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diff --git a/41803-8.txt b/41803-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9906ac1..0000000 --- a/41803-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14866 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Joan of the Sword Hand, by S(amuel) R(utherford) Crockett - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Joan of the Sword Hand - -Author: S(amuel) R(utherford) Crockett - -Illustrator: Frank Richards - -Release Date: January 8, 2013 [EBook #41803] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOAN OF THE SWORD HAND *** - - - - -Produced by Delphine Lettau and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -JOAN OF THE SWORD HAND - - - - -_WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR._ - - - THE STICKIT MINISTER. - THE RAIDERS. - THE PLAYACTRESS. - THE LILAC SUNBONNET. - BOG-MYRTLE AND PEAT. - THE MEN OF THE MOSS HAGS. - CLEG KELLY. - THE GREY MAN. - LADS' LOVE. - LOCHINVAR. - THE STANDARD BEARER. - THE RED AXE. - THE BLACK DOUGLAS. - IONE MARCH. - KIT KENNEDY. - - SWEETHEART TRAVELLERS. - SIR TOADY LION. - - - - -[Illustration: "She met on the middle flight a grey-bearded man." -(Page 25.) _Frontispiece_] - - - - - JOAN OF THE SWORD HAND - - BY - S. R. CROCKETT - - LONDON - WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED - NEW YORK AND MELBOURNE - 1900 - - - _The Illustrations to this edition of - "Joan of the Sword Hand" are by - FRANK RICHARDS._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - I. THE HALL OF THE GUARD 7 - II. THE BAITING OF THE SPARHAWK 14 - III. JOAN DRAWS FIRST BLOOD 19 - IV. THE COZENING OF THE AMBASSADOR 25 - V. JOHANN THE SECRETARY 30 - VI. AN AMBASSADOR'S AMBASSADOR 38 - VII. H.R.H. THE PRINCESS IMPETUOSITY 47 - VIII. JOHANN IN THE SUMMER PALACE 52 - IX. THE ROSE GARDEN 59 - X. PRINCE WASP 64 - XI. THE KISS OF THE PRINCESS MARGARET 70 - XII. JOAN FORSWEARS THE SWORD 79 - XIII. THE SPARHAWK IN THE TOILS 84 - XIV. AT THE HIGH ALTAR 90 - XV. WHAT JOAN LEFT BEHIND 99 - XVI. PRINCE WASP'S COMPACT 105 - XVII. WOMAN'S WILFULNESS 111 - XVIII. CAPTAINS BORIS AND JORIAN PROMOTE PEACE 120 - XIX. JOAN STANDS WITHIN HER DANGER 126 - XX. THE CHIEF CAPTAIN'S TREACHERY 131 - XXI. ISLE RUGEN 139 - XXII. THE HOUSE ON THE DUNES 144 - XXIII. THE FACE THAT LOOKED INTO JOAN'S 150 - XXIV. THE SECRET OF THERESA VON LYNAR 156 - XXV. BORNE ON THE GREAT WAVE 163 - XXVI. THE GIRL BENEATH THE LAMP 169 - XXVII. WIFE AND PRIEST 175 - XXVIII. THE RED LION FLIES AT KERNSBERG 182 - XXIX. THE GREETING OF THE PRINCESS MARGARET 191 - XXX. LOVE'S CLEAR EYE 197 - XXXI. THE ROYAL MINX 204 - XXXII. THE PRINCESS MARGARET IS IN A HURRY 212 - XXXIII. A WEDDING WITHOUT A BRIDEGROOM 217 - XXXIV. LITTLE JOHANNES RODE 222 - XXXV. A PERILOUS HONEYMOON 229 - XXXVI. THE BLACK DEATH 236 - XXXVII. THE DROPPING OF A CLOAK 245 - XXXVIII. THE RETURN OF THE BRIDE 251 - XXXIX. PRINCE WASP STINGS 258 - XL. THE LOVES OF PRIEST AND WIFE 266 - XLI. THERESA KEEPS TROTH 277 - XLII. THE WORDLESS MAN TAKES A PRISONER 287 - XLIII. TO THE RESCUE 295 - XLIV. THE UKRAINE CROSS 301 - XLV. THE TRUTH-SPEAKING OF BORIS AND JORIAN 310 - XLVI. THE FEAR THAT IS IN LOVE 315 - XLVII. THE BROKEN BOND 324 - XLVIII. JOAN GOVERNS THE CITY 332 - XLIX. THE WOOING OF BORIS AND JORIAN 338 - L. THE DIN OF BATTLE 345 - LI. THERESA'S TREACHERY 355 - LII. THE MARGRAF'S POWDER CHESTS 366 - LIII. THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH VISIBLE 380 - EPILOGUE OF EXPLICATION 388 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE HALL OF THE GUARD - - -Loud rang the laughter in the hall of the men-at-arms at Castle -Kernsberg. There had come an embassy from the hereditary Princess of -Plassenburg, recently established upon the throne of her ancestors, to -the Duchess Joan of Hohenstein, ruler of that cluster of hill statelets -which is called collectively Masurenland, and which includes, besides -Hohenstein the original Eagle's Eyrie, Kernsberg also, and Marienfield. - -Above, in the hall of audience, the ambassador, one Leopold von -Dessauer, a great lord and most learned councillor of state, sat alone -with the young Duchess. They were eating of the baked meats and drinking -the good Rhenish up there. But, after all, it was much merrier down -below with Werner von Orseln, Alt Pikker, Peter Balta, and John of -Thorn, though what they ate was mostly but plain ox-flesh, and their -drink the strong ale native to the hill lands, which is called Wendish -mead. - -"Get you down, Captains Jorian and Boris," the young Duchess had -commanded, looking very handsome and haughty in the pride of her twenty -years, her eight strong castles, and her two thousand men ready to rise -at her word; "down to the hall of guard, where my officers send round -the wassail. If they do not treat you well, e'en come up and tell it to -me." - -"Good!" responded the two soldiers of the Princess of Plassenburg, -turning them about as if they had been hinged on the same stick, and -starting forward with precisely the same stiff hitch from the halt, they -made for the door. - -"But stay," Joan of Hohenstein had said, ere they reached it, "here are -a couple of rings. My father left me one or two such. Fit them upon your -fingers, and when you return give them to the maidens of your choice. Is -there by chance such an one, Captain Jorian, left behind you at -Plassenburg?" - -"Aye, madam," said Jorian, directing his left eye, as he stood at -attention, a little slantwise in the direction of his companion. - -"What is her name?" - -"Gretchen is her name," quoth the soldier. - -"And yours, Captain Boris?" - -The second automaton, a little slower of tongue than his companion, -hesitated a moment. - -"Speak up," said his comrade, in an undergrowl; "say 'Katrin.'" - -"Katrin!" thundered Captain Boris, with bluff apparent honesty. - -"It is well," said the Duchess Joan; "I think no less of a sturdy -soldier for being somewhat shamefaced as to the name of his sweetheart. -Here is a ring apiece which will not shame your maidens in far -Plassenburg, as you walk with them under the lime-trees, or buy ribbons -for them in the booths that cluster about the Minster walls." - -The donor looked at the rings again. She espied the letters of a posy -upon them. - -"Ha!" she cried, "Captain Boris, what said you was the name of your -betrothed?" - -"Good Lord!" muttered Boris lowly to himself, "did I not tell the woman -even now?--Gretchen!" - -"Hut, you fool!" Jorian's undergrowl came to his ear, "Katrin--not -Gretchen; Gretchen is mine." - -"I mean Katrin, my Lady Duchess," said Boris, putting a bold face on the -mistake. - -The young mistress of the castle smiled. "Thou art a strange lover," she -said, "thus to forget the name of thy mistress. But here is a ring with -a K writ large upon it, which will serve for thy Katherina. And here, -Captain Jorian, is one with a G scrolled in Gothic, which thou wilt -doubtless place with pride upon the finger of Mistress Gretchen among -the rose gardens of Plassenburg." - -"Good!" said Jorian and Boris, making their bows together; "we thank -your most gracious highness." - -"Back out, you hulking brute!" the undertone came again from Jorian; -"she will be asking us for their surnames if we bide a moment longer. -Now then, we are safe through the door; right about, Boris, and thank -Heaven she had not time for another question, or we were men undone!" - -And with their rings upon their little fingers the two burly captains -went down the narrow stair of Castle Kernsberg, nudging each other -jovially in the dark places as if they had again been men-at-arms and no -captains, as in the old days before the death of Karl the Usurper and -the coming back of the legitimate Princess Helene into her rights. - -Being arrived at the hall beneath they soon found themselves the centre -of a hospitable circle. Gruff, bearded Wendish men were these officers -of the young Duchess; not a butterfly youngling or a courtly carpet -knight among them, but men tanned like shipmen of the Baltic, soldiers -mostly who had served under her father Henry, foraging upon occasion as -far as the Mark in one direction and into Bor-Russia in the other, men -grounded and compacted after the hearts of Jorian and Boris. - -It was small wonder that amid such congenial society the ex-men-at-arms -found themselves presently very much at home. Scarcely were they seated -when Jorian began to brag of the gift the Duchess had given him for the -maiden of his troth. - -"And Boris here, that hulking cobold, that Hans Klapper upon the -housetops, had well-nigh spoiled the jest; for when her ladyship asked -him a second time in her sweet voice for the name of his 'betrothed,' -he must needs lay his tongue to 'Gretchen,' instead of 'Katrin,' as he -had done at the first!" - -Then all suddenly the bearded, burly officers of the Duchess Joan looked -at each other with a little scared expression on their faces, through -which gradually glimmered up a certain grim amusement. Werner von -Orseln, the eldest and gravest of all, glanced round the full circle of -his mess. Then he looked back at the two captains of the embassy guard -of Plassenburg with a pitying glance. - -"And you lied about your sweethearts to the Duchess Joan?" he said. - -"Ha, ha! Yes! I trow yes," quoth Jorian jovially. "Wine may be dear, but -this ring will pay the sweets of many a night!" - -"Ha, ha! It will, will it?" said Werner, the chief captain, grimly. - -"Aye, truly," echoed Boris, the mead beginning to work nuttily under his -steel cap, "when we melt this--ha, ha!