by Louis Tracy
CHAPTER X
WHEREIN THE SHADOWS DEEPEN
Joan was standing on the first floor veranda of the President's houseearly next morning, when her errant thoughts were brought back to earthfrom wonderland by a stir and clatter of hoofs in the courtyard. Sheknew, because Alec had told her the previous evening, that he was boundfor an experimental farm certain local magnates had established in therich alluvial plain that forms the right bank of the Danube some fewmiles from the capital city.
"At present our country exports pigs and little else," he had said. "Imean to change all that. Austria shuts and bolts her doors by hostiletariffs; but Turkey is open to trade with all the world, and who sofavorably situated as we, once the barriers of race prejudice are brokendown? So, behold in me a patron of agriculture and its allied arts!"
"The Turk is our hereditary enemy," snarled Prince Michael, who was muchannoyed by the poor quality of the wine at the royal repast. "Fancy medrinking Carlowitz at my age!" he had growled to Stampoff when hediscovered that champagne was not supplied, by the King's order.
"My dear Dad, I am trying hard to erase that word 'hereditary' from theSerbian language," laughed Alec. "It opposes me at every turn; it mocksat my best efforts; it swathes me like the bandages of a mummy,--and Iam growing weary of its restraint. This is a question of self interest,too. Perhaps, if I can persuade our good Kosnovians to adopt some moreup-to-date fetish, they may drop the hereditary habit of carving theirchosen rulers into mincemeat whenever a change of Government seems goodto them."
"The King of Kosnovia should never forget that the time may come when hewill be crowned Emperor at Constantinople," said Prince Michael with aregal flourish of his plump hand.
"Precisely. The ceremony should provide a picturesque spectacle for thecinematograph. Meanwhile, I want to enter the enemy's territory, and atpresent my skirmishers are pigs which are difficult to drive. We needstronger forces, such as hardware, agricultural implements, horses,cereals, even textile manufactures."
"In sending your pigs, I hope you also get rid of your bores, Alec," putin Felix, and Nesimir, who knew no English, wondered why so many of hisguests laughed.
As for the elder Delgrado, he sulked until the President produced abottle of imperial tokay, a luxury which the stout Sergius explainedaway by the statement that his house had never before been honored by sodistinguished and brilliant a company.
So Joan was prepared for her lover's departure from Delgratz soon afterdaybreak. The heat of the noon hours was so excessive that early risingbecame more of a necessity than a virtue; hence her appearance on theveranda.
Alec had definitely promised his mother before retiring to rest that hewould not dispense with an escort until the city was thoroughly quieteddown after the day's excitement. The troopers paraded at six o'clock,and he did not keep them waiting a minute. Joan, delighting in themilitary display, watched him mount and ride off with that half-maternalsolicitude which is the true expression of a woman's love. She hoped hewould look up ere he quitted the courtyard--and she must havetelegraphed her wish; for Alec at once turned in the saddle, almost asthough some one had told him she was there.
He waved a hand in gay greeting, and it would appear that a whim seizedhim at the sight of her, since he gave some instructions to an aid decamp, who came clanking back to the porch, dismounted, and entered thebuilding.
Soon the officer was bowing low to Joan. "The King presents hiscompliments, Excellency," he said in careful French, "and wishes to knowif you will accompany him for an hour's ride before sunset."
Joan laughed at Alec's masterful methods Page 199]
"Please convey my regrets to his Majesty; but I do not possess a ridinghabit," said Joan.
"The King told me to say that if your Excellency offers no objection, ahabit will be brought to the palace at four o'clock."
Joan laughed whole heartedly; for Alec's masterful methods came as adistinct surprise. Yet, despite her independent spirit, she rejoiced inhis dominance.
"Tell his Majesty that I have the utmost confidence in his judgment,"she said, and her face was still rippling with merriment at the hiddenmeaning Alec would surely extract from her message when Lord AdalbertBeaumanoir joined her.
"Ah, that is better, Miss Vernon," he cried. "Glad to find you in goodspirits,--'Hail, smiling morn,' and that sort of thing, eh, what?"
"Why are you deserting Alec--the King--to-day?" she asked. "I thoughtyou two were inseparable. And please enlighten me, Lord Adalbert, as tothe correct way of alluding to royalty. Alec is every inch a King, ofcourse; but I find my tongue tripping every time I use his title."
