"I thank your majesty deeply," said Fouquet, as he raised his head beneath this favor, which he was convinced would be his ruin. "But how could your majesty have been informed of it?" "By public rumor, Monsieur Fouquet, which says such wonderful things of yourself and of the marvels of your house. Would you become proud, Monsieur Fouquet, if the king were to be jealous of you?" "I should be the happiest man in the world, sire, since the very day on which your majesty were to be jealous of Vaux, I should possess something worthy of being offered to you." "Very well, Monsieur Fouquet, prepare your _fete_, and open the doors of your house as wide as possible." [Illustration: AS THE RAIN DRIPPED MORE AND MORE THROUGH THE FOLIAGE OF THE OAK, THE KING HELD HIS HAT OVER THE HEAD OF THE YOUNG GIRL.--_Page 22._] "It is for your majesty to fix the day." "This day month, then." "Has your majesty any further commands?" "Nothing, Monsieur Fouquet, except from the present moment until then to have you near me as much as possible." "I have the honor to form one of your majesty's party for the promenade." "Very good. I am now going out indeed, for there are the ladies, I see, who are going to start." With this remark, the king, with all the eagerness, not only of a young man, but of a young man in love, withdrew from the window, in order to take his gloves and cane, which his valet held ready for him. The neighing of the horses and the rumbling of the wheels on the gravel of the courtyard could be distinctly heard. The king descended the stairs, and at the moment he made his appearance upon the flight of steps every one stopped. The king walked straight up to the young queen. The queen-mother, who was still suffering more than ever from the illness with which she was afflicted, did not wish to go out. Maria Theresa accompanied Madame in her carriage, and asked the king in what direction he wished the promenade to take place. The king, who had just seen La Valliere, still pale from the events of the previous evening, get into a carriage with three of her companions, told the queen that he had no preference, and wherever she would wish to go, there would he be with her. The queen then desired that the out-riders should proceed in the direction of Apremont. The out-riders set off, accordingly, before the others. The king rode on horseback, and for a few minutes accompanied the carriage of the queen and Madame, with his hand resting upon the door. The weather had cleared up a little, but a kind of veil of dust, like a thick gauze, was still spread over the surface of the heavens, and the sun made every glittering atom of dust glisten again within the circuit of its rays. The heat was stifling; but as the king did not seem to pay any attention to the appearance of the heavens, no one made himself uneasy about it, and the promenade, in obedience to the orders which had been given by the queen, took its course in the direction of Apremont.