Were all those marauders you commanded honest mechanics?"
"Every man of them."
"Then you must be the villain of the piece who led those worthy ironworkers astray?"
Roland laughed heartily.
"That is quite true," he said. "Have I fallen in your estimation?"
"No; to me you appeared as a rescuer. Besides, I come of a race of ruffians, and doubtless on that account take a more lenient view of your villainy than may be the case with others."
The young man stopped in his walk, and seized her hands again, which she allowed him to possess unresisting.
"Hilda," he said solemnly, "your guardian thought the Archbishop of Mayence had relented, and would withdraw his opposition to our marriage.
Has Mayence said anything to corroborate that estimate?"
"Nothing."
"Has your guardian broached the subject to him?"
"Yes; but the att.i.tude of my Lord of Mayence was quite inscrutable.
Personally I think my guardian wrong in his surmise. The Archbishop of Treves murmured that Mayence never forgives. I am certain I offended him too deeply for pardon. He wishes the future Empress to be a pliable creature who will influence her husband according to his Lordship"s desires, but, as I have boasted several times, I belong to the House of Sayn."
"Hilda, will you marry me in spite of the Archbishops?"
"Roland, will you forego kingship for my sake?"
"Yes; a thousand times yes!"
"You said "For the Empress; not for the Empire," but if I am no Empress, you will as cheerfully wed me?"
"Yes."
"Then _I_ say yes!"
He caught her in his arms, and they floated into the heaven of their first kiss, an ecstatic melting together. Suddenly she drew away from him.
"There is some one coming," she whispered.
"Nothing matters now," said Roland breathlessly. "There is no one in the world to-day but you and me."
Hildegunde drew her hands down her cheeks, as if to brush away their tell-tale color and their warmth.
""Tis like," said Roland, "that you marry a poor man."
"Nothing matters now," she repeated, laughing tremulously. "I am said to be the richest woman in Germany. I shall build you a forge and enlist myself your apprentice. We will paint over the door "Herr Roland and wife; sword makers.""
Two men appeared at the end of the alley, and stood still; the one with a frown on his brow, the other with a smile on his lips.
"Oh!" whispered the Countess, panic striking from her face the color that her palms had failed to remove, "the Archbishop and the Count Palatine!"
His Lordship strode forward, followed more leisurely by the smiling Count.
"Prince Roland," said Cologne, "I had not expected this after our conference of last night."
"I fail to understand why, my Lord, when my parting words were "Tell your porter to let me in without parley." That surely indicated an intention on my part to visit the Palace."
"Your Highness knows that so far as I am concerned you are very welcome, and always shall be so, but at this juncture there are others to consider."
Roland interrupted.
"Read this letter, my Lord, and you will learn that I am here with the full concurrence of that generous Prince of the Church, Mayence."
Cologne, with knitted brow, scrutinized the communication.
"Your Highness is most courageous, but, if I may be permitted, just a trifle too clever."
"My Highness is not clever at all, but merely meets a situation as it arises."
"Prince Roland," said the Countess, her head raised proudly, "may I introduce to you my friend, and almost my neighbor, the Count Palatine of the Rhine?"
"Ah, pardon me," murmured the Archbishop, covered with confusion, but the jovial Count swept away all embarra.s.sment by his hearty greeting.
"Prince Roland, I am delighted with the honor her ladyship accords me."
"And I, my Lord, am exceedingly gratified to meet the Count Palatine again."
"Again?" cried the Count in astonishment, "If ever we had encountered one another, your Highness, I certainly should not have been the one to forget the privilege."
The Prince laughed.
"It is true, nevertheless. My Lord Count, there is a namesake of mine in the precincts of your strong Castle of Gutenfels; a namesake who does more honor to the t.i.tle than I do myself."
The Count Palatine threw back his head, and the forest garden echoed with boisterous laughter.
"You mean my black charger, Prince Roland!" he shouted. "A n.o.ble horse indeed. How knew you of him? If your Highness cares for horses allow me to present him to you."
"Never, my Lord Count. You are too fond of him yourself, and I have always had an affectionate feeling towards you for your love of that animal, which, indeed, hardly exceeds my own. I grasped his bridle-rein, and held the stirrup while you mounted."
"How is that possible?" asked the astonished Count.
"I cared for Prince Roland nearly a month, receiving generous wages, and, what I valued more, your own commendation, for you saw I was as fond of horses as you were."
"Good heavens! Were you that youth who came so mysteriously, and disappeared without warning?"
"Yes," laughed the Prince. "I know Gutenfels nearly as well as you do. I was a spy, studying the art of war and methods of fortification. I stopped in various capacities at nearly all the famous Castles of the Rhine, and this knowledge recently came in--"
"Your Highness, your Highness!" pleaded the Archbishop. "I implore you to remember that the Count Palatine is an Elector of the Empire, and, as I told last night, we are facing a crisis. Until that crisis is pa.s.sed you will add to my already great anxiety by any lack of reticence on your part."