Beaumanoir seemed to weigh the point. "You are experiencing the samedifficulty as the sailor who acted as billiard marker in the naval messat Portsmouth," he said. "One evening the Prince of Wales came in toplay pool, and Jack whispered to the mess president, 'Beg pardon, sir,but am I to call 'im Yer R'yal 'Ighness or Spot Yaller?'"
Joan shrieked at that, and the sound of her mirth brought PrincessDelgrado to them.
"You are cheerful this morning, Joan," she said.
Her ready use of the girl's Christian name would have told Felix, if hehad been present, that Alec's mother did not by any means share herhusband's views as to the impossibility of a marriage between her sonand this bright faced American. At any rate, Joan's cheeks glowed, andthere was more than convention in the kiss the two women exchanged, eachmoved, as it were, by a spontaneous liking for the other.
"It is impossible to be other than cheerful in Lord Adalbert's company,"said Joan. "Even yesterday, when bullets were showering in through thewindows of that wretched hotel, he made game of them."
"So I did,--shouted 'Mark cock' when the first low one flew across. Bygad! that's rather clever of you, Miss Vernon," he grinned.
"I don't know how either of you can find it in your heart to jest aboutthat dreadful adventure," said the Princess. "I lay awake for hours lastnight thinking of what might have happened if that man Bosko had notmanaged to get away and warn General Stampoff."
"By the way, what became of the waiter Felix sent here from the hotel?"mused Joan aloud. "I forgot to ask him. Surely the man came and spoke tosome one?"
"Oh, yes, Prince Michael met him and questioned him. Then MonsieurNesimir took him in hand; but long before either of them could make uptheir minds that he was speaking the truth Bosko was clear of the moband Stampoff was bringing his hussars from the War Ministry."
The Princess spoke hurriedly, and the younger people were quick toperceive a slight restraint in her words. It was quite natural. Amother, weighing the actions of others in a matter touching the safetyof her son, would hardly make allowance for the incredulity such amessenger as Sobieski would inspire, and Beaumanoir tactfully led thetalk to a less serious topic.
"You charged me, a little while ago, Miss Vernon, with deserting oursovereign lord the King, whereas the exact opposite is true," he said."I am here on duty. 'Berty,' said my liege, 'stop at home to-day andamuse my mother and Joan,' his very words. Am I amusing you? No! Then Imust go and find that funny little Pole and beseech him to tell us hisbest before breakfast story. Gad! He has some rippin' after dinner ones.He had us all roaring last night, and the funniest thing was to hear himspinning the same yarn in the local lingo, so that Nesimir and the otherSerbs could share in the festivities. Prince Michael and Alec had thepull of me there, because they could laugh twice. By the way, Princess,Monsieur Poluski was well acquainted with your husband a good many yearsago. They first met in New York, it seems. Poluski coolly informed usthat he was obliged to leave Warsaw about that time because he hadinvented a new explosive specially adapted for removing crowned heads.Fancy him saying that when a real live King was sitting next to him."
"Alec is very fond of Felix," said Joan. "He knows quite well that ourfriend talks about things he has never done and never means to do. Why,Felix is the most tender hearted man living. His generosity isproverbial, and he would give away the last franc in his pocket if as
tarving woman begged of him. His anarchist notions are all nonsense. Hehas cared little about political affairs during the last ten years, andhis only real happiness now is to paint the portrait of a pretty womanand sing at his work. If it was not for the belief that he is mixed upwith dynamitards and other weird creatures, he would be one of the bestknown artists in Paris."
Beaumanoir called to mind the quiet confidence in Poluski's voice whendescribing the potency of that curious cigar-shaped bomb which sonarrowly escaped being hurled at the mutineers during the fight.
"There is a lot more in Poluski's make-up than one would give him creditfor at a glance," said he.
"I understand he was really a firebrand in his youth," remarked thePrincess. "My husband and he disagreed so strongly at one period thattheir acquaintance ceased during many years. Indeed, I met him yesterdaypractically for the first time."
She sighed. Joan realized that Princess Delgrado was perplexed to findher son with so many new interests in life, interests of which she hadno cognizance. He might have dwelt in some city a thousand miles removedfrom Paris, for all she knew of his associates or habits, and this onefact was eloquent of the gulf that yawned between his home and hispursuits.