--Katrin's jewel, we'll quaff many -a beaker. The Rhenish shall flow-ow-ow! And Peg and Moll and Elisabet -shall be there--yes, and many a good fellow-ow-ow----" - -"Shut the door!" quoth Werner, the chief captain, at this point. "Sit -down, gentlemen!" - -But Jorian and Boris were not to be so easily turned aside. - -"Call in the ale-drawer--the tapster, the pottler, the over-cellarer, -whatever you call him. For we would have more of his vintage. Why, is -this a night of jewels, and shall we not melt them? We may chance to get -another for a second mouthful of lies to-morrow morning. A good duchess -as ever was--a soft princess, a princess most gullible is this of yours, -gentlemen of the Eagle's Nest, kerns of Kernsberg!" - -"Sit down," said Werner yet more gravely. "Captains Jorian and Boris, -you do not seem to know that you are no longer in Plassenburg. The broom -bush does not keep the cow betwixt Kernsberg and Hohenstein. Here are no -Tables of Karl the Miller's Son to hamper our liege mistress. Do you -know that you have lied to her and made a jest of it?" - -"Aye," cried Jorian, holding his ring high; "a sweet, easy maid, this of -yours, as ever was cozened. An easy service yours must be. Lord! I could -feather my nest well inside a year--one short year with such a mistress -would do the business. Why, she will believe anything!" - -"So," said Werner von Orseln grimly, "you think so, do you, Captains -Boris and Jorian, of the embassy staff? Well, listen!" - -He spoke very slowly, leaning towards them and punctuating his meaning -upon the palm of his left hand with the fingers of his right. "If I, -Werner of Orseln, were now to walk upstairs, and in so many words tell -my lady, 'the sweet, easy princess,' as you name her, Joan of the Sword -Hand, as we are proud----" - -"_Joan of the Sword Hand! Hoch!_" - -The men-at-arms at the lower table, the bearded captains at the high -board, the very page boys lounging and scuffling in the niches, rose to -their feet at the name, pronounced in a voice of thunder-pride by Chief -Captain Werner. - -"Joan of the Sword Hand! _Hoch!_ Hent yourselves up, Wends! Up, -Plassenburg! Joan of the Sword Hand! Our Lady Joan! _Hoch!_ And three -times _hoch_!" - -The hurrahs ran round the oak-panelled hall. Jorian and Boris looked at -each other with surprise, but they were stout fellows, and took matters, -even when most serious, pretty much as they came. - -"I thank you, gentlemen, on behalf of my lady, in whose name I command -here," said Werner, bowing ceremoniously to all around, while the others -settled themselves to listen. "Now, worthy soldiers of Plassenburg," he -went on, "be it known to you that if (to suppose a case which will not -happen) I were to tell our Lady Joan what you have confessed to us here -and boasted of--that you lied and double lied to her--I lay my life and -the lives of these good fellows that the pair of you would be aswing -from the corner gallery of the Lion's Tower in something under five -minutes." - -"Aye, and a good deed it were, too!" chorussed the round table of the -guard hall. "Heaven send it, the jackanapes! To rail at our Duchess!" - -Jorian rose to his feet. "Up, Boris!" he cried; "no Bor-Russian, no kern -of Hohenstein that ever lived, shall overcrow a captain of the armies of -Plassenburg and a soldier of the Princess Helene--Heaven bless her! Take -your ring in your hand, Boris, for we will go up straightway, you and I. -And we will tell the Lady Duchess Joan that, having no sweetheart of -legal standing, and no desire for any, we choused her into the belief -that we would bestow her rings upon our betrothed in the rose-gardens of -Plassenburg. Then will we see if indeed we shall be aswing in five -minutes. Ready, Boris?" - -"Aye, thrice ready, Jorian!" - -"About, then! Quick march!" - -A great noise of clapping rose all round the hall as the two stout -soldiers set themselves to march up the staircase by which they had just -descended. - -"Stand to the doors!" cried Werner, the chief captain; "do not let them -pass. Up and drink a deep cup to them, rather! To Captains Jorian and -Boris of Plassenburg, brave fellows both! Charge your tankards. The mead -of Wendishland shall not run dry. Fill them to the brim. A caraway seed -in each for health's sake. There! Now to the honour and long lives of -our guests. Jorian and Boris--_hoch_!" - -"_Jorian and Boris--hoch!_" - -The toast was drunk amid multitudinous shoutings and handshakings. The -two men had stopped, perforce, for the doors were in the hands of the -soldiers of the guard, and the pike points clustered thick in their -path. They turned now in the direction of the high table from which they -had risen. - -"Deal you so with your guests who come on embassy?" said Jorian, -smiling. "First you threaten them with hanging, and then you would make -them drunk with mead as long in the head as the devil of Trier that -deceived the Archbishop-Elector and gat the holy coat for a -foot-warmer!" - -"Sit down, gentlemen, and I also will sit. Now, hearken well," said -Werner; "these honest fellows of mine will bear me out that I lie not. -You have done bravely and spoken up like good men taken in a fault. But -we will not permit you to go to your deaths. For our Lady Joan--God -bless her!--would not take a false word from any--no, not if it were on -Twelfth Night or after a Christmas merry-making. She would not forgive -it from your old Longbeard upstairs, whose business it is--that is, if -she found it out. 'To the gallows!' she would say, and we--why then we -should sorrow for having to hasten the stretching of two good men. But -what would you, gentlemen? We are her servants and we should be obliged -to do her will. Keep your rings, lads, and keep also your wits about you -when the Duchess questions you again. Nay, when you return to -Plassenburg, be wise, seek out a Gretchen and a Katrin and bestow the -rings upon them--that is, if ever you mean again to stand within the -danger of Joan of the Sword Hand in this her castle of Kernsberg." - -"Gretchens are none so scarce in Plassenburg," muttered Jorian. "I think -we can satisfy a pair of them--but at a cheaper price than a ring of -rubies set in gold!" - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE BAITING OF THE SPARHAWK - - -"Bring in the Danish Sparhawk, and we will bait him!" said Werner. "We -have shown our guests but a poor entertainment. Bring in the Sparhawk, I -say!" - -At this there ensued unyoked merriment. Each stout lad, from one end of -the hall to the other, undid his belt as before a nobler course and -nudged his fellow. - -"'Ware, I say, stand clear! Here comes the Wild Boar of the Ardennes, -the Wolf of Thuringia, the Bear from the Forests of Bor-Russia! Stand -clear--stand clear!" cried Werner von Orseln, laughing and pretending to -draw a dagger to provide for his own safety. - -The inner door which led from the hall of the men-at-arms to the -dungeons of the castle was opened, and all looked towards it with an air -of great amusement and expectation. - -"Now we shall have some rare sport," each man said to his neighbour, and -nodded. - -"The baiting of the Sparhawk! The Sparhawk comes!" - -Jorian and Boris looked with interest in the direction of the door -through which such a remarkable bird was to arrive. They could not -understand what all the pother could be about. - -"What the devil----?" said Jorian. - -And, not to be behindhand, "What the devil----?" echoed Boris. For -mostly these two ran neck and neck from drop of flag to winning-post. - -Through the black oblong of the dungeon doorway there came a lad of -seventeen or eighteen, tall, slim, dark-browed, limber. He walked -between a pair of men-at-arms, who held his wrists firmly at either -side. His hands were chained together, and from between them dangled a -spiked ball that clanked heavily on the floor as he stumbled forward -rather than walked into the room. He had black hair that waved from his -forehead in a backward sweep, a nose of slightly Roman shape, which, -together with his bold eagle's eyes, had obtained him the name of the -Spar or Sparrow-hawk. And on his face, handsome enough though pale, -there was a look of haughty disdain and fierce indignation such as one -may see in the demeanour of a newly prisoned bird of prey, which hath -not yet had time to forget the blue empyrean spaces and the stoop with -half-closed wings upon the quarry trembling in the vale. - -"Ha, Sparhawk!" cried Werner, "how goes it, Sparhawk? Any less bold and -peremptory than when last we met? Your servant, Count Maurice von Lynar! -We pray you dance for us the Danish dance of shuffle-board, Count -Maurice, if so your Excellency pleases!" - -The lad looked up the table and down with haughty eyes that deigned no -answer. - -Werner von Orseln turned to his guests and said, "This Sparhawk is a -little Dane we took on our last excursion to the north. It is only in -that direction we can lead the foray, since you have grown so -law-abiding and strong in Plassenburg and the Mark. His uncles and -kinsfolk were all killed in the defence of Castle Lynar, on the Northern -Haff. We know not which of these had also the claim of fatherhood upon -him. At all events, his grandad had a manor there, and came from the -Jutland sand-dunes to build a castle upon the Baltic