The Colonel of the Red Huzzars Part 73

"On the contrary, I am ready to do anything I can; but, I fear, I'm powerless. Indeed, if you're under the close surveillance you indicate, it would be about impossible. And I know whereof I speak.

You would be no more immune in my carriage than in a public cab. Even if I were beside you, you could not pa.s.s the gates. It might, however, be effected in some way I cannot scheme, on the instant. I will investigate and, if I can devise any method, I shall do my utmost to release you."

She straightened up--and the fan quit its beating.

"That sounds well--and may mean well; but, it's short of the mark,"

said she. "I am determined not to remain in this town another day.

You must get me away before to-morrow night."

"Impossible!" Lotzen exclaimed. "You know not what you ask."

She looked at him coldly.

"Very good, Your Highness," she said. "I have given you your chance.

I have played fair with you. Now, we are quits."

"And you don't want my aid?" he asked.

"Not unless it's given before noon to-morrow."

He raised his hands.

"There are only two people in the world who could get you out of Dornlitz by noon to-morrow--the King and the Governor."

"Exactly," said she. "And, to one of them, I shall go in the morning."

"Better try Frederick," Lotzen laughed. "He has a weak side for a pretty woman."

(I did not look at the King--but I heard him sniff angrily.)

"No--I shall try the Governor," she returned. "He told me, one day, in his office, that, when I acknowledged that I was not his wife and that the marriage certificate was false, I would be permitted to leave the Kingdom." She paused, a moment. "Does Your Highness wish me to go to the Governor?"

I thought the Duke would weaken--but, as usual, I got a surprise.

"My dear girl," said he, "I shall be heartbroken if you leave Valeria--but, if that is all you need to do to be free to go--and you are not, in fact, Armand Dalberg's wife--then I am surprised that you have not done it long ago."

She smiled, rather sadly.

"Yes, I fancy you are. I'm rather surprised myself. It would sound queer, to some people in America, but I have actually tried, for once in my life, to keep faith to the end. But it is as I always thought--not worth the while. I'll know better again."

Then, she got up and, going behind her chair, leaned over the back.

"Does Your Highness realize what my going to the Governor means to you?" she asked.

"I don't seem to be able to follow your argument," he said; "and I'm a poor guesser of riddles."

"It means that I shall have to tell the whole ugly story of how I chanced to come to Dornlitz to pose as the wife of the Grand Duke Armand."

He took a fresh cigarette and carefully lit it. "But, my dear girl,"

he said, "I don't see how that would affect me?"

She laughed.

"Still the _premier artiste_! Well, play it out. If you want to hear what you already know it's no trouble to tell you. Shall I begin at the very beginning?"

"By all means!" said he. "Maybe, then, I can catch the point."

"Listen," said she. "For many years I have known Armand Dalberg. One day, several months ago, there came a man to me, in the City of New York. How he happened to find me is no matter. He spoke English perfectly--though I thought he was a Frenchman. The name on his card was Herbert Wilkes; but, I knew that was a.s.sumed, and I have learned, lately, who he is. Since you, too, know, it is quite unnecessary to repeat it. His offer to me was this: If I would go immediately to Dornlitz and publicly claim the American, Armand Dalberg--who had just been restored to his rightful place as a Grand Duke of Valeria--as my husband, I was to receive an enormous sum of money (the amount Your Highness also knows) and all expenses. I accepted instantly, mainly for the money; but, also, to satisfy a personal grudge I had against Major Dalberg. I made the one condition, however, that a marriage certificate must be procured--the date for which I gave; choosing one on which I happened to know Major Dalberg was in New York. And it was done. How, I neither knew nor cared. One-half the money was given me in advance--the balance to be paid the day I executed my mission. I received it the morning following that scene at the Grand Duke's supper party at the Hanging Garden. And, G.o.d knows, I earned every cent of it! I was guaranteed protection while in Valeria, and to be at liberty to depart one week after I had made the public a.s.sertion of the marriage and had exhibited the certificate."

She paused.

"Now, perchance, Your Highness understands the matter," she added, and smiled sweetly.

He flecked the ash from his cigarette and shook his head.

"I understand no more than I did at first, how this plot against the Grand Duke Armand affects me," he said.

"Of course, it may not occur to Your Highness--but it doubtless would to the King--who, of all living creatures, would be most benefited and who most injured by my marriage story. However, if you are not my employer, then, it will not hurt you. And, as I cannot imagine who else it could be, I shall simply fling the whole business overboard; go to the Governor to-morrow; tell the truth; endorse on the marriage certificate the fact of its falseness; give it to him--and take the first train for Paris--And, I fancy, I shall read the betrothal notice of the Princess Royal of Valeria and the Grand Duke Armand before I've been there a week."

Lotzen got up and went over to her.

"Do you know you are a very clever woman?" he said.

She looked archly up at him.

"You will enable me to escape?" she asked.

He took her hand--and, this time, it was not withdrawn.

"I will do my best," he said; "but, it's a fierce risk for me. If detected, it would mean, at the very least, a year's banishment."

She smiled.

"It would mean something more than that if I told my story," she said.

"I'm doing it for you; not from fear of the story," he said softly.

"It's nicer, that way, isn't it?" she asked.

He put his arm around her--and she let him kiss her, once. Then, she drew away.

"Sit down and let us talk it over," she said.

The King got up suddenly.

"Come along, Armand," he said, and hurried from the Gallery.

I followed him, without a word--for none was needed. The end of Lotzen's game was very near, indeed.

In the lower corridor, we met a servant.