Gifted
with a subtle and penetrating spirit--that talent which procures
advancement at court, she saw, with pain, that I sought to attract
other females about me: she would fain have remained my only
friend, that she might, unopposed, influence me in all I did. She
saw, therefore, the appearance of madame de Mirepoix in my
drawing-room with uneasiness: her bad humor was sufficiently
apparent to attract the notice of the marechale, who laughed at it:
her social position as a titled woman, and the king's friendship,
giving her confidence that her credit would always exceed that of
my godmother.
Madame de Bearn was compelled to submit to the ascendancy of the
marechale, but yet did not the less relax in her efforts to keep
from me all other female society, she hoped that at last the king
would distinguish her, and call her into his intimacy as my friend;
she was not more fond of the comtesse d'Aloigny, altho' the nullity
of this lady need not have alarmed her much. For me, I began to
resent the irksomeness of having incessantly at my side a person
who manifested too openly her desire to compel me to submit to
her wishes, and I waited, to secure my freedom, only until the
circle of females I could admit to my society should be extended.
Such were our reciprocal feelings during our stay at Marly. The
madame de Bearn watched me with more care than at Versailles,
fearing, no doubt, that the freedom of the country might facilitate
connections prejudicial to her interests.
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