shores. But he had -better have stayed at home, for he would not pay the Peace Geld to our -Henry. So the Lion roared, and we went to Castle Lynar and made an -end--save of this spitting Sparhawk, whom our master would not let us -kill, and whom now we keep with clipped wings for our sport." - -The lad listened with erected head and haughty eyes to the tale, but -answered not a word. - -"Now," cried Werner, with his cup in his hand and his brows bent upon -the youth, "dance for us as you used to do upon the Baltic, when the -maids came in fresh from their tiring and the newest kirtles were -donned. Dance, I say! Foot it for your life!" - -The lad Maurice von Lynar stood with his bold eyes upon his tormentors. -"Curs of Bor-Russia," he said at last, in speech that trembled with -anger, "you may vex the soul of a Danish gentleman with your aspersions, -you may wound his body, but you will never be able to stand up to him in -battle. You will never be worthy to eat or drink with him, to take his -hand in comradeship, or to ride a tilt with him. Pigs of the sty you -are, man by man of you--Wends and boors, and no king's gentlemen." - -"Bravo!" said Boris, under his breath, "that is none so dustily said for -a junker!" - -"Silence with that tongue of yours!" muttered his mate. "Dost want to be -yawing out of that window presently, with the wind spinning you about -and about like a capon on a jack-spit? They are uncanny folk, these of -the woman's castle--not to trust to. One knows not what they may do, nor -where their jest may end." - -"Hans Trenck, lift this springald's pretty wrist-bauble!" said Werner. - -A laughing man-at-arms went up, his partisan still over his shoulder, -and laying his hand upon the chain which depended between the manacled -wrists of the boy Maurice, he strove to lift the spiked ball. - -"What!" cried Werner, "canst thou, pap-backed babe, not lift that which -the noble Count Maurice of Lynar has perforce to carry about with him -all day long? Down with your weapon, man, and to it like an apothecary -compounding some blister for stale fly-blown rogues!" - -At the word the man laid down his partisan and lifted the ball high -between his two hands. - -"Now dance!" commanded Werner von Orseln, "dance the Danish milkmaid's -coranto, or I will bid him drop it on your toes. Dost want them jellied, -man?" - -"Drop, and be damned in your low-born souls!" cried the lad fiercely. -"Untruss my hands and let me loose with a sword, and ten yards clear on -the floor, and, by Saint Magnus of the Isles, I will disembowel any -three of you!" - -"You will not dance?" said Werner, nodding at him. - -"I will see you fry in hell fire first!" - -"Down with the ball, Hans Trenck!" cried Werner. "He that will not dance -at Castle Kernsberg must learn at least to jump." - -The man-at-arms, still grinning, lifted the ball a little higher, -balancing it in one hand to give it more force. He prepared to plump it -heavily upon the undefended feet of young Maurice. - -"'Ware toes, Sparhawk!" cried the soldiers in chorus, but at that -moment, suddenly kicking out as far as his chains allowed, the boy took -the stooping lout on the face, and incontinently widened the superficial -area of his mouth. He went over on his back amid the uproarious laughter -of his fellows. - -"Ha! Hans Trenck, the Sparhawk hath spurred you, indeed! A brave -Sparhawk! Down went poor Hans Trenck like a barndoor fowl!" - -The fellow rose, spluttering angrily. - -"Hold his legs, some one," he said, "I'll mark his pretty feet for him. -He shall not kick so free another time." - -A couple of his companions took hold of the boy on either side, so that -he could not move his limbs, and Hans again lifted high the ball. - -"Shall we stand this? They call this sport!" said Boris; "shall I pink -the brutes?" - -"Sit down and shut your eyes. Our Prince Hugo will harry this nest of -thieves anon. For the present we must bear their devilry if we want to -escape hanging!" - -"Now then, for marrow and mashed trotters!" cried Hans, spitting the -blood from the split corners of his mouth. - -"_Halt!_" - - - - -CHAPTER III - -JOAN DRAWS FIRST BLOOD - - -The word of command came full and strong from -the open doorway of the hall. - -Hans Trenck came instantly to the salute with the ball in his hand. He -had no difficulty in lifting it now. In fact, he did not seem able to -let it down. Every man in the hall except the two captains of -Plassenburg had risen to his feet and stood as if carved in marble. - -For there in the doorway, her slim figure erect and exceedingly -commanding, and her beautiful eyes shining with indignation, stood the -Duchess Joan of Hohenstein. - -"Joan of the Sword Hand!" said Jorian, enraptured. "Gott, what a wench!" - -In stern silence she advanced into the hall, every man standing fixed at -attention. - -"Good discipline!" said Boris. - -"Shut your mouth!" responded Jorian. - -"Keep your hand so, Hans Trenck," said their mistress; "give me your -sword, Werner! You shall see whether I am called Joan of the Sword Hand -for naught. You would torture prisoners, would you, after what I have -said? Hold up, I say, Hans Trenck!" - -And so, no man saying her nay, the girl took the shining blade and, with -a preliminary swish through the air and a balancing shake to feel the -elastic return, she looked at the poor knave fixed before her in the -centre of the hall with his wrist strained to hold the prisoner's ball -aloft at the stretch of his arm. What wonder if it wavered like a -branch in an uncertain wind? - -"Steady there!" said Joan. - -And she drew back her arm for the stroke. - -The young Dane, who, since her entrance, had looked at nothing save the -radiant beauty of the figure before him, now cried out, "For Heaven's -sake, lady, do not soil the skirts of your dress with his villain blood. -He but obeyed his orders. Let me be set free, and I will fight him or -any man in the castle. And if I am beaten, let them torture me till I am -carrion fit only to be thrown into the castle ditch." - -The Duchess paused and leaned on the sword, holding it point to the -floor. - -"By whose orders was this thing done?" she demanded. - -The lad was silent. He disdained to tell tales even on his enemies. Was -he not a gentleman and a Dane? - -"By mine, my lady!" said Werner von Orseln, a deep flush upon his manly -brow. - -The girl looked severely at him. She seemed to waver. "Good, then!" she -said, "the Dane shall fight Werner for his life. Loose him and chafe his -wrists. Ho! there--bring a dozen swords from the armoury!" - -The flush was now rising to the boy's cheek. - -"I thank you, Duchess," he said. "I ask no more than this." - -"Faith, the Sparhawk is not tamed yet," said Boris; "we shall see better -sport ere all be done!" - -"Hold thy peace," growled Jorian, "and look." - - * * * * * - -"Out into the light!" cried the young Duchess Joan, pointing the way -with Werner's sword, which she still held in her hand. And going first -she went forth from the hall of the soldiery, down the broad stairs, and -soon through a low-arched door with a sculptured coat-of-arms over it, -out into the quadrangle of the courtyard. - -"And now we will see this prisoner of ours, this cock of the Danish -marches, make good his words. That, surely, is better sport than to -drop caltrops upon the toes of manacled men." - -Werner followed unwillingly and with deep flush of shame upon his brow. - -"My lady," he said, going up to his mistress, "I do not need to prove my -courage after I have served Kernsberg and Hohenstein for thirty-eight -years--or well-nigh twice the years you have lived--fought for you and -your father and shed my blood in a score of pitched battles, to say -nothing of forays. Of course I will fight, but surely this young -cockerel might be satisfied to have his comb cut by younger hands." - -"Was yours the order concerning the dropping of the ball?" asked the -Duchess Joan. - -The grey-headed soldier nodded grimly. - -"I gave the order," he said briefly. - -"Then by St. Ursula and her boneyard, you must stand to it!" cried this -fiery young woman. "Else will I drub you with the flat of your own -sword!" - -Werner bowed with a slightly ironic smile on his grizzled face. - -"As your ladyship wills," he said; "I do not give you half obedience. If -you say that I am to get down on my knees and play cat's cradle with the -Kernsberg bairns, I will do it!" - -Joan of the Sword here looked calmly at him with a certain austerity in -her glance. - -"Why, of course you would!" she said simply. - -Meanwhile the lad had been freed from his bonds and stood with a sword -in his hand suppling himself for the work before him with quick little -guards and feints and attacks. There was a proud look in his eyes, and -as his glance left the Duchess and roved round the circle of his foes, -it flashed full, bold, and defiant. - -Werner turned to a palish lean Bohemian who stood a little apart. - -"Peter Balta," he said, "will you be my second? Agreed! And who will -care for my honourable opponent?" - -"Do not trouble yourself--that will arrange itself!" said Joan to her -chief captain. - -With that she flashed lightfoot into one of the low doors which led into -the flanking turrets of the quadrangle, and in a tierce of seconds she -was out again, in a forester's dress of green doublet and broad pleated -kirtle that came to her knee. - -"I myself," she said, challenging them with her eyes, "will