It was fortunate for the poor lovers that the increasing corpulence
of the queen and her swollen right foot rendered her advance rather
slow, so that when she at last reached the lower end of the
conservatory she found no one there but her son Augustus William,
whose embarrassed and constrained reception of herself convinced the
queen that her appearance was not only a surprise, but also a
disagreeable one. She therefore demanded of him with severity the
cause of his unexpected and unusual visit to her conservatory; and
when Augustus William smilingly replied--
"That he had awaited here the queen's awakening, in order that he
might pay his visit--"
The queen asked abruptly: "And who, my son, helped to dispel the
ennui of this tedious waiting?"
"No one, my dear mother," said the prince; but he did not dare to
meet his mother's penetrating glance.
"No one?" repeated she; "but I heard you speaking on entering the
conservatory."
"You know, your majesty, that I have inherited the habit of speaking
aloud to myself from my father," replied the prince, with a
constrained smile.
"The king my husband did not cease speaking when I made his
appearance," exclaimed the queen, angrily; "he had no secrets to
hide from me."
"The thoughts of my royal father were grand, and worthy of the
sympathy of Queen Sophia Dorothea," said the prince, bowing low.
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