Louise de la Vallière Chapter 21 - M. Malicorne the Keeper of the Records of France

In which the sombre chamber of a grievously wounded young nobleman becomes the scene of a secretive and tender visitation by a masked lady, whose presence stirs faint life in the fading embers of consciousness. Meanwhile, a prudent attendant secures a bloodstained token of the encounter, resolving to entrust it to the curious and watchful M. Malicorne, the dedicated custodian of royal secrets.