"Do you intend, then, that I should see Prince Roland and talk with him?"
"Yes."
"My dear Guardian!" cried the girl, her face flushing red, "what on earth can I say to him? How am I to excuse my intrusion?"
"A prisoner, I fancy, does not resent intrusion, especially if the intruder is--" The old man smiled as he looked at the girl, whose blush grew deeper and deeper; then, seeing her confusion, he added: "There are many things to say. Introduce yourself as the ward of his Lordship of Cologne; reveal that your guardian has confided to you that Prince Roland is to be the future Emperor; ask for some a.s.surance from him that the property descending to you from your ancestors shall not be molested; or perhaps, better still, with the same introduction, tell him the story of Father Ambrose. Add that this has disquieted you: demand the truth, hearken to what the youth says for himself, thank him, and withdraw. It needs no long conversation, though I am prepared to hear that he wished to lengthen your stay. I am certain that five minutes face to face with him will completely overturn all Father Ambrose has said to his disparagement, and a few simple words from him will probably dispel the whole mystery. If someone is personating him in Frankfort it is more than likely he knows who it is."
They traveled a generous furlong together in silence, the girl"s head bowed and her brow troubled. At last, as if with an effort, she cleared doubt away, and raised her head.
"I will do it," she said decisively.
The Archbishop heaved a deep sigh of relief. He knew now he was out of the wood.
"Is this a.s.smannshausen we are coming to?" she asked, as if to hint that the subject on which they had talked so earnestly was finally done with.
"No; this is Lorch, and that is the Castle of Nollich standing above it."
"I hope," said the girl, with a sigh of weariness, "that no English Princess about to marry an Emperor lodged there, or no Englishman who was to become an Emperor--"
The Archbishop interrupted the plaint with a hearty laugh, the first he had enjoyed for several days.
"The English seem an interfering race," she went on. "I wish they would attend to their own affairs."
"Nollich is uncontaminated," said the Archbishop, "though in olden days a reckless knight on horseback rode up to secure his lady-love, and I believe rode down again with her, and his route is still called the Devil"s Ladder."
"Did the marriage turn out so badly?"
"No; I believe they lived happily ever after; but the ascent was so cliff-like that mountain sprites are supposed to have given their a.s.sistance."
"How much farther is a.s.smannshausen?"
"Less than two leagues. We will stop there and refresh ourselves. Are you tired?"
"Oh no; not in the least. I merely wish the ordeal was past."
"You are a brave girl, Hildegunde."
"I am anything but that, Guardian. Still, do not fear I shall flinch."
After partaking of the midday meal at a.s.smannshausen, the Countess proposed that they should leave their horses in the stable, and walk the short third of a league to Ehrenfels, and to this her guardian agreed.
He found more difficulty with the custodian than had been expected. The man objected, trembling. Without a written order from his master he dare not allow any one to visit the prisoner. He would be delighted to oblige his Lordship of Cologne, but he was merely a poor wretch who had no option in the matter.
"Very well," said Cologne. "I have just come from your master, who is stopping with my brother Treves at Stolzenfels. If you persist I must then request lodgings from you until such time as a speedy messenger can bring your master hither. This journey may cause him great inconvenience, and should such be the case, I fear you will fare ill with him."
"That may be, my Lord, but I must do my duty."
"Are you sure you have already done it on all occasions?" asked the Archbishop severely.
The man"s face became ghastly in its pallor.
"I don"t know what you mean, my Lord."
"Then I will quickly tell you what I mean. It is rumored that Prince Roland has been seen on the streets of Frankfort."
"How--how could that be, my Lord?"
"That is exactly what I wish to know. I believe the Prince is not in your custody."
"I a.s.sure you, my Lord," said the now thoroughly frightened man, "that his Highness is in his room."
"Very well; then conduct this lady thither. Although she does not know the Prince, a relative of hers who does a.s.serts that he met his Highness in Frankfort. I said this was impossible if you had done that duty you prate so much about. The lady merely wishes to ask him for some explanation of this affair, so make your choice. Shall she go up with you now, or must I send for the other two Archbishops?"
There was but one comforting phrase in this remark, namely, that the lady did not know the Prince. Still, it was a dreadful risk, yet the custodian hesitated no longer. He took down a bunch of keys, and asked the Countess to follow him. Ascending the stair, he unlocked the door, and stood aside for the Countess to pa.s.s through.
Some one with wildly tousled hair sat sprawling in a chair; arms on the table, and head sunk forward down upon them. A full tankard of wine within his reach, and a flagon had been overset, sluicing the table with its contents, which still fell drip, drip, drip, to the floor.
The young man raised his head, aroused by the harsh unlocking of the door, and with the crash it made as his father flung it hard against the stone wall for the purpose of giving him warning, but the youth was in no condition to profit by this thoughtfulness, nor to understand the signals his father made from behind the frightened girl. He clutched wildly at the overturned flagon, and with an oath cried:
"Bring me more wine, you old--"
Staggering to his feet, he threw the flagon wide, then slipped on the spilled wine and fell heavily to the floor, roaring defiance at the world.
The panic-stricken girl shrank back, crying to the jailer:
"Let me out! Close the door quickly, and lock it!" an order obeyed with alacrity.
When Hildegunde emerged to the court her guardian asked no question. The horror in her face told all.
"I am sorry, my Lord," said the cringing custodian, "but his Highness is drunk."
"Does this--does this happen often?"
"Alas! yes, my Lord."
"Poor lad, poor lad! The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the children to the third and fourth generation. Hildegunde, forgive me. Let us away and forget it all."
The next morning the Countess began her imprisonment in Pfalz.
XV
JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS" MEETING
Roland slept until the sun was about an hour high over the western hills. He found the captain waiting patiently for him to awake, and then that useful martinet instantly set his crew at tying up the bales which had been torn open, placing them once more in the hold. He was about to do the same with the weapons captured from Furstenberg, but Greusel stepped forward, and asked him to put pikes, battle-axes, and the long swords into the cabin.