Louise de la Vallière Chapter 27 - Showing How Louis, on His Part, Had Passed the Time from Ten to Half-Past Twelve at Night

In which the young King Louis XIV, grappling with both matters of state and the tender turmoils of his heart, converses with Colbert about fraught diplomatic tensions with the Dutch and the intricate arrangements for a delicate audience. Amidst this political backdrop, the king wrestles to maintain composure, balancing the sternness of his royal duties against the quiet anguish that shadows his private affections.