After breakfast, Joan insisted on beginning work in the Cathedral. Felixand Beaumanoir accompanied her there in a closed carriage, and the coolinterior of the heavy, ugly structure was not ungrateful in the middayheat.
At four o'clock Joan was ready to don a riding-habit that fittedmarvelously well considering that the maker had never set eyes on thewearer till he brought the costume to the palace. At five she and Alecand Beaumanoir went for a ride on the outskirts of the town. The mentook her to a very fine turfed avenue that wound through three miles ofwoodland. At the close of a glorious canter a turn in the path revealeda rather pretty chateau situated on a gentle slope of lawns and gardensrising from the northern shore of a large lake.
"Do you like it?" asked Alec.
"It is a perfectly charming place," she said enthusiastically.
"I am glad you think so," said he. "It is called the New Konak, incontradistinction to the old one, the Schwarzburg. It will be our summerresidence. I propose to occupy it as soon as it is properly furnished."
He spoke lightly; but a quiet glance conveyed far more than the words.This, then, was their destined nest, their very own house, and for theirfirst ramble he had brought her there. Its seclusion gave a sense ofsecure peace that was absent from the President's gloomy palace. Thelovely park and its belt of forest shut out the noise and glare of thestreets. Joan sat on her horse and surveyed the scene with glisteningeyes. Her future home lay there, and the belief thrilled her strangely.If she could have peered into the future, how much more deeply would shehave been stirred; for if ever she was fated to be happy in thecompanionship of the gallant youth by her side, assuredly that happinesswas not so near or so easily attained as it seemed to be in that sylvanhour.
Beaumanoir broke in on her reverie in his usual happy-go-lucky style."Not a bad looking crib, is it, Miss Joan?" said he. "I have promisedAlec to remain in Delgratz until you are all settled down in it, niceand comfy. Then I wend my lonely way back to Paris. By Jove! I shall besomething of a hero there--shine with reflected glory--eh, what?"
"I can't spare you for many a day yet, Berty," said Alec. "You canhardly realize how good he has been, Joan," he continued. "I had afearfully hard time during the first week. More than once I wanted tocut and run; but he kept me to it, chaffing me out of the dumps wheneverything seemed to be going wrong."
Beaumanoir winked brazenly at her. "He talks that way now," he grinned."It's the kingly habit, I understand. Alec has got it down to a finepoint. Make every fellow believe that he is It, and there you are, youknow."
There was some substratum of sense in Beaumanoir's chaffing. Alec wastaking his kingship very seriously, and Joan was hard pressed to bridgethe gulf that lay between Paris and Delgratz.
At first she found it almost impossible to realize that Alec had been inharness little more than a month. His talk was replete with localknowledge; he seemed to understand the people and their ways sothoroughly. He was versed even in the peculiarities of their methods oftillage, was able to explain distinctions of costume and racialappearance, and might have spent his life in studying all their customsand folklore.
Fortunately, Joan herself was gifted with quick perception and aretentive memory. After a few days' residence in the White City shebegan to assimilate the rills of information that trickled in upon herfrom so many sources, and the feeling of bewildered surprise with whichshe regarded her lover's attainments during the first hours of realintimacy was soon replaced by an active sympathy and fullerunderstanding. She was helped in this by the King's mother, since therecould be no doubt that Princess Delgrado took her absolutely to herheart.
Prince Michael, who was completely eclipsed not only by his son'sextraordinary versatility in all public affairs but by lack of thatopulent setting for his peculiar qualities which Paris alone couldsupply, seemed to accept the inevitable. He tolerated Joan, openlypraised her beauty, and became resigned in a more or less patronizingway to the minor distractions of local life.
Felix and Joan gave up their mornings to art. The Pole discovered somequaint old frescoes in the cathedral which attracted him by theirremarkable freedom of design and simplicity of color. He valiantlyessayed their reproduction; but Joan suspected in her deepest heart thatPoluski's sudden conversion to Byzantine ideals was due far more to thefact that the lofty dome of the building produced musical effects of themost gratifying nature than to any real appreciation of the quaintcontours and glaring tints of a series of wall pictures that set forthsome long forgotten Bulgar artist's conception of the life and historyof John the Baptist.
