"Learn it, O King, learn it! On what padded bed falls William Adolphus!"
My laugh broke again through the morning loud and harsh. Then I laid myself to the oars, and we shot across to the bank of Waldenweiter. He shook my hand and sprang out lightly.
"I must change my clothes and have my scene, and then to Forstadt," said he. "Good-day to you, sire. Yet remember the lesson of the moralist.
Learn to fall soft, learn to fall soft." With a smile he turned away, and again I watched him mount the slope of Waldenweiter.
In such manner, on that night at Artenberg, did I, having no wings to soar to heaven and no key wherewith to open the door of it, make to myself, out of dance, wine, night, and what not, a ladder, mount thereby, and twist the door-handle. But the door was locked, the ladder broke, and I fell headlong. Nor do I doubt that many men are my masters in that art of falling soft.
CHAPTER XXII.
UT PUTO, VESTIS FIO.
The next morning all Artenberg had the air of being rather ashamed of itself. Styrian traditions had been set at naught. Princess Heinrich considered that the limits of becoming mirth had been overstepped; the lines of her mouth had their most downward set. Nothing was said because the King had led the dance, but disgrace was in the atmosphere. We had all fallen from heaven--one may mean many things by heaven--and landed with more or less severity, according to the resources of padding with which Nature furnished us. To Varvilliers" case, indeed, the metaphor is inadequate; he had a parachute, sailed to earth gaily with never a bruise, and was ready to mount again had any of us offered to bear him company. His invitation, given with a heartiness that mocked his bidden companions, found no acceptance. We were all for our own planet in the morning. It was abundantly clear that revels must be the exception at Artenberg. Victoria was earnestly of this opinion. In the first place, the physical condition of William Adolphus was deplorable; he leered rueful roguishness out of bilious eyes, and Victoria could not endure the sight of him; secondly, she was sure that I had said something--what she did not know, but something--to Elsa; for Elsa had been found crying over her coffee in bed in the morning.
"And every word you say to her now is of such supreme importance,"
Victoria observed, standing over my writing-table.
I took my cigarette out of my mouth and answered perversely enough, but with an eye to truth all the same.
"Nothing that I say to her now is of the very least importance, Victoria."
"What do you mean?" she cried.
"Much what you do," I rejoined, and fell to smoking again.
Victoria began to walk about the room. I endured patiently. My eyes were fixed on Waldenweiter. I wondered idly whether the scene of despair had been enacted yet.
"It"s not the smallest good making ourselves unhappy about it," Victoria announced, just as she was on the turn at the other end of the room.
"Not the smallest," I agreed.
"It"s much too late."
"A great deal too late."
Victoria darted down and kissed my cheek.
"After all, she ought to think herself very lucky," she decided. "I"m sure everybody else considers her so."
"Under such circ.u.mstances," said I, "it"s sheer perversity in her to have her own feelings on the matter."
"But you said something that upset her last night," remarked my sister, with a return to the point which I hoped she had lost sight of. This time I lowered my guard in surrender.
"Certainly. I tried to make love to her," said I.
"There, you see!" she cried reproachfully. Her censure of the irrelevant intrusion of such a subject was eloquent and severe.
"It was all Wetter"s fault," I remarked, sighing.
"Good gracious! what"s it got to do with Wetter? I hate the man!" As she spoke her eyes fell on a box which stood on my writing-table. "What"s that?" she asked.
"Diamonds," I answered. "The necklace for Elsa."
"You bought the big one you spoke of? Oh, Augustin, how fortunate!"
I looked up at Victoria and smiled.
"My dear Victoria," said I, "it is the finger of Providence. I"ll present them to her after luncheon."
"Yes, do; and mind you don"t upset her again."
Alas! I had no desire to "upset" her again. The fit had pa.s.sed; my only relations toward it were those of an astonished spectator or a baffled a.n.a.lyst. It was part of the same mood that had converted Artenberg into a hall of revelry, of most unwonted revelry. But to-day, with Princess Heinrich frowning, heaven at a discount, and everybody rather ashamed of themselves, was it likely that I should desire to upset her again? The absence of any such wish, combined with the providential diamonds, would (it might reasonably be hoped) restore tranquillity to Elsa. Victoria was quite of this optimistic opinion.
