"The document in question—a letter, to be frank—had been received by the personage robbed while alone in the royal boudoir. During its perusal she was suddenly interrupted by the entrance of the other exalted personage from whom especially it was her wish to conceal it...."See in text(The Purloined Letter)
The owner of the document is revealed to be the queen (“she”) and the “other exalted personage,” it can be inferred, is her husband. The document is now identified as a letter. The queen’s wanting to keep the letter from him “especially” implies that it is a letter she has received from a lover. The passage indicates why being in possession of the letter gives Minister D— “ascendency” or power over the queen and why it is vitally important for Dupin to find it as the plot develops.