There was naturally a good deal of inquiry and speculation as to theidentity of the unknown connoisseur who had commissioned Joan to copythe Saint Peter. Felix resolutely declined to satisfy any one'squestioning on that topic. He had given his word, he said, not to betraythe confidence reposed in him; but he allayed Alec's professed jealousyby declaring that to the best of his knowledge the man who had sentJoan on this mysterious quest had never even seen her. Still, it wasimpossible to avoid a certain amount of interested speculation amongmembers of the small circle which was aware of the reason that laybehind Joan's visit to Delgratz. Both Alec and Joan believed that CountJulius Marulitch was in some way responsible, and their chief difficultywas to analyze the motive of such unlooked-for generosity on his part.
The slight mystery underlying the incident was not cleared up untilBeliani reached the capital two or three days after Julius himself. Thelatter cleared the air by expressing his unbounded amazement at findinghis cousin engaged to a young American woman of whose existence he hadnot even heard before he was introduced to her. Under the conditions itseemed to savor of the ridiculous to ask if he was the hidden agent inthe matter of the picture. But Beliani was candor itself; not for amoment did he endeavor to conceal his responsibility. When Alec welcomedhim on the evening of his arrival, he drew the King aside and said, withall the friendliness of one apparently devoted to the Kosnovian cause:
"I am glad to see that my little scheme has worked well. Of course youguessed who it was that despatched Miss Vernon from Paris?"
"No," said Alec, scanning the Greek's smiling yet subtle face with thosefrank eyes of his that had so quickly learned the secret of lookingbeneath the veneer of men's words to discover their motives. "No, Inever associated you with her appearance here. What inspired you to it?I may say at once that I regard it as the most friendly act you couldpossibly have performed so far as I am concerned; but I know you wellenough to be a little dubious."
Beliani smiled and spread wide his hands with the deprecatory gesture ofthe Levantine. Long years of residence in the capitals of Europe had notwholly effaced the servile mannerisms of the Eastern money-lender.
"That is because you know I am a Greek, your Majesty," he said. "It isthe misfortune of my
countrymen that we are seldom given credit fordisinterested motives. Well, I will be honest, quite frank in this, forthe excellent reason that if I was to endeavor to hoodwink you I think Ishould fail. I make it my business to know everything--I repeat,everything--about Kosnovian affairs, and when the rumor reached Paristhat you were to marry a Montenegrin Princess----"
Alec laughed so cheerily that Prince Michael, who happened to be in theroom, turned and looked at the two, wondering what Beliani could havesaid that so amused his son.
"My dear fellow," he broke in, "I have never set eyes on the lady. Mytime has been far too occupied in learning my business to permit ofvisits to neighboring States. Moreover, as it happened, I had chosen mywife some days before I hit upon a career."
"Exactly, your Majesty. I knew that also."
"But how could you know?"
"I mean that I learned it afterward. An art student of the type of MissVernon, and a young gentleman so popular in Parisian society as AlexisDelgrado, could not meet day after day in the Louvre to conduct a classcomposed solely of two members without exciting a certain amount ofcomment."
"But that doesn't explain why you should have decided upon theextraordinary step of sending her to Delgratz."
"No, it shows only how readily I availed myself of existingcircumstances. You see, sitting there in Paris and reading of yourphenomenal progress, I pictured to myself the isolation, the lack ofsympathetic companionship, that you must be suffering here despite allthe brave fireworks of your achievements. We Greeks are poets andphilosophers as well as financiers, and I gratified those higherinstincts of my race by rendering possible a visit to Delgratz of thelady whom you had chosen as a bride, while at the same time I hope to domyself a good turn in winning your favor; for I have money at stake onyour success. Please do not forget that, your Majesty. I supported theDelgrado cause when it was at the lowest ebb of failure, and I naturallylook forward now to recoup myself."
"All this is new to me," said Alec, "new and somewhat puzzling. In whatway are you bound up with the fortunes of my house, Monsieur Beliani?"
