Louise de la Vallière Chapter 43 - An Interview with the Queen-Mother

In which the queen-mother, Anne of Austria, is visited at the Palais Royal by a mysterious masked Beguine who speaks to her in cryptic and solemn terms about the hidden burdens and secret sorrows that weigh upon her heart and the realm. As the two converse with veiled references to past grief and state secrets, long-trusted confidences unravel through tender words and veiled threats, revealing the profound loneliness and complexity beneath royal composure.