Victor Victorious

by Cecil Starr Johns

  *CHAPTER XIV*

  Bornia sued for peace; they could do nothing else, for they werehopelessly beaten both by land and sea.

  Prince Kleber had been busy with the Bornians on the water, and the_Soctia_ had made a great name for herself; a large number of prizeswere now in the harbour of Soctia, and she had successfully carried on avigorous warfare with the Bornian Navy.

  Prince Kleber had done much to facilitate our progress in Garace,especially at Bustelov, where the Bornians were well fortified; it waslargely owing to the clever co-operation of the navy that our troopsoccupied that place without a prolonged siege.

  The only time that Rudarlian troops entered Bornia, was the day whenpeace was declared; then a small number escorted the signatories, for amile, to their side of the frontier.

  So completely were the Bornians beaten that, in spite of the moralsupport of certain great powers, they accepted our terms at once; wellthey might, for they were, considering, very moderate: the evacuation ofGarace, and a certain sum as war indemnity were the two chief items.

  We had no wish to exasperate a badly beaten enemy; nor did we wish toclaim territorial aggrandisement beyond the recovery of our one-timeprovince of Garace.

  It has always seemed to me to be bad policy to demand too much from abeaten adversary, excepting when that enemy is dangerous to the peace ofthe world, or, indeed, of your nation; for, unless the necessity isgreat, a beaten opponent should be treated with consideration. Butthere are cases, no doubt, when it is expedient to destroy completely anation's power to do harm in the future.

  It seemed that, with the end of the war, a better understanding at oncebegan between the two countries; perhaps the fighting was like theold-fashioned remedy of blood-letting.

  It is impossible to describe the feelings of joy and pride with which Ithought of Rudarlia and the Rudarlians; they had proved themselves sosplendid, and now that the war had been carried to a successfulconclusion I hoped that economic conditions would begin to improve andthe prosperity of the country be assured.

  I will confess to certain day-dreams in that respect, and obtained quitea lot of pleasure from them.

  As soon as peace was declared, the inhabitants of Rudarlia began to showtheir joy; and it was overwhelming, even in the most out-of-the-wayvillages the poorest of the people held marvellous celebrations.

  I think the most trying time of my whole life was during my visits toall parts of Rudarlia. I thought that I should never have any pleasurein speaking again, for in every corner of my country it was thoughtnecessary to hand me addresses.

  In Garace, the people were almost crazy with joy at having thrown offthe Bornian bonds, and being under the Rudarlian flag again.

  Although this time was, as I have said, most trying, yet it wasinspiring and certainly satisfactory; I defy even the most cold-bloodedperson to listen to a nation's cheers, without feeling a deep glow ofpleasure. I, personally, do not attempt to deny that it pleased me, forit meant that I had made good.

  A great number of months passed before the nation settled down to theirnormal lives; and the time of the officials, from King to Mayor, wastaken up in the many duties that fell upon them.

  Perhaps the most hard-worked people of all were the doctors and nurses,for the hospitals were full, and I would not have any man turned awaywithout being absolutely cured of his wounds, if such a thing werepossible. Those whose wounds rendered them unfit for further militaryservice received a plot of land, or, if they chose, a sum of money.

  Then there were the honours and rewards to be settled, the variousrecompenses for farms and homesteads destroyed in the war, and athousand and one things beside.

  Upon Carruthers, who had been of incalculable value to us through hisairwork, I bestowed the Cross of Rudarlia, an honour of which he wasintensely proud, in spite of his assurances to the contrary. Much as Ishould have liked him to stop in Rudarlia, I did not press him when hecame to bid me good-bye, for I knew that he would have his work cut outto explain matters to the authorities in England. I was convinced,however, that he would do it quite successfully, for he had a mostengaging way of getting himself out of scrapes.