The Greek shrugged his shoulders expressively. "There are so many waysin which interest in a fallen monarchy can be kept alive," he said."Monseigneur your father is well acquainted with the turns and twists ofevents ever since he was driven forth from Kosnovia as a young man. Formany years I remained here, working steadily and hopefully in hisbehalf, and you yourself are aware that when you were a boy of fourteen,Stampoff and I escaped death only by the skin of our teeth because of anabortive attempt to place your father on the throne."
"Of course," said Alec thoughtfully, "you must be repaid with interestthe sums you have expended in our behalf; but I warn you that a new eraof economy has been established here. My father and I have alreadyagreed to differ on that point. He seemed to think that the chiefbusiness of a King was to exploit his subjects, whereas my theory isthat the King should set an example of quiet living and industry. Don'tforget that I have seen some of my brother potentates stranded in Paris,mostly because they were so ready to gratify their own appetites at theexpense of their people. I need hardly tell you, Beliani, that Kosnoviais a poverty stricken State. We have suffered from three generations ofself seeking and rapacious rulers. That is all ended. I mean to rendermy people happy and contented. It shall be the one care of my life tomake them so, and if it is the will of Providence that a Delgradoshould reign in the next generation, my legacy to him will be, notmillions of pounds invested in foreign securities, but a nation strong,self contained, and prosperous."
Beliani listened with a rapt attention. "I agree most fully with everyword that has fallen from your lips," he said; "but your Majesty cannotachieve these splendid aims single handed. You must be surrounded byable men; you need officials of ripe experience in every department.Now, the first consideration of a small State like this, hemmed in as itis by powerful Kingdoms which the least change in the politicalbarometer may convert into active enemies, is a strong and progressivesystem of finance. I am vain enough to think that you may find myservices useful in that direction. There is no man in Delgratz who hashad my training, and so assured am I of the success that will attendyour Majesty's reign that I purposely delayed my arrival here so that Imight not come empty handed. I passed a week in Vienna, working andthinking twenty hours out of each twenty-four. I felt my way cautiouslywith the leading financial houses there. Of course, I could not saymuch, because I was unauthorized; but I have obtained guarantees thatwill command the certain issue of a loan sufficient to give a start tosome, at least, of the many projects you have already foreshadowed inyour public speeches. Without a shadow of doubt I declare that as soonas I am able to open negotiations with your approval, a loan of severalmillions will be at your service."
Though the Greek was putting forward an obvious bait, it was evidentthat the King was astonished by his outspoken declaration. "Do Iunderstand that you are applying for the post of Minister of Finance?"he said in his straightforward way.
"Yes, your Majesty," replied Beliani.
"You appreciate, of course, that I occupy a somewhat peculiar positionhere," said Alec. "I am a constitutional monarch backed by aconstitution that is little more than a name. This country reallydemands an autocracy, whereas I have sworn to govern only by the will ofthe people. In those circumstances I do not feel myself at liberty toappoint or dismiss Ministers at my own sweet will. I assure you that Iam grateful for the offer of help you bring; but I cannot give you theappointment you seek until, in the first place, I have consulted mycouncil and obtained its sanction."
Beliani bowed. "I will leave the matter entirely in your Majesty'shands," he said, and by no sign did his well governed face betray hissatisfaction; for, with the King on his side, the astute Greek well knewthat he could pull the strings of the puppets in the Assembly to suithis own ends.
"May I venture to suggest to your Majesty," he went on, "that there isone thing that demands immediate attention? Your position cannot beregarded as assured until you have received the recognition of thechief European States. Has Austria made any move in that direction? Haveyou been approached by Russia? One of those two will take theinitiative, and the others will follow."
"So far," said Alec, smiling, "I have been favored with a telegram fromthe German Emperor, which his charge d'affaires tried to explain awaynext day. It was followed by a protest from Turkey on account of analleged disrespectful remark of mine about her position in the cosmogonyof Europe, and I have drawn a polite refusal from Austria to modifypassport regulations, which, by the way, I suggested should bealtogether done away with. Other Kings and Principalities have left meseverely alone."
"But it would be a grave error to drop the passport system," saidBeliani earnestly. "It is most important that your Majesty's policeshould be acquainted with the identity of all strangers; otherwise youwould never know what secret agents of your enemies you might beharboring here."
