Her Royal Lover: A Novel — page 193: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

HER ROYAL LOVER. 185 Najeska Ivanowna felt frightened, disturbed. She had wished to lead the king to more platonic senti- ments. “Tlove you. I may tell you so, without failing in honor, for I come to ask you to be mine.” Madame de Mineleko, for a moment, believed it an insult; she grew pale. “Oh! do not mistake the sense of my words!” said his majesty, quickly. “You told me, the morning of that terrible day when—when this strange accident happened to you—that you would never belong to another man than your husband. Well, this is what I came to tell you; your husband, instead of being a protector, is a constant danger to you; his jealousy continually on the alert, is a menace of death sus- pended over your head. Although you have main- tained the most profound silence upon the name of your aggressor, no one is deceived. The whole resi- dence knows that the blows which you have re- ceived, have been the work of the prince.” “Sire?” “Do not say ‘no!’ Your conduct undoubtedly is magnanimous, noble; you endeavur to defend the father of your children. But you will not succeed in it; everybody knows that it is he. Well, you must leave this—this brute who has dared to strike you |” “Ah! your majesty, do not continue. I can hear no more,” cried Najeska Ivanowna, anxious still to defend Mineleko. “Yes, my husband is jealous, yes, he has faults; but his qualities are great!” “Yes, 1 know—I know all that,” interrupted the king; “but, I entreat you, do not excite yourself thus. You know as well, and even better than I, that hereaiter you cannot remain with him, Who Eomicbooks.com