be this -young man's second, in this place where he has so many enemies and no -friends." - -As the forester in green and the prisoner stood up together, the guards -murmured in astonishment at the likeness between them. - -"Had this Dane and our Joan been brother and sister, they could not have -favoured each other more," they said. - -A deep blush rose to the youth's swarthy face. - -"I am not worthy," he said, and kept his eyes upon the lithe figure of -the girl in its array of well-fitting velvet. "I cannot thank you!" he -said again. - -"Tut," she answered, "worthy--unworthy--thank--unthank--what avail these -upon the mountains of Kernsberg and in the Castle of Joan of the Sword -Hand? A good heart, a merry fight, a quick death! These are more to the -purpose than many thanks and compliments. Peter Balta, are you seconding -Werner? Come hither. Let us try the swords, you and I. Will not these -two serve? Guard! Well smitten! There, enough. What, you are touched on -the sword arm? Faith, man, for the moment I forgot that it was not you -and I who were to drum. This tickling of steel goes to my head like wine -and I am bound to forget. I am sorry--but, after all, a day or two in a -sling will put your arm to rights again, Peter. These are good swords. -Now then, Maurice von Lynar--Werner. At the salute! Ready! Fall to!" - -The burly figure of the Captain Werner von Orseln and the slim arrowy -swiftness of Maurice the Dane were opposed in the clear shadow of the -quadrangle, where neither had any advantage of light, and the swords of -their seconds kept them at proper distance according to the fighting -rules of the time. - -"I give the Sparhawk five minutes," said Boris to Jorian, after the -first parry. It was little more than formal and gave no token of what -was to follow. Yet for full twenty minutes Werner von Orseln, the oldest -sworder of all the north, from the marshes of Wilna to the hills of -Silesia, could do nothing but stand on the defensive, so fierce and -incessant were the attacks of the young Dane. - -But Werner did not give back. He stood his ground, warily, steadfastly, -with a half smile on his face, a wall of quick steel in front of him, -and the point of his adversary's blade ever missing him an inch at this -side, and coming an inch short upon that other. The Dane kept as -steadily to the attack, and made his points as much by his remarkable -nimbleness upon his feet as by the lightning rapidity of his sword-play. - -"The Kernsberger is playing with him!" said Boris, under his breath. - -Jorian nodded. He had no breath to waste. - -"But he is not going to kill him. He has not the Death in his eye!" -Boris spoke with judgment, for so it proved. Werner lifted an eyebrow -for the fraction of a second towards his mistress. And then at the end -of the next rally his sword just touched his young adversary on the -shoulder and the blood answered the thrust, staining the white -underdoublet of the Dane. - -Then Werner threw down his sword and held out his hand. - -"A well-fought rally," he said; "let us be friends. We need lads of such -metal to ride the forays from the hills of Kernsberg. I am sorry I -baited you, Sparhawk!" - -"A good fight clears all scores!" replied the youth, smiling in his -turn. - -"Bring a bandage for his shoulder, Peter Balta!" cried Joan. "Mine was -the cleaner stroke which went so near your great muscle, but Werner's is -somewhat the deeper. You can keep each other company at the dice-box -these next days. And, as I warrant neither of you has a Lübeck guilder -to bless yourself with, you can e'en play for love till you wear out the -pips with throwing." - -"Then I am not to go back to the dungeon?" said the lad, one reason of -whose wounding had been that he also lifted his eyes for a moment to -those of his second. - -"To prison--no," said Joan; "you are one of us now. We have blooded you. -Do you take service with me?" - -"I have no choice--your father left me none!" the lad replied, quickly -altering his phrase. "Castle Lynar is no more. My grandfather, my -father, and my uncles are all dead, and there is small service in going -back to Denmark, where there are more than enough of hungry gentlemen -with no wealth but their swords and no living but their gentility. If -you will let me serve in the ranks, Duchess Joan, I shall be well -content!" - -"I also," said Joan heartily. "We are all free in Kernsberg, even if we -are not all equal. We will try you in the ranks first. Go to the men's -quarters. George the Hussite, I deliver him to you. See that he does not -get into any more quarrels till his arm is better, and curb my rascals' -tongues as far as you can. Remember who meddles with the principal must -reckon with the second." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE COZENING OF THE AMBASSADOR - - -The next moment Joan had disappeared, and when she was seen again she -had assumed the skirt she had previously worn over her dress of -forester, and was again the sedate lady of the castle, ready to lead the -dance, grace the banquet, or entertain the High State's Councillor of -Plassenburg, Leopold von Dessauer. - -But when she went upstairs she met on the middle flight a grey-bearded -man with a skull cap of black velvet upon his head. His dress also was -of black, of a distinguishing plain richness and dignity. - -"Whither away, Ambassador?" she cried gaily at the sight of him. - -"To see to your principal's wound and that of the other whom your sword -countered in the trial bout!" - -"What? You saw?" said the Duchess, with a quick flush. - -"I am indeed privileged not to be blind," said Dessauer; "and never did -I see a sight that contented me more." - -"And you stood at the window saying in your heart (nay, do not deny it) -'unwomanly--bold--not like my lady the Princess of Plassenburg. She -would not thus ruffle in the courtyard with the men-at-arms!'" - -"I said no such thing," said the High Councillor. "I am an old man and -have seen many fair women, many sweet princesses, each perfect to their -lovers, some of them even perfect to their lords. But I have never -before seen a Duchess Joan of Hohenstein." - -"Ambassador," cried the girl, "if you speak thus and with that flash of -the eye, I shall have to bethink me whether you come not as an -ambassador for your own cause." - -"I would that I were forty years younger and a prince in my own right, -instead of a penniless old baron. Why, then, I would not come on any -man's errand--no, nor take a refusal even from your fair lips!" - -"I declare," said the Duchess Joan impetuously, "you should have no -refusal from me. You are the only man I have ever met who can speak of -love and yet be tolerable. It is a pity that my father left me the evil -heritage that I must wed the Prince of Courtland or lose my dominions!" - -At the sound of the name of her predestined husband a sudden flashing -thought seemed to wake in the girl's breast. - -"My lord," she said, "is it true that you go to Courtland after leaving -our poor eagle's nest up here on the cliffs of the Kernsberg?" - -Von Dessauer bowed, smiling at her. He was not too old to love beauty -and frankness in women. "It is true that I have a mission from my Prince -and Princess to the Prince of Courtland and Wilna. But----" - -Joan of the Sword clasped her hands and drew a long breath. - -"I would not ask it of any man in the world but yourself," she said, -"but will you let me go with you?" - -"My dear lady," said Dessauer, with swift deprecation, "to go with the -ambassador of another power to the court and palace of the man you are -to marry--that were a tale indeed, salt enough even for the Princes of -Ritterdom. As it is----" - -The Duchess looked across at Dessauer with great haughtiness. "As it is, -they talk more than enough about me already," she said. "Well--I know, -and care not. I am no puling maid that waits till she is authorised by -a conclave of the empire before she dares wipe her nose when she hath a -cold in the head. Joan of the Sword Hand cares not what any prince may -say--from yours of Plassenburg, him of the Red Axe, to the fat Margraf -George." - -"Oh, our Prince, he says naught, but does much," said Dessauer. "He hath -been a rough blade in his time, but Karl the Miller's son mellowed him, -and by now his own Princess hath fairly civilised him." - -"Well," said Joan of the Sword, with determination, "then it is settled. -I am coming with you to Courtland." - -A shade of anxiety passed over Dessauer's countenance. "My lady," he -answered, "you let me use many freedoms of speech with you. It is the -privilege of age and frailty. But let me tell you that the thing is -plainly foolish. Hardly under the escort of the Empress herself would it -be possible for you to visit, without scandal, the court of the Prince -of Courtland and Wilna. But in the train of an envoy of Plassenburg, -even if that ambassador be poor old Leopold von Dessauer, the thing, I -must tell you, is frankly impossible." - -"Well, I am coming, at any rate!" said Joan, as usual rejecting argument -and falling back upon assertion. "Make your count with that, friend of -mine, whether you are shocked or no. It is the penalty a respectable -diplomatist has to pay for cultivating the friendship of lone females -like Joan of Hohenstein." - -Von Dessauer held up his hands in horror that was more than half -affected. - -"My girl," he said, "I might be your grandfather, it is true, but