“Oh, then, some pledge of your indulgence, some object which came from you, and may remind me that I have not been dreaming; something you have worn, and that I may wear in my turn⁠—a ring, a necklace, a chain.”

“Will you depart⁠—will you depart, if I give you that you demand?”

“Yes.”

“This very instant?”

“Yes.”

“You will leave France, you will return to England?”

“I will, I swear to you.”

“Wait, then, wait.”

Anne of Austria reentered her apartment, and came out again almost immediately, holding a rosewood casket in her hand, with her cipher encrusted with gold.