  General von Quarovitch had received a substantial grant from theGovernment to enable him to uphold his new rank, for I had made himCount. He was also given a command of more importance than the frontier,and so he was often in Karena. In fact, he was now as much sought afteras before he had been neglected; but he took his sudden popularity verygrimly, which caused me huge enjoyment. His treatment of the fair sexwas a never failing source of delight; they called him bearish, butdevoted themselves to him.

  I had also made Woolgast a Count, and I do not think that there weremany to sneer at his new rank. He had quite recovered from the woundgiven him by Alexis; and was now, as usual, always at my side.

  He was a man who never asked for any favour, either for himself or hisfamily; he was as devoted to me as anyone could be, and it was hisdelight to accompany me in command of the escort wherever I went. Ialways made a point of taking an escort of my regiment of guards, for Ibelieved the people loved to see the white and gold of their uniforms,and to know that their King rode or drove among them with regal pomp andglory. The Rudarlians, in that respect, were rather barbaric in theirtastes; and yet, I am not sure that it is not a good thing to keep alivethe love of show, I believe it really brightens the lives of the people,who so often live in dull monotony. I myself confess to a certainquickening of the pulses at sight of martial pomp, and also when I hearthe jingling music of a cavalry regiment. There is something fine andinspiring in the sight of a number of men splendidly upright and strong,moving together as though one man, and to realise that they are preparedto give their lives for an ideal--for the love of country is nothingelse. I have heard it said that an ideal will move men to acts ofgreater heroism than any fact; it may be so, but I always look upon anideal as a mental fact in itself, so I can hardly argue the point.

  I shall never forget the first time I dined privately after the war.There were just four of us, my mother, Prince Zeula, Mr. Neville, andmyself, and we had old Bauen up to wait upon us. I wanted to feelabsolutely free to say what I would without feeling that there might beone of the servants listening.

  It was quite like old times, yet not so very old, only a few years, butyears so full of incident that each seemed to have multiplied itself byten. In those few years I had changed from a boy into a man, from acommoner into a king; and it may safely be surmised that such changesmust have a considerable effect on anyone.

  They were rich years for me to look back upon and so full of mental, andperhaps moral wealth, that I was almost fearful of their effect upon me.I was afraid that I should lose my youth before the time, that manhood'scares would sap the joy of life within me, and, by so doing, injure thepower I had to feel and sympathise with the many defects in humannature.

  My mother, to whom I had spoken of this, agreed that it might be so withsome people, but not in my case. A remark which was so intensely humanin its mother feeling, that I laughed and said no more.

  This dinner _a quatre_ was very enjoyable. We seemed to forget for awhile that we were really people of importance in our world, and welaughed and joked with all the old-time zest, and perhaps more; neversince my accession had we been so gay and cheerful. Zeula, who seemedto grow younger each month, had a wonderful collection of anecdotes, andhis wit was great.

  We might have been a party on the stage playing some clever farce, forthe conversation never flagged, and even I was witty, which was unusual,since I have never possessed real gifts in that line, although I have,thank God, a sense of humour.

  It did me good to look at the three faces I loved so well, and listen tothe conversation, noting the difference in their trends of thought.

  Zeula, brilliant, polished.

  Mr. Neville, dry, rather caustic.

  My mother, intensely feminine.

  They made, however, a very good combination, and
a subject was dissectedvery thoroughly by the three.

  Towards the end of the meal, the topics of conversation became morepersonal, bearing more directly on the future of Rudarlia.

  It was at this point that I began to feel a rather comic uneasiness, formy instinct told me that before long some remark would lead up to thesubject of my marriage, and I knew that Zeula would be responsible forit, as he was wrapped up in the subject.

  I was not mistaken, for he made a remark about a King without heirs. Mymother glanced at me quickly. I deliberately winked at Mr. Neville, wholaughed outright.

  "So, Prince," said I, "you have thrown your bomb."

  "I awaited a fitting opportunity, your Majesty."

  "Pray forget ceremony," murmured my mother.

  "Then, Mr. Smith," said I, with a grimace, "you have given meindigestion."