do not -remind me of it too often. But if I were your great-great-grandfather -the thing you propose is still impossible. Think of what the Margraf -George and his chattering train would say!" - -"Think of what every fathead princeling and beer-swilling ritter from -here to Basel would say!" cried Joan, with her pretty nose in the air. -"Let them say! They will not say anything that I care the snap of my -finger for. And in their hearts they will envy you the experience--shall -we say the privilege?" - -"Nay, I thought not of myself, my lady," said Dessauer, "for an old man, -a mere anatomy of bones and parchment, I take strange pleasure in your -society--more than I ought, I tell you frankly. You are to me more than -a daughter, though I am but a poor baron of Plassenburg and the faithful -servant of the Princess Helene. It is for your own sake that I say you -cannot come to Wilna with me. Shall the future Princess of Courtland and -Wilna ride in the train of an ambassador of Plassenburg to the palace in -which she is soon to reign as queen?" - -"I said not that I would go as the Duchess," Joan replied, speaking low. -"You say that you saw me at the fight in the courtyard out there. If you -will not have the Duchess Joan von Hohenstein, what say you to the -Sparhawk's second, Johann the Squire?" - -Dessauer started. - -"You dare not," he said; "why, there is not a lady in the German land, -from Bohemia to the Baltic, that dares do as much." - -"Ladies," flashed Joan--"I am sick for ever of hearing that a lady must -not do this or that, go here or there, because of her so fragile -reputation. She may do needlework or embroider altar-cloths, but she -must not shoot with a pistolet or play with a sword. Well, I am a lady; -let him counter it who durst. And I cannot broider altar-cloths and I -will not try--but I can shoot with any man at the flying mark. She must -have a care for her honour, which (poor, feckless wretch!) will be -smirched if she speaks to any as a man speaks to his fellows. Faith! For -me I would rather die than have such an egg-shell reputation. I can care -for mine own. I need none to take up my quarrel. If any have a word to -say upon the repute of Joan of the Sword Hand--why, let him say it at -the point of her rapier." - -The girl stood up, tall and straight, her head thrown back as it were -at the world, with an exact and striking counterpart of the defiance of -the young Dane in the presence of his enemies an hour before. Dessauer -stood wavering. With quick tact she altered her tone, and with a soft -accent and in a melting voice she added, "Ah, let me come. I will make -such a creditable squire all in a suit of blue and silver, with just a -touch of nutty juice upon my face that my old nurse knows the secret -of." - -Still Dessauer stood silent, weighing difficulties and chances. - -"I tell you what," she cried, pursuing her advantage, "I will see the -man I am to marry as men see him, without trappings and furbelows. And -if you will not take me, by my faith! I will send Werner there, whom you -saw fight the Dane, as my own envoy, and go with him as a page. On the -honour of Henry the Lion, my father, I will do it!" - -Von Dessauer capitulated. "A wilful woman"--he smiled--"a wilful, wilful -woman. Well, I am not responsible for aught of this, save for my own -weakness in permitting it. It is a madcap freak, and no good will come -of it." - -"But you will like it!" she said. "Oh, yes, you will like it very much. -For, you see, you are fond of madcaps." - - - - -CHAPTER V - -JOHANN THE SECRETARY - - -Ten miles outside the boundary of the little hill state of Kernsberg, -the embassage of Plassenburg was met by another cavalcade bearing -additional instructions from the Princess Helene. The leader was a -slender youth of middle height, the accuracy of whose form gave evidence -of much agility. He was dark-skinned, of an olive complexion, and with -closely cropped black hair which curled crisply about his small head. -His eyes were dark and fine, looking straightly and boldly out upon all -comers. - -With him, as chiefs of his escort, were those two silent men Jorian and -Boris, who had, as it was reported, ridden to Plassenburg for -instructions. None of those who followed Dessauer had ever before set -eyes upon this youth, who came with fresh despatches, and, in -consequence, great was the consternation and many the surmises as to who -he might be who stood so high in favour with the Prince and Princess. - -But his very first words made the matter clear. - -"Your Excellency," he said to the Ambassador, "I bring you the most -recent instructions from their Highnesses Hugo and Helene of -Plassenburg. They sojourn for the time being in the city of Thorn, where -they build a new palace for themselves. I was brought from Hamburg to be -one of the master-builders. I have skill in plans, and I bring you these -for your approval and in order to go over the rates of cost with you, -as Treasurer of Plassenburg and the Wolfsmark." - -Dessauer took, with every token of deference, the sheaf of papers so -carefully enwrapt and sealed with the seal of Plassenburg. - -"I thank you for your diligence, good master architect," he said; "I -shall peruse these at my leisure, and, I doubt not, call upon you -frequently for explanations." - -The young man rode on at his side, modestly waiting to be questioned. - -"What is your name, sir?" asked Dessauer, so that all the escort might -hear. - -"I am called Johann Pyrmont," said the youth promptly, and with engaging -frankness; "my father is a Hamburg merchant, trading to the Spanish -ports for oil and wine, but I follow him not. I had ever a turn for -drawing and the art of design!" - -"Also for having your own way, as is common with the young," said the -Ambassador, smiling shrewdly. "So, against your father's will, you -apprenticed yourself to an architect?" - -The young man bowed. - -"Nay, sir," he said, "but my good father could deny me nothing on which -I had set my mind." - -"Not he," muttered Dessauer under his breath; "no, nor any one else -either!" - -So, bridle by jingling bridle, they rode on over the interminable plain -till Kernsberg, with its noble crown of towers, became first grey and -afterwards pale blue in the utmost distance. Then, like a tall ship at -sea, it sank altogether out of sight. And still they rode on through the -marshy hollows, round innumerable little wildfowl-haunted lakelets, and -so over the sandy, rolling dunes to the city of Courtland, where was -abiding the Prince of that rich and noble principality. - -It had been a favourite scheme of dead princes of Courtland to unite to -their fat acres and populous mercantile cities the hardy mountaineers -and pastoral uplands of Kernsberg. But though Wilna and Courtland were -infinitely more populous, the Eagle's Nest was ill to pull down, and -hitherto the best laid plans for their union had invariably fallen -through. But there had come to Joan's father, Henry called the Lion, and -the late Prince Michael of Courtland a better thought. One had a -daughter, the other a son. Neither was burdened with any law of -succession, Salic or other. They held their domains by the free tenure -of the sword. They could leave their powers to whomsoever they would, -not even the Emperor having the right to say, "What doest thou?" So with -that frank carelessness of the private feelings of the individual which -has ever distinguished great politicians, they decreed that, as a -condition of succession, their male and female heirs should marry each -other. - -This bond of Heritage-brotherhood, as it was called, had received the -sanction of the Emperor in full Diet, and now it wanted only that the -Duchess Joan of Hohenstein should be of age, in order that the provinces -might at last be united and the long wars of highland and lowland make -an end. - -The scheme had taken everything into consideration except the private -character of the persons principally affected, Prince Louis of Courtland -and the young Duchess Joan. - -As they came nearer to the ancient city of Courtland, it spread like a -metropolis before the eyes of the embassy of the Prince and Princess of -Plassenburg. The city stretched from the rock whereon the -fortress-palace was built, along a windy, irregular ridge. Innumerable -crow-stepped gables were set at right angles to the street. The towers -of the minster rose against the sky at the lower end, and far to the -southward the palace of the Cardinal Archbishop cast peaked shadows from -its many towers, walled and cinctured like a city within a city. - -It was a far-seen town this of Courtland, populous, prosperous, -defenced. Its clear and broad river was navigable for any craft of the -time, and already it threatened to equal if not to outstrip in -importance the free cities of the Hanseatic League--so far, at least, -as the trade of the Baltic was concerned. - -Courtland had long been considered too strong to be attacked, save from -the Polish border, while the adhesion of Kernsberg, and the drafting of -the Duchess's hardy fighting mountaineers into the lowland armies would -render the princedom safe for many generations. - -Pity it was that plans so far-reaching and purposes so politic should be -dependent upon the whims of a girl! - -But then it is just such whims that make the world interesting. - - * * * * * - -It was the last day of the famous tournament of the Black Eagle in the -princely city of Courtland. Prince Louis had sent out an escort to bring -in the travellers and conduct them with honour to the seats reserved for -them. The Ambassador and High Councillor of Plassenburg must be received -with all observance. He had, he gave notice, brought a secretary with -him. For so the young architect was now styled, in order to give him an -official position in the mission. - -The Prince had also sent a request that, as this was the day upon which -all combatants wore plain armour and jousted unknown, for that time -being the Ambassador should accept other escort and excuse him coming to -receive him in person. They would meet at dinner on the morrow, in the -great hall of the palace. - -The city was arrayed in flaming banners, some streaming high from the -lofty towers of the cathedral, while others (in streets into which the -wind came only in puffs) more languidly and luxuriously unfolded -themselves, as the Black Eagle on its ground of white everywhere took -the air. All over the city a galaxy of lighter silk and bunting, -pennons, bannerettes, parti-coloured streamers of the national colours -danced becking and bowing from window and roof-tree. - -Yet there was a curious silence too in the streets, as they rode towards -the lists of the Black Eagle, and when at last they came within hearing -of the hum of the thousands gathered there, they understood why the city -had seemed so unwontedly deserted. The Courtlanders surrounded the great -oval space of the lists in clustered myriads, and their eyes were bent -inwards. It was the crisis of the great _mêlée_. Scarcely an eye in all -that assembly was turned towards the strangers, who passed quite -unobserved to their reserved places in the Prince's empty box. Only his -sister Margaret, throned on high as Queen of Beauty, looked down upon -them with interest, seeing that they were men who came, and that one at -least was young. - -It was a gay and changeful scene. In the brilliant daylight of the lists -a hundred knights charged and recharged. Those who had been unhorsed -drew their swords and attacked with fury others of the enemy in like -case. The air resounded with the clashing of steel on steel. - -Fifty knights with white plumes on their helmets had charged fifty -wearing black, and the combat still raged. The shouts of the people rang -in the ears of the ambassador of Plassenburg and his secretary, as they -seated themselves and looked down upon the tide of combat over the -flower-draped balustrades of their box. - -"The blacks have it!" said Dessauer after regarding the _mêlée_ with -interest. "We have come in time to see the end of the fray. Would that -we had also seen the shock!" - -And indeed the Blacks seemed to have carried all before them. They were -mostly bigger and stronger built men, knights of the landward provinces, -and their horses, great solid-boned Saxon chargers, had by sheer weight -borne their way through the lighter ranks of the Baltic knights on the -white horses. - -Not more than half a dozen of these were now in saddle, and all over the -field were to be seen black knights receiving the submission of knights -whose broken spears and tarnished plumes showed that they had succumbed -in the charge to superior weight of metal. For, so soon as a knight -yielded, his steed became the property of his victorious foe, and he -himself was either carried or limped as best he could to the pavilion of -his party, there to remove his armour and send it also to the victor--to -whom, in literal fact, belonged the spoils. - -Of the half-dozen white knights who still kept up the struggle, one -shone pre-eminent for dashing valour. His charger surged hither and -thither through the crowd, his spear was victorious and unbroken, and -the boldest opponent thought it politic to turn aside out of his path. -Set upon by more than a score of riders, he still managed to evade them, -and even when all his side had submitted and he alone remained--at the -end of the lists to which he had been driven, he made him ready for a -final charge into the scarce broken array of his foes, of whom more than -twenty remained still on horseback in the field. - -But though his spear struck true in the middle of his immediate -antagonist's shield and his opponent went down, it availed the brave -white knight nothing. For at the same moment half a score of lances -struck him on the shield, on the breastplate, on the vizor bars of his -helmet, and he fell heavily to the earth. Nevertheless, scarcely had he -touched the ground when he was again on his feet. Sword in hand, he -stood for a moment unscathed and undaunted, while his foes, momentarily -disordered by the energy of the charge, reined in their steeds ere they -could return to the attack. - -"Oh, well ridden!" "Greatly done!" "A most noble knight!" These were the -exclamations which came from all parts of the crowd which surged about -the barriers on this great day. - -"I would that I were down beside him with a sword in my hand also!" said -the young architect, Master Johann Pyrmont, secretary of the embassage -of Plassenburg. - -"'Tis well you are where you are, madcap, sitting by an old man's side, -instead of fighting by that of a young one," growled Dessauer. "Else -then, indeed, the bent would be on fire." - -But at this moment the Princess Margaret, sister of the reigning Prince, -rose in her place and threw down the truncheon, which in such cases -stops the combat. - -"The black knights have won," so she gave her verdict, "but there is no -need to humiliate or injure a knight who has fought so well against so -many. Let the white knight come hither--though he be of the losing side. -His is the reward of highest honour. Give him a steed, that he may come -and receive the meed of bravest in the tourney!" - -The knights of the black were manifestly a little disappointed that -after their victory one of their opponents should be selected for -honour. But there was no appeal from the decision of the Queen of Love -and Beauty. For that day she reigned alone, without council or diet -imperial. - -The black riders had therefore to be contented with their general -victory, which, indeed, was indisputable enough. - -The white knight came near and said something in a low voice, unheard by -the general crowd, to the Princess. - -"I insist," she said aloud; "you must unhelm, that all may see the face -of him who has won the prize." - -Whereat the knight bowed and undid his helmet. A closely-cropped -fair-haired head was revealed, the features clearly chiselled and yet of -a grave and massive beauty, the head of a marble emperor. - -"My brother--you!" cried Margaret of Courtland in astonishment. - -The voice of the Princess had also something of disappointment in it. -Clearly she had wished for some other to receive the honour, and the -event did not please her. But it was otherwise with the populace. - -"The young Prince! The young Prince!" cried the people, surging -impetuously about the barriers. "Glory to the noble house of Courtland -and to the brave Prince." - -The Ambassador looked curiously at his secretary. That youth was -standing with eyes brilliant as those of a man in fever. His face had -paled even under its dusky tan. His lips quivered. He straightened -himself up as brave and generous men do when they see a deed of bravery -done by another, or like a woman who sees the man she loves publicly -honoured. - -"The Prince!" said Johann Pyrmont, in a voice hoarse and broken; "it is -the Prince himself." - -And on his high seat the State's Councillor, Leopold von Dessauer, -smiled well pleased. - -"This turns out better than I had expected," he muttered. "God Himself -favours the drunkard and the madcap. Only wise men suffer for their -sins--aye, and often for those of other people as well." - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -AN AMBASSADOR'S AMBASSADOR - - -After the tourney of the Black Eagle, Leopold von Dessauer had gone to -bed early, feeling younger and lighter than he had done for years. Part -of his scheme for these northern provinces of his fatherland consisted -in gradual substitution of a few strong states for many weak ones. For -this reason he smiled when he saw the eyes of his secretary shining like -stars. - -It would yet more have rejoiced him had he known how uneasy lay that -handsome head on its pillow. Aye, even in pain it would have pleasured -him. For Von Dessauer was lying awake and thinking of the strange -chances which help or mar the lives of men and women, when a sudden -sense of shock, a numbness spreading upwards through his limbs, the -rising of rheum to his eyes, and a humming in his ears, announced the -approach of one of those attacks to which he had been subject ever since -he had been wounded in a duel some years before--a duel in which his -present Prince and his late master, Karl the Miller's Son, had both been -engaged. - -The Ambassador called for Jorian in a feeble voice. That light-sleeping -soldier immediately answered him. He had stretched himself out, wrapped -in a blanket for all covering, on the floor of the antechamber in -Dessauer's lodging. In a moment, therefore, he presented himself at the -door completely dressed. A shake and a half-checked yawn completed his -inexpensive toilet, for Jorian prided himself on not being what he -called "a pretty-pretty captainet." - -"Your Excellency needs me?" he said, standing at the salute as if it had -been