Our interview was interrupted by the arrival of Bederhof, who came to take my final commands with regard to the marriage arrangements. The whole programme was drawn out neatly on a sort of chart (minus the rocks and shoals, of course). The d.u.c.h.ess and her daughter were to stay at Artenberg for another week; it would then be the end of August. On the 1st of September they would reach home, remain there till the 1st of October, when they and the Duke would set out for Forstadt; they were to make their formal entry on the 4th, and on the 12th (a week being allowed for repose, festivities, and preparations) the marriage would be solemnized; in the evening of that day Elsa and I were to come back to Artenberg to pa.s.s the first days of our married life.
"I hope your Majesty approves?" said Bederhof.
"Perfectly," said I. "Let us go and find the Princess. Hers must be the decisive word;" and with my programme in one hand and my diamonds in the other I repaired to the d.u.c.h.ess"s room, Bederhof following in high contentment.
I imagine that there must have been a depression in my looks, involuntary but rea.s.suring. It is certain that Elsa received me with more composure than I had ventured to hope. She studied Bederhof"s chart with grave attention; she and her mother put many questions as to the ceremonial; there was no doubt that Elsa was very much interested in the matter. Presently my mother came in; the privy council round Bederhof grew more engrossed. The Chancellor was delighted; one could almost see the flags and hear the cannon as his descriptive periods rolled out.
Princess Heinrich sat listening with a rather bitter smile, but she did not cut him short. I leaned over the back of her chair. Once or twice Elsa glanced at me, timidly but by no means uncheerfully. Behind the cover of the chair-back I unfastened my box and got out my necklace.
Then I waited for Elsa"s next look. It seemed entirely in keeping with the occasion that I, as well as Bederhof, should have my present for her, my ornament, my toy.
"Their Majesties" carriage will be drawn by four gray horses," said Bederhof. The good d.u.c.h.ess laughed, laid her hand on Elsa"s, and whispered, "Their Majesties!" Elsa blushed, laughed, and again glanced at me. My moment had come. I held up my toy.
"Their Majesties will be dressed in their very best clothes," said I, "with their hair nicely brushed, and perhaps one of them will be so charming as to wear a necklace," and I tossed the thing lightly over the chair-back into Elsa"s lap.
She caught it with a little cry, looked at it for a moment, whispered in her mother"s ear, jumped up, and, blushing still, ran round and kissed me.
"Oh, thank you!" she cried.
I kissed her hand and her cheek. My mother smiled, patiently it seemed to me; the d.u.c.h.ess was tremulously radiant; Bederhof obviously benign.
It was a pretty group, with the pretty child and her pretty toy for the centre of it. Suddenly I looked at my mother; she nodded ever so slightly. I was applauded and commanded to persevere.
Bederhof pursued his description. He went through it all; he rose to eloquence in describing our departure from Forstadt. This scene ended, he seemed conscious of a bathos. It was in a dull, rather apologetic tone that he concluded by remarking:
"Their Majesties will arrive at Artenberg at seven o"clock, and will partake of dinner."
There appeared to be no desire to dwell on this somewhat inglorious conclusion to so eventful a day. A touch of haste betrayed itself in my mother"s manner as she asked for the list of the guests. Elsa had dropped her necklace in her lap, and sat looking before her with an absent expression. The names of distinguished visitors, however, offered a welcome diversion. We were all in very good spirits again in a few minutes. Presently the names bored Elsa; she jumped up, ran to a mirror, and tried on her necklace. The names bored me also, but I stood where I was. Soon a glance from her summoned me, and I joined her. The diamonds were round her neck, squeezed in above the high collar of her morning gown.
"They"ll look lovely in the evening," she said.
"You"ll have lots more given you," I a.s.sured her.
"Do you think so?" she asked, in gleefulness dashed with incredulity.