"I trouble my head very little about the secret agents of enemies thatdo not exist," said Alec lightly. "You are probably thinking of therevolt of the Seventh Regiment; but that is a domestic quarrel, a localphase of the war waged by all criminals against representatives of lawand order. To be sure, I shall devote every effort to keeping Kosnoviafree of external troubles; yet passports are useless there. I find thata stupid dream of a Slav Empire has drugged the best intellects ofKosnovia for half a century. That sort of political hashish must ceaseto control our actions. It has served only to cripple our commercialexpansion, and I have declined resolutely to countenance its continuanceeither in public or private. Let us first develop the land we own.Believe me, Monsieur Beliani, if our people are worthy of extendingtheir sway, no power on earth can stop them; but they must first learnto till the field with implements other than swords or bayonets, whichare quite out of date, either as plows or as reaping-hooks."
Prince Michael, watching them furtively, and wondering much what topicwas engaging them so deeply, could no longer restrain his impatience. Hejoined
them, saying with his jaunty, self confident air: "What newsurprise are you two plotting? You ought to make a rarecombination,--Alec with his democratic pose of taking the wide worldinto his confidence, and you, Beliani, burrowing underground like a molewhose existence is suspected only when one sees the outcome of hislabors."
"Just what I was suggesting to his Majesty," laughed Beliani, cursingPrince Michael under his breath for interfering at that moment. "I willsay, though, from what I have managed to glean of his projects, that thehumble role you have been good enough to assign to me will be utterlyout of place in his nobler schemes. Nevertheless, I hope to make myselfuseful."
"Something to do with money, of course?" guffawed the Prince.
"It is the only commodity I really understand," was the suave answer.
"That is why you refused me a loan a fortnight ago in Paris, I suppose?"
"A loan!" interposed Alec. "Were you hard up, father?"
"I have been telling you so without avail ever since I arrived inDelgratz," said the Prince bruskly.
"Ah, you have been asking me to impose on an empty exchequer an annualpayment that Kosnovia certainly cannot afford; but I certainly was notunder the impression that you had found it necessary to apply toMonsieur Beliani for help. Why should such a step be necessary? I havealways understood----"
"Oh, we need not discuss the thing now," said Prince Michaeloffhandedly; for he dreaded a too close inquiry into his wife'sfinancial resources in the presence of the Greek. Princess Delgrado wasreputedly a rich woman, and her husband had explained his shortness ofcash during recent years by the convenient theory of monetary tightnessin America, whence, it was well understood, her income was derived.
"Have you seen your mother recently?" he went on, striving to appear athis ease. "I was looking for her half an hour ago. Some letters thatreached me from Paris to-day ought to be answered by to-night's post,and I wish to consult her before dealing with them."
"Joan will know where she is, I expect," said Alec; but, seeing thatPrince Michael did not avail himself of Joan's presence to seek thedesired information, he strolled over to the corner of the room whereJoan was chatting with Beaumanoir and one of the Serbian officersattached to the royal suite.
"Do you know where my mother is?" he asked.
"Yes," she said. "General Stampoff took her for a drive nearly an hourago. I offered to go with them; but the General explained that hisvictoria would hold only two."
"Stampoff driving with my mother!" cried Alec with a laugh, "I must lookinto this. Stampoff is no lady's man as a rule. Now, what in the worlddoes he want my mother to do for him?"
Certainly there must have been some quality in the air of Delgratz thatproduced strange happenings. Stampoff could scarcely speak civilly to awoman, ever since a faithless member of the fair sex brought about hisdownfall in Delgratz a decade earlier. Small wonder, then, that Alecshould express surprise at such display of gallantry on his part!
And, indeed, the unprecedented action of the gruff old Serbian Generalin taking Princess Delgrado for a drive that evening was destined tohave consequences not to be foreseen by any person, least of all theyoung couple whose contemplated marriage was then in the mouths of allmen. It was the first step in the new march of events. Stampoff meantto prove to the King's mother that her son would be ruined in the eyesof his people if he married a foreigner, ruined instantly andirretrievably, no matter how gracious and pleasing Joan might seem to bein their eyes, and, true to his military caste, he wasted no time inmaking the Princess aware of his motive in seeking this tete-a-teteconversation.
"I think I am right in assuming that you approve of the young Americanlady as your son's wife," said he when the carriage was clear of thepaved streets and bowling smoothly along the south bank of the Danube onthe only good driving road outside the city.