the morning guard changing at the palace gate. - -"Give me my case of medicine," said the old man; "that in the bag of -rough Silesian leather. So! I feel my old attack coming upon me. It will -be three days before I can stir. Yet must these papers be put in the -hands of the Prince early this morning. Ah, there is my little Johann; I -was thinking about her--him, I mean. Well, he shall have his chance. -This foul easterly wind may yet blow us all good!" - -He made a wry face as a twinge of pain caught him. It passed and he -resumed. - -"Go, Jorian," he said, "tap light upon his chamber door. If he chance to -be in the deep sleep of youth and health--not yet distempered by thought -and love, by old age and the eating of many suppers--rap louder, for I -must see him forthwith. There is much to set in order ere at nine -o'clock he must adjourn to the summer palace to meet the Prince." - -So in a trice Jorian was gone and at the door of the -architect-secretary, he of the brown skin and Greekish profile. - -Johann Pyrmont was, it appeared, neither in bed nor yet asleep. Instead, -he had been standing at the window watching the brighter stars swim up -one by one out of the east. The thoughts of the young man were happy -thoughts. At last he was in the capital city of the Princes of -Courtland. His many days' journey had not been in vain. Almost in the -first moment he had seen the noble youthful Prince and his sister, and -he was prepared to like them both. Life held more than the preparation -of plans and the ordering of bricklayers at their tasks. There was in -it, strangely enough, a young man with closely cropped head whom Johann -had seen storm through the ranks of the fighting-men that day, and -afterwards receive the guerdon of the bravest. - -Though what difference these things made to an architect of Hamburg town -it was difficult (on the face of things) to perceive. Nevertheless, he -stood and watched the east. It was five of a clear autumnal morning, and -a light chill breath blew from the point at which the sun would rise. - -A pale moon in her last quarter was tossed high among the stars, as if -upborne upon the ebbing tide of night. Translucent greyness filled the -wide plain of Courtland, and in the scattered farms all about the -lights, which signified early horse-tending and the milking of kine, -were already beginning to outrival the waning stars. Orion, with his -guardian four set wide about him, tingled against the face of the east, -and the electric lamp of Sirius burnt blue above the horizon. The -lightness and the hope of breathing morn, the scent of fields half -reaped, the cool salt wind from off the sea, filled the channels of the -youth's life. It was good to be alive, thought Johann Pyrmont, architect -of Hamburg, or otherwise. - -Jorian rapped low, with more reverence than is common from captains to -secretaries of legations. The young man was leaning out of the window -and did not hear. The ex-man-at-arms rapped louder. At the sound Johann -Pyrmont clapped his hand to the hip where his sword should have been. - -"Who is there?" he asked, turning about with keen alertness, and in a -voice which seemed at once sweeter and more commanding than even the -most imperious master-builder would naturally use to his underlings. - -"I--Jorian! His Excellency is taken suddenly ill and bade me come for -you." - -Immediately the secretary opened the door, and in a few seconds stood at -the old man's bedside. - -Here they talked low to each other, the young man with his hand laid -tenderly on the forehead of his elder. Only their last words concern us -at present. - -"This will serve to begin my business and to finish yours. Thereafter -the sooner you return to Kernsberg the better. Remember the moon cannot -long be lost out of the sky without causing remark." - -The young man received the Ambassador's papers and went out. Dessauer -took a composing draught and lay back with a sigh. - -"It is humbling," he said to Jorian, "that to compose young wits you -must do it through the heart, but in the case of the old through the -stomach." - -"'Tis a strange draught _he_ hath gotten," said the soldier, indicating -the door by which the secretary had gone forth. "If I be not mistaken, -much water shall flow under bridge ere his sickness be cured." - -As soon as he had reached his own chamber Johann laid the papers upon -the table without glancing at them. He went again to the window and -looked across the city. During his brief absence the stars had thinned -out. Even the moon was now no brighter than so much grey ash. But the -east had grown red and burned a glorious arch of cool brightness, with -all its cloud edges teased loosely into fretted wisps and flakes of -changeful fire. The wind began to blow more largely and statedly before -the coming of the sun. Johann drew a long breath and opened wide both -halves of the casement. - -"To-day I shall see the Prince!" he said. - -It was exactly nine of the clock when he set out for the palace. He was -attired in the plain black dress of a secretary, with only the narrowest -corded edge and collar of rough-scrolled gold. The slimness of his waist -was filled in so well that he looked no more than a well-grown, -clean-limbed stripling of twenty. A plain sword in a scabbard of black -leather was belted to his side, and he carried his papers in his hand -sealed with seals and wrapped carefully about with silken ties. Yet, for -all this simplicity, the eyes of Johann Pyrmont were so full of light, -and his beauty of face so surprising, that all turned to look after him -as he went by with a free carriage and a swing to his gait. - -Even the market girls ran together to gaze after the young stranger. -Maids of higher degree called sharply to each other and crowded the -balconies to look down upon him. But through the busy morning tumult of -the streets Johann Pyrmont walked serene and unconscious. Was not he -going to the summer palace to see the Prince? - -At the great door of the outer pavilion he intimated his desire to the -officer in charge of the guard. - -"Which Prince?" said the officer curtly. - -"Why," answered the secretary, with a glad heart, "there is but one--he -who won the prize yesterday at the tilting!" - -"God's truth!--And you say true!" ejaculated the guardsman, starting. -"But who are you who dares blurt out on the steps of the palace of -Courtland that which ordinary men--aye, even good soldiers--durst -scarcely think in their own hearts?" - -"I am secretary of the noble Ambassador of Plassenburg, and I come to -see the Prince!" - -"You are a limber slip to be so outspoken," said the man; "but remember -that you could be right easily broken on the wheel. So have a care of -those slender limbs of yours. Keep them for the maids of your -Plassenburg!" - -And with the freedom of a soldier he put his hand about the neck of -Johann Pyrmont, laying it upon his far shoulder with the easy -familiarity of an elder, who has it in his power to do a kindness to a -younger. Instinctively Johann slipped aside his shoulder, and the -officer's hand after hanging a moment suspended in the air, fell to his -side. The Courtlander laughed aloud. - -"What!" he cried, "is my young cock of Plassenburg so mightily -particular that he cannot have an honest soldier's hand upon his -shoulder?" - -"I am not accustomed," said Johann Pyrmont, with dignity, "to have men's -hands upon my shoulder. It is not our Plassenburg custom!" - -The soldier laughed a huge earth-shaking laugh of merriment. - -"Faith!" he cried, "you are early begun, my lad, that men's hands are -so debarred. 'Not our custom!' says he. Why, I warrant, by the fashion -of your countenance, that the hands of ladies are not so unwelcome. Ha! -you blush! Here, Paul Strelitz, come hither and see a young gallant that -blushes at a word, and owns that he is more at home with ladies than -with rough soldiers." - -A great bearded Bor-Russian came out of the guard-room, stretching -himself and yawning like one whose night has been irregular. - -"What's ado?--what is't, that you fret a man in his beauty-sleep?" he -said. "Oh, this young gentleman! Yes, I saw him yesterday, and the -Princess Margaret saw him yesterday, too. Does he go to visit her so -early this morning? He loses no time, i' faith! But he had better keep -out of the way of the Wasp, if the Princess gives him many of those -glances of hers, half over her shoulder--you know her way, Otto." - -At this the first officer reiterated his jest about his hand on Johann's -shoulder, being of that mighty faction which cannot originate the -smallest joke without immediately wearing it to the bone. - -The secretary began to be angry. His temper was not long at the longest. -He had not thought of having to submit to this when he became a -secretary. - -"I am quite willing, sir captain," he said, with haughty reserve, "that -your hand should be--where it ought to be--on your sword handle. For in -that case my hand will also be on mine, and very much at your service. -But in my country such liberties are not taken between strangers!" - -"What?" cried Otto the guardsman, "do men not embrace one another when -they meet, and kiss each other on either cheek at parting? How then, so -mighty particular about hands on shoulders? Answer me that, my young -secretary." - -"For me," said Johann, instantly losing his head in the hotness of his -indignation, "I would have you know that I only kiss ladies, or permit -them to kiss me!" - -The Courtlander and the Bor-Russian roared unanimously. - -"Is he not precious beyond words, this youngling, eh, Paul Strelitz?" -cried the first. "I would we had him at our table of mess. What would -our commander say to that? How he would gobble and glower? 