He wants to say, because Anne is not a carnal being, she is a calculating being, with a cold slick brain at work behind her hungry black eyes. I believe any woman who can say no to the King of England and keep on saying it, has the wit to say no to any number of men, including you, including Harry Percy, including anyone else she may choose to torment for her own sport while she is arranging her career in the way it suits her. So I think, yes, you've been made into a fool, but not quite in the way you thought.
This excerpt highlights Anne's intelligence and calculated nature rather than a purely emotional or carnal disposition. The narrator suggests that her ability to continually refuse the King of England speaks to her cunning and strategic thinking. She is portrayed as a woman who understands her power and uses it to navigate her ambitions, demonstrating her capability to manipulate those around her for her own benefit.
The implication is that her decisions stem from a place of control and not just impulse. The narrator points out that anyone who underestimates her, including the speaker’s peers, will find themselves outwitted, revealing the complexities of her character as someone who expertly balances her desires with her social maneuvering.
