"Oh, do not worry," said I. "I am only trying to laugh--but I can"t!"
"Are you truly serious about going to the opera?" he asked.
"Yes. Hurry and dress," said I.
I leaned against the mantel and stared into the flickering tongues of flame. A caprice? I read the letter again, then threw it into the grate and watched the little darts of light devour it. Now and then a word stood out boldly. Finally the wind carried the brown ashes up the chimney, I would keep the other letter--the one she had asked for--and the withered rose till the earth pa.s.sed over me. She was a Princess; I was truly an adventurer, a feeble p.a.w.n on the chess-board. What had I to do with Kings and bishops and knights? The comedy was about to end--perhaps with a tragedy. I had spoken my few lines and was going behind the scenes out of which I had come. As I waited for Pembroke the past two years went by as in a panorama. I thought of the old lawyer and the thousand-dollar check; the night at the opera with Phyllis; the meeting of Hillars and his story. "When there is nothing more to live for, it is time to die." If there was such a place as Elysium in the nether world, Hillars and I should talk it all over there. It is pleasant to contemplate the fact that when we are dead we shall know "the reason why."
"Come along," said Pembroke, entering.
So we went to the opera. They are full of wonderful scenes, these continental opera houses. Here and there one sees the brilliant uniforms, blue and scarlet and brown, glittering with insignias and softened by furs. Old men with sashes crossing the white bosoms of their linen dominate the boxes, and the beauty of woman is often lost in the sparkle of jewels. And hovering over all is an oppressive fragrance. Pembroke"s gla.s.ses were roving about. Presently he touched my arm.
"In the upper proscenium," he said.
It was Phyllis. The Chancellor and the Grand Duke of S---- were with her.
"We shall visit her during the first intermission," said I.
"You had better go alone," replied Pembroke. "I haven"t the courage."
The moment the curtain dropped I left the stall. I pa.s.sed along the corridor and soon stood outside the box in which Phyllis sat. I knocked gently.
"Enter!" said a soft voice.
"Ah," said the Chancellor, smiling as he saw me. "Duke, I believe their Majesties are looking this way. Let us go to them. I am pleased to see you, Herr Winthrop. Duke, this is the gentleman who has turned us all upside down."
The Duke bowed, and the two left me alone with Phyllis.
There was an embarra.s.sing silence, but she surmounted it.
"Why have you not been to see me?" she asked. "Are you done with me now that you have made me a Princess?"
"I did call, but was told that you were indisposed," said I.
"It was because I did not see your card. I shall never be indisposed to my friends--the old ones. However, they will be crowding in here shortly. Will you come and see me at four to-morrow afternoon?"
"Is it important?" I was thinking of the duel when I said this.
"Very--to you. You have a strange funereal expression for a man who is about to wed the woman he loves."
"Your sister has left town?" not knowing what else to say.
"Only for a few days; at least so she told me. Have you seen her?"
"No, I have not. A Princess!" dropping into a lighter tone. "You carry your honors well. It was to be expected of you. I might have made you a Queen, but that would not have changed you any."
"Thank you. Do you know, a t.i.tle is a most wonderful drawing apparatus? Since Thursday it has been a continued performance of presentations. And I care absolutely nothing for it all. Indeed, it rests heavily upon me. I am no longer free. Ah, Jack, and to think that I must blame you! I have been longing all the evening for the little garden at home. Yes, it will always be home to me. I am almost an alien. I would rather sell lemonade to poor reporters who had only twenty-five-cent pieces in their pockets than queen it over a people that do not interest me and with whom I have nothing in common." She smiled, rather sadly, I thought, at the remembrance of that garden scene so long ago.
"Time has a cruel way of moving us around," said I, snapping the clasps on my gloves, and pulling the fingers and looking everywhere but at her. I was wondering if I should ever see her again. "When is the coronation to take place?"
"In June. The King does not wish to hurry me. You see, I must learn to be a Princess first. It was kind of him. And you will be at Hohenphalia to witness the event?"
"If nothing happens. We live in a continual uncertainty."
She regarded me somewhat strangely.
"Is there a significance in that last sentence?"
"No," I answered. I felt compelled to add something. "But here come some of your new admirers. Their glittering medals will make me feel out of place if I remain. I shall do my best to accept your invitation."
"Jack, you are hiding something from me. Are you going to leave the city to search for her?"
"No," said I. "The truth is," with a miserable attempt to smile, "I have an engagement to-morrow morning, and it is impossible to tell how long it will last. Good night."
Fate played loose with me that night. As I was turning down the corridor I ran into the Prince. He was accompanied by Von Walden and an attache whom I knew.
"Good evening," said the Prince. "Do you not prefer the French opera, after all?"
"All good music is the same to me," I answered, calmly returning his amused look with a contemptuous one. "Wagner, Verdi, Gounod, or Bizet, it matters not."
The attache pa.s.sed some cigarettes. Only the Prince refused.
"No thanks. I am not that kind of a villain." He laughed as he uttered these words, and looked at me.
I would have given much to possess that man"s coolness.
"Till we meet again," he said, as I continued on. "Shall I add pleasant dreams?"
"I am obliged to you," I answered over my shoulder, "but I never have them. I sleep too soundly."
"Cousin," said I, later, "what was that opera?"
"I forgot to bring along a program," said Pembroke.
CHAPTER XXIII
When Pembroke and I arrived at the Strasburg inn, on the north road, neither the Prince nor Von Walden were in evidence. I stepped from our carriage and gazed interestedly around me. The scene was a picturesque one. The sun, but half risen, was of a rusty bra.s.s, and all east was mottled with purple and salmon hues. The clearing, a quarter of a mile away, where the Prince and I were to settle our dispute, was hidden under a fine white snow; and the barren trees which encircled it stood out blackly. Pembroke looked at his watch.
"They ought to be along soon; it"s five after six. How do you feel?"
regarding me seriously.
"As nerveless as a rod of steel," I answered. "Let us go in and order a small breakfast. I"m a bit cold."
"Better let it go at a cup of coffee," he suggested.
"It will be more consistent, that is true," I said. "Coffee and pistols for two."