  "I did not ask you to bolt your food, Victor."

  "Meaning?"

  "That there is no particular hurry."

  "For a week or two," chimed in Mr. Neville, and set us all laughing.

  Although we laughed at first, it was only at first, for the question wasan extremely important one, both for myself and Rudarlia. I knew thatit was imperative that I should marry, and I also realised that the timehad come to think seriously about it, and incidentally to find the wife.

  "I understand that my position is one of some uncertainty, that you wishme to marry and have heirs, but the question which puzzles me is, who amI to marry?"

  "There will not be any difficulty in that, Victor."

  "And yet I do not see in which direction to look, for I can hardly hope,as King of a small kingdom like Rudarlia, to ally myself with any of thegreat powers."

  "Perhaps you have already thought of some one; I confess that I find itdifficult myself."

  "Yes, I have thought of one. It will most probably come as a greatsurprise when you hear where I propose to look for a wife, but I havelooked at the question from every point of view, and it seems to me thatI had better marry a Princess of--Bornia."

  As I had surmised, the suggestion surprised them; I do not think thepossibility of it had once struck them. They were silent for somelittle time as though pondering on what I had said, only Mr. Nevillelooked at me quizzically, my mother and Zeula keeping their eyes turnedfrom mine. The latter was the first to speak:

  "I had not thought of that, Victor; will you tell us your reasons?"

  "Oh yes, I have thought a great deal about our relations with our latefoe, and it seems to me that such a marriage as I suggest would do muchto remove the bitterness that there undoubtedly is between the twonations. That is my first reason. The second is, that if all theBornian Princesses married Germans or Austrians, as the odds are theywould, there would be endless friction between our nations, whereas, ifI marry one of them, the influence will not be so one-sided. My thirdreason is not so realisable, but it may come true. It is an imaginarycondition which circumstances may bring about, therefore it can hardlybe looked upon as a real reason, and I was wrong to so describe it; Iwill, however, tell you that it was a dream which united the twokingdoms under one monarch. There is little real difference between thetwo races, and who knows what the future may bring forth?"

  "Two of your reasons are excellent, Victor, and the third is within therange of possibilities."

  "Have you seen photographs of the Bornian Princesses?" asked Mr.Neville.

  "Very indifferent ones, and without knowing one from the other."

  "And which do you propose offering your hand to?"

  "I do not know yet, I therefore suggest that a trip to Bornia would bean admirable thing, so that I may see them first."

  "Eh?"

  "Yes, the week after next I propose going for a walking tour throughGarace, and will visit Sonale. I shall not be known in Bornia'scapital--I will shave off my moustache. I shall have a good time,ascertain the public feeling towards the said Princesses, also I shallsee them."

  "That sounds quite an attractive programme," said Mr. Neville, smiling."May I ask whether it is your intention to go alone?"

  "Not if I can induce you to accompany me. If you will, my mother's mindwill be made easy, Prince Zeula will not insist upon a regiment in muftiaccompanying me, and I--well, you know that I shall be pleased."

  "I will go with the greatest pleasure."

  "Then we will call it settled."

  "Do you think it wise, Victor?" asked my mother.

  "It may not be the essence of wisdom, yet it will give me a littlefeeling of romance."

  Zeula laughed.

  "Will you carry a lute with you to serenade the Princesses, and a shieldwith a flaming heart as device?"

  "Make the musical instrument a lyre, it would most probably serve afuller purpose," said I, "but I daresay you all realise and understandwhat I mean, and if you don't I am ashamed of you."

  "Of course we do; but never forget to go out without your revolver,there is more than one Goltz in the world."

  "That was a lesson I have not forgotten, nor do I wish it repeated; and,to get away from unpleasant topics, would you all like a game ofbridge?"

  We played two rubbers; my partner and I did not score a game.

  "Remembering the old saying, you ought to be very lucky in love," saidMr. Neville.