"The notion startled me at first," confessed the Princess; "but the moreI see of Joan the more I like her. Alec and she are devoted to eachother, and I am sure she will be popular, for she is the type of womanwho will take her position as Queen seriously."
"She is admirable in every respect," interrupted Stampoff; "but shesuffers from one defect that outweighs all her virtues,--she is not aSerb."
"Nor am I," said the Princess quickly; "yet no one seems to find faultwith the King on that ground."
"One cannot judge the conditions that hold good to-day by those whichexisted twenty-five years ago," said Stampoff gravely. "When PrinceMichael married you, madame, he was an exile; but Alexis is thereigning King, and he will offend his people mortally if he brings in aforeigner to share his throne."
Princess Delgrado was bewildered by this sudden attack. She turned andscanned the old man's impressive features with feverish anxiety. "Whatdo you mean?" she asked quickly. "Are you trying to enlist my aid in acampaign against my son's chosen wife? If so, you will fail, General. Iam weary to death of political intrigues and the never ceasing tacticsof wirepullers. I have been surrounded by them all my life, and Ithanked Providence in my heart when I saw that my son began his reign bysweeping aside the whole network of lies and artifice. He has notimposed himself on his people. He is here by their own free will, and ifthey are ready to accept him so thoroughly they will surely not think ofinterfering in such a personal matter as his marriage."
"But they are thinking of it," said Stampoff doggedly. "That is why youare here now with me. I felt that I must warn you of the trouble ahead.Alec, I admit, would be an ideal King in an ideal State; but he hasfailed absolutely to appreciate the racial prejudices that exist here.They are the growth of centuries; they cannot be uprooted merely becausea King is in love with an eminently desirable young woman. Among the tenmillions of our people, Princess, there are hardly ten thousand who haveany settled notions of government, whether good or bad, and those tenthousand think they have a prior right to control the destinies of theremainder of the nation. With the exception of a few of the youngerofficers, there is not a man among the governing class who doesn'tharbor more or less resentment against your son. He is putting down witha ruthless hand the petty corruption on which they thrived, and at thesame time reducing their recognized salaries. In season and out ofseason he preaches the duties of good citizenship, but these men havetoo long been considering self to yield without a struggle the positionsattained under a less scrupulous regime.
"I speak of what I know when I tell you that, placid and contented asDelgratz looks, it is really a seething volcano of hate and discontent.Repressed for the hour, kept in check, perhaps, by the undoubted loyaltyof the masses, it is ready to spout devastating fire and ashes at theleast provocation, and that will be found in a marriage which seems toshut out all hope of realizing the long looked-for joining of Montenegroand Kosnovia. I have a bitter acquaintance with our history, madame, andam persuaded that if Alec is to remain King he must abandon forever thisnotion of marrying an alien. The Greek church would oppose it tooth andnail, and the people would soon follow the lead of their Popes. Thisyoung lady's appearance in Delgratz has come at a singularly inopportunemoment. She was brought here by some one hostile to your son. If shecame in obedience to Alec's wishes, he is his own worst enemy."
The distressed Princess could hardly falter a question in response toStampoff's vehement outburst. "Why do you tell me these things?" shesaid brokenly. "I--I dare not interfere, even though I approved of whatyou say, which I do not."
"Some one must act, and speedily too, or the resultant mischief cannotbe undone. I appeal to you because you are a woman, and we men are proneto bungle in these matters."
"But what do you want of me?" wailed the tortured Princess. "Michaelprotested against the marriage----"
"I am thinking of Alec's welfare now," said Stampoff gruffly. "You arehis mother, and you and I can save him. In a word, that girl must go,to-night if possible, to-morrow without fail. The talk of marriage mustbe dropped, and revived only when a Serb is the prospective bride."
"You say she must go. What does that imply? It is not in
my power tosend her away, even if I would."
"It is, Princess," was the grim answer. "If she loves Alec, she willsave him by leaving him. I am told women do these things occasionally.Perhaps she is one of the self sacrificing sort. At any rate, she mustbe given the chance, and by you. She must go away, and, in going, tellthe King she will never marry him. It is hard. Both will suffer; but, inthe long run Alec will come to see that by no other means can he retainhis Kingdom."