CHAPTER XXXII
THE PRINCESS MARGARET IS IN A HURRY
The priest waited till their footsteps died away down the corridorbefore going to the door to shut it. Then he turned and faced theSparhawk with a very different countenance to that which he had bentupon the Princess Margaret.
Generally, when women leave a room the thermometer drops suddenly manydegrees nearer the zero of verity. There is all the difference betweenvelvet sheath and bare blade, between the courtesies of seconds and thefirst clash of the steel in the hands of principals. There are, let ussay, two men and one woman. The woman is in the midst. Smile answerssmile. Masks are up. The sun shines in. She goes--and before the smileof parting has fluttered from her lips, lo! iron answers iron on thefaces of the men. Off, ye lendings! Salute! Engage! To the death!
There was nothing, however, very deadly in the encounter of the Sparhawkand Father Clement. It was only as if a couple of carnival maskers hadstepped aside out of the whirl of a dance to talk a little business insome quiet alcove. The Father foresaw the difficulty of his task. TheSparhawk was conscious of the awkwardness of maintaining a manly dignityin a woman's gown. He felt, as it were, choked about the legs in anotherman's presence.
"And now, sir," said the priest abruptly, "who may you be?"
"Father, I am a servant to the Duchess Joan of Hohenstein andKernsberg. Maurice von Lynar is my name."
"And pray, how came you so like the Duchess that you can pass muster forher?"
"That I know not. It is an affair upon which I was not consulted. But,indeed, I do it but poorly, and succeed only with those who know herlittle, and who are in addition men without observation. Both thePrincess and yourself saw through me easily enough, and I am in fearevery moment I am near Prince Ivan."
"How came the Princess to love you?"
"Well, for one thing, I loved her. For another, I told her so!"
"The points are well taken, but of themselves insufficient," smiled thepriest. "So also have others better equipped by fortune to win herfavour than you. What else?"
Then, with a certain shamefaced and sulky pride, the Sparhawk toldFather Clement all the tale of the mission of the Duchess Joan ofCourtland, of the liking the Princess had taken to that lady in hersecretary's attire, of the kiss exchanged upon the dark river's bank,the fragrant memory of which had drawn him back to Courtland against hiswill. And the priest listened like a man of many counsels who knows thatthe strangest things are the truest, and that the naked truth is alwaysincredible.
"It is a pretty tangle you have made between you," said Father Clementwhen Maurice finished. "I know not how you could more completely havetwisted the skein. Every one is somebody else, and the devil is hardupon the hindmost--or Prince Ivan, which is apparently the same thing."
The priest now withdrew in his turn to where he could watch the Allacurving its back a little in mid-stream as the summer floods rushedseaward from the hills. To true Courtland folk its very bubbles broughtcounsel as they floated down towards the Baltic.
"Let me see! Let me see!" he murmured, stroking his chin.
Then after a long pause he turned again to the Sparhawk.
"You are of sufficient fortune to maintain the Princess as becomes herrank?"
"I am not a rich man," answered Von Lynar, "but by the grace of theDuchess Joan neither am I a poor one. She hath bestowed on me one of herfather's titles, with lands to match."
"So," said the priest; "but will Prince Louis and the Muscovites giveyou leave to enjoy them?"
"The estates are on the borders of Plassenburg," said Maurice, "and Ithink the Prince of Plassenburg for his own security will provideagainst any Muscovite invasion."
"Princes are but princes, though I grant you the Executioner's Son is agood one," answered the priest. "Well, better to marry than to burn,sayeth Holy Writ. It is touch and go, in any event. I will marry you andthereafter betake me to the Abbey of Wolgast, where dwells my very goodfriend the Abbot Tobias. For old sake's sake he will keep me safe theretill this thing blows over."
"With my heart I thank you, my Father," said the Sparhawk, kneeling.
"Nay, do not thank me. Rather thank the pretty insistency of yourmistress. Yet it is only bringing you both one step nearer destruction.Walking upon egg-shells is child's play to this. But I never couldrefuse your sweetheart either a comfit or an absolution all my days. Tomy shame as a servant of God I say it. I will go and call her in."
He went to the door with a curious smile on his face. He opened it, andthere, close by the threshold, was the Princess Margaret, her eyes fullof a bright mischief.
"Yes, I was listening," she cried, shaking her head defiantly. "I do notcare. So would you, Father, if you had been a woman and in love----"
"God forbid!" said Father Clement, crossing himself.
"You may well make sure of heavenly happiness, my Father, for you willnever know what the happiness of earth is!" cried Margaret. "I wouldrather be a woman and in love, than--than the Pope himself and sit inthe chair of St. Peter."
"My daughter, do not be irreverent."
"Father Clement, were you ever in love? No, of course you cannot tellme; but I think you must have been. Your eyes are kind when you look atus. You are going to do what we wish--I know you are. I heard you say soto Maurice. Now begin."
"You speak as if the Holy Sacrament of matrimony were no more thansaying 'Abracadabra' over a toadstool to cure warts," said the priest,smiling. "Consider your danger, the evil case in which you will put mewhen the thing is discovered----"
"I will consider anything, dear Father, if you will only make haste,"said the Princess, with a smiling natural vivacity that killed anyverbal disrespect.
"Nay, madcap, be patient. We must have a witness whose head sits on hisshoulders beyond the risk of Prince Louis's halter or Prince Ivan'sMuscovite dagger. What say you to the High Councillor of Plassenburg,Von Dessauer? He is here on an embassy."
The Princess clapped her hands.
"Yes, yes. He will do it. He will keep our secret. He also likes prettygirls."
"Also?" queried Father Clement, with a grave and demure countenance.
"Yes, Father, you know you do----"
"It is a thing most strictly forbidden by Holy Church that in fulfillingthe duties of sacred office one should be swayed by any merely humanconsiderations," began the priest, the wrinkles puckering about hiseyes, though his lips continued grave.
"Oh, please, save the homily till after sacrament, dear Father!" criedthe Princess. "You know you like me, and that you cannot help it."
The priest lifted up his hand and glanced upward, as if deprecating theanger of Heaven.
"Alas, it is too true!" he said, and dropped his hand again swiftly tohis side.
"I will go and summon Dessauer myself," she went on. "I will run soquick. I cannot bear to wait."
"Abide ye--abide ye, my daughter," said Father Clement; "let us do eventhis folly decently and in order. The day is far spent. Let us wait tilldarkness comes. Then when you are rested--and" (he looked towards theSparhawk) "the Lady Joan also--I will return with High CouncillorDessauer, who, without observance or suspicion, may pay his respects tothe Princesses upon their arrival."
"But, Father, I cannot wait," cried the impetuous bride. "Somethingmight happen long before then. My brother might come. Prince Wasp mightfind out. The Palace itself might fall--and then I should never bemarried at all!"
And the very impulsive and high-strung daughter of the reigning house ofCourtland put a kerchief to her eyes and tapped the floor with thesilken point of her slipper.
The holy Father looked at her a moment and turned his eyes to Mauricevon Lynar. Then he shook his head gravely at that proximate bridegroomas one who would say, "If you be neither hanged nor yet burnt here inCourtland--if you get safely out of this with your bride--why, then,Heaven have mercy on your soul!"
Joan of the Sword Hand Page 33