen surpassed the ordinary grade, and the Moderates were alarmed. There were two parties in the royal palace--one on the side of the Queen, and the other on that of the King; and the leaders of these parties fostered the difference between the royal couple. Francisco Pacheco, the King’s partisan, declared that a President of the Congress was wanted who would give more independence to the Crown, and who would receive the counsels of an intelligent husband of the Sovereign; for the King-Consort should not be in a position so secondary to that of the illustrious mother-in-law that she can boast of having more power than he has. When Isabella saw that Queen Maria Cristina’s influence in the State was much resented by the Ministers, she advised her to go on a visit to her daughter, the Duchess of Montpensier, and this counsel was followed. However, the want of union between the King and Queen was soon evident to the world, and when it was announced that Isabella was going to spend the rest of the summer at Aranjuez alone, whilst the King remained in Madrid, it was seen that the Serrano influence had become serious enough to cause a separation between the royal couple. Isabella’s naturally good heart seemed softened when she was leaving the palace, and it was evidently remorse which prompted her to look anxiously back from the carriage, in search of a glimpse of the husband at one of the windows of the royal pile. But the coach rattled on, and the Queen’s search was in vain; whilst her sad face, with its traces of tears, showed that things might have been better had not the differences of the royal couple been fostered, for their own ends, by intriguers of the _camarilla_. Forsaken by his wife, Francisco followed the advice of his friends, to enjoy himself in his own way; so he repaired to the Palace of the Pardo, where banquets, hunting-parties, and other festivities deadened his sense of injury at his wife’s conduct.