It was all muddled and distorted in her mind. She was crying for herself, for Robert, for Jeanne and for Emilie. Yes, for Emilie too, who must have known the darkest unhappiness of all, that of having deliberately forsaken God.

Blinded and shaken by the tempest of tears, Mistral would have sunk down on the ground, but instead she found herself caught up in strong arms and carried away to her own bedroom. There somebody administered to her, speaking soothing words which still had not the power to stop her crying.

The Doctor came and she strove to do what he said, but she was past even obeying the dictates of her own common sense. She remembered drinking something, feeling the liquid smooth and rather bitter sink down her throat.

Then at last she was at peace. She slept, woke, ate, and slept again. She had no idea how long a time elapsed between her sleeping and her waking. She was aware of only one thing. She was no longer frightened and Jeanne was at her side whenever she woke. Perhaps her only coherent thought was a desire to sleep. There was an aching want within herself to return to that dreamless, inexhaustible oblivion.

When Mistral finally awoke, it was with a feeling of happiness and a consciousness of being ready to take up the threads of life again. Someone had already drawn the blinds in her room. The sunshine was flooding in. Through the big open windows she could see a vast expanse of blue sky and against it the delicate branches of mimosa, golden as the sun itself.

Mistral lay for a long time looking at them, letting the events of the past steep back slowly into her memory. Then at length she raised her head and was aware that she was hungry. She was wondering whether to ring the bell when the door opened softly and a maid came into the room. She was young and pretty, a white cap framing her dark hair, and she had a smiling, sunburnt face. She advanced to the bed and curtsied.

‘Would Your Serene Highness like some breakfast?’ she enquired.

Mistral was startled by the title, and it was some seconds before she asked,

‘Who are you?’

‘I am Yvette, Your Serene Highness, and if it pleases you I am to be your maid and look after you.’

Mistral smiled.

‘That sounds very pleasant! I would like some breakfast, please.’

‘I have already ordered it,’ Yvette replied. ‘The Doctor said that Your Serene Highness would awake this morning feeling well, and if one is feeling well, one is also hungry.’

There was something gay and joyous in the girl’s voice and Mistral felt her spirits rise. She sat up in bed while Yvette brought more pillows which she placed behind her and draped a warm wrap over her shoulders. A knock on the door announced the approach of breakfast and Yvette brought it to Mistral’s side.