"Not a word. Tell me, how came you to know that Coralie loves her impresario? You told Varvilliers so."
His lips twitched for a moment, but he answered, smiling:
"Because she has married him."
"I heard something of ambition in the case, of her career demanding the sacrifice."
"A slander, sire, depend on it. It is said in envy of her good fortune."
"Come, come, you love the Baroness so much, that you must have all the world in love."
"Indeed I can think of n.o.body more in love than I am."
"Think of me, Wetter."
"As though your Majesty could ever be absent from my thoughts," said he with a bow, a wave of his cigarette, and a smile.
I laughed outright in sheer enjoyment of his sword-play.
"And since we parted where have you been?" I asked.
"I have walked through h.e.l.l, in such company as the place afforded," he answered, with a shrug that spoke ill for h.e.l.l"s resources.
"And you"ve come out the other side?"
"Is there another side?"
"Then you"re still there?"
"Upon my word I don"t know. It"s so like other places--except that I picked up money there."
"I heard that."
"My resurrection made it obvious."
A silence fell on both of us; then our eyes met, and he smiled kindly.
"I knew you meant the speech for me," I said.
"I was not ent.i.tled to congratulate you officially."
"You have raised a mountain of misconception about me in Forstadt," I complained.
"A mountain-top is a suitable regal seat, and perhaps the only safe one."
"Won"t you speak plainly to me?"
"Yes, if it"s your pleasure."
"I have least of it of any pleasure in the world."
"Well, then, the Countess von Sempach grows no younger."
"No?"
"And Coralie Mansoni has married her impresario."
"I know it."
"And my hair is gray, and your eyes are open."
We both laughed and fell again to smoking in silence. At last I spoke.
"Her hair is golden and her eyes are shut," said I. "Why did you try to open them?"
"Wasn"t it to look on a fine sight?"
"But you knew that the sight wasn"t there."
"She looked?"
"For an instant. Then they turned her head the other way."
"It was pure devilry in me. You should have seen the Chamber! Good G.o.d!
Bederhof, now!"
His eyes twinkled merrily, and my laugh answered their mirth.
"One can always laugh," said I with a shrug.
"It was invented for the world before the Fall, and they forgot to take it away afterward," he said. "But you? You take things seriously?"
"What I have to do, yes."
"But what you have to feel?"
"In truth I am not even there a consistent laugher."
"Nor I, or we shouldn"t talk so much about it. Look at Varvilliers. Does he laugh on a theory?"
"He"s coming to Artenberg to-day. There at least he"ll laugh without any effort. Are you staying here long?"
"No, sire. One scene of despair, and I depart."
"I should like to see you oftener."
"Why not? You are finally, and I for the time, respectable. Why not, while my money lasts?"