'As for me, I -only kiss ladies!' Can you imagine it, Paul?" - -But just then there came a clatter of horse's hoofs across the wide -spaces of the palace front, into which the bright forenoon sun was now -beating, and a lady of tall figure and a head all a-ripple with sunny, -golden curls dashed up at a canter, the stones spraying forward and -outward as she reined her horse sharply with her hands low. - -"The Princess Margaret!" said the first officer. "Stand to it, Paul. Be -a man, secretary, and hold your tongue." - -The two officers saluted stiffly, and the lady looked about for some one -to help her to descend. She observed Johann standing, still haughtily -indignant, by the gate. - -"Come hither!" she said, beckoning with her finger. - -"Give me your hand!" she commanded. - -The secretary gave it awkwardly, and the Princess plumped rather sharply -to the ground. - -"What! Do they not teach you how to help ladies to alight in -Plassenburg?" queried the Princess. "You accompany the new ambassador, -do you not?" - -"You are the first I ever helped in my life," said Johann simply. -"Mostly----" - -"What! I am the first? You jest. It is not possible. There are many -ladies in Plassenburg, and I doubt not they have noted and distinguished -a handsome youth like you." - -The secretary shook his head. - -"Not so," he said, smiling; "I have never been so remarked by any lady -in Plassenburg in my life." - -The Courtlander, standing stiff at the salute, turned his head the -least fraction of an inch towards Paul Strelitz the Bor-Russian. - -"He sticks to it. Lord! I wish that I could lie like that! I would make -my fortune in a trice," he muttered. "'As for me, I only kiss ladies!' -Did you hear him, Paul?" - -"I hear him. He lies like an archbishop--a divine liar," muttered the -Bor-Russian under his breath. - -"Well, at any rate," said the Princess, never taking her eyes off the -young man's face, "you will be good enough to escort me to the Prince's -room." - -"I am going there myself," said the secretary curtly. - -"Certainly they do not teach you to say pretty things to ladies," -answered the Princess. "I know many that could have bettered that speech -without stressing themselves. Yet, after all, I know not but I like your -blunt way best!" she added, after a pause, again smiling upon him. - -As she took the young man's arm, a cavalier suddenly dashed up on a -smoking horse, which had evidently been ridden to his limit. He was of -middle size, of a figure exceedingly elegant, and dressed in the highest -fashion. He wore a suit of black velvet with yellow points and narrow -braidings also of yellow, a broad golden sash girt his waist, his face -was handsome, and his mustachios long, fierce, and curling. His eye -glittered like that of a snake, with a steady chill sheen, unpleasant to -linger upon. He swung from his horse, casting the reins to the nearest -soldier, who happened to be our Courtland officer Otto, and sprang up -the steps after the Princess and her young escort. - -"Princess," he said hastily, "Princess Margaret, I beg your pardon most -humbly that I have been so unfortunate as to be late in my attendance -upon you. The Prince sent for me at the critical moment, and I was bound -to obey. May I now have the honour of conducting you to the summer -parlour?" - -The Princess turned carelessly, or rather, to tell it exactly, she -turned her head a little back over her shoulder with a beautiful gesture -peculiar to herself. - -"I thank you," she said coldly, "I have already requested this gentleman -to escort me. I shall not need you, Prince Ivan." - -And she went in, bending graciously and even confidingly towards the -secretary, on whose arm her hand reposed. - -The cavalier in banded yellow stood a moment with an expression on his -face at once humorous and malevolent. - -He gazed after the pair till the door swung to and they disappeared. -Then he turned bitterly towards the nearest officer. - -"Tell me," he said, "who is the lout in black, that looks like a -priest-cub out for a holiday?" - -"He is the secretary of the embassy of Plassenburg," said Otto the -guardsman, restraining a desire to put his information in another form. -He did not love this imperious cavalier; he was a Courtlander and -holding a Muscovite's horse. The conjunction brought something into his -throat. - -"Ha," said the young man in black and yellow, still gazing at the closed -door, "I think I shall go into the rose-garden; I may have something -further to say to the most honourable the secretary of the embassy of -Plassenburg!" And summoning the officer with a curt monosyllable to -bring his horse, he mounted and rode off. - -"I wonder he did not give me a silver groat," said the Courtlander. "The -secretary sparrow may be dainty and kiss only ladies, but this Prince of -Muscovy has not pretty manners. I hope he does not marry the Princess -after all." - -"Not with her goodwill, I warrant," said Paul Strelitz; "either you or I -would have a better chance, unless our Prince Ludwig compel her to it -for the good of the State!" - -"Prince Wasp seemed somewhat disturbed in his mind," said the -Courtlander, chuckling. "I wish I were on guard in the rose-garden to -see the meeting of Master Prettyman and his Royal Highness the Hornet of -Muscovy!" - -[Illustration: "He gazed after the pair till the door swung to." -[_Page 46_]] - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -H.R.H. THE PRINCESS IMPETUOSITY - - -The Princess Margaret spoke low and confidentially to the secretary of -embassy as they paced along. Johann Pyrmont felt correspondingly -awkward. For one thing, the pressure of the Princess's hand upon his arm -distracted him. He longed to have her on his other side. - -"You are noble?" she said, with a look down at him. - -"Of course!" said the secretary quickly. The opposite had never occurred -to him. He had not considered the pedigree of travelling merchants or -Hamburg architects. - -The Princess thought it was not at all of course, but continued-- - -"I understand--you would learn diplomacy under a man so wise as the High -Councillor von Dessauer. I have heard of such sacrifices. My brother, -who is very learned, went to Italy, and they say (though he only laughs -when I ask him) worked with his hands in one of the places where they -print the new sort of books instead of writing them. Is it not -wonderful?" - -"And he is so brave," said the secretary, whose interest suddenly -increased; "he won the tournament yesterday, did he not? I saw you give -him the crown of bay. I had not thought so brave a man could be learned -also." - -"Oh, my brother has all the perfections, yet thinks more of every -shaveling monk and unfledged chorister than of himself. I will introduce -you to him now. I am a pet of his. You will love him, too--when you -know him, that is!" - -"Devoutly do I hope so!" said the secretary under his breath. - -But the Princess heard him. - -"Of course you will," she said gaily; "I love him, therefore so will -you!" - -"An agreeable princess--I shall get on well with her!" thought Johann -Pyrmont. Then the attention of his companion flagged and she was silent -and distrait for a little, as they paced through courts and colonnades -which to the secretary seemed interminable. The Princess silently -indicated the way by a pressure upon his arm which was almost more than -friendly. - -"We walk well together," she said presently, rousing herself from her -reverie. - -"Yes," answered the secretary, who was thinking that surely it was a -long way to the summer parlour, where he was to meet the Prince. - -"I fear," said the Princess Margaret quaintly, "that you are often in -the habit of walking with ladies! Your step agrees so well with mine!" - -"I never walk with any others," the secretary answered without thought. - -"What?" cried the Princess, quickly taking away her hand, "and you swore -to me even now that you never helped a lady from her horse in your -life!" - -It was an _impasse_, and the secretary, recalled to himself, blushed -deeply. - -"I see so few ladies," he stammered, in a tremor lest he should have -betrayed himself. "I live in the country--only my maid----" - -"Heaven's own sunshine!" cried the Princess. "Have the pretty young men -of Plassenburg maids and tirewomen? Small wonder that so few of them -ever visit us! No blame that you stay in that happy country!" - -The secretary recovered his presence of mind rapidly. - -"I mean," he explained, "the old woman Bette, my nurse, who, though now -I am grown up, comes every night to see that I have all I want and to -fold my clothes. I have no other women about me." - -"You are sure that Bette, who comes for your clothes and to see that you -have all you want, is old?" persisted the Princess, keeping her eyes -sharply upon her companion. - -"She is so old that I never remember her to have been any younger," -replied the secretary, with an air of engaging candour. - -"I believe you," cried the outspoken Princess; "no one can lie with such -eyes. Strange that I should have liked you from the first. Stranger that -in an hour I should tell you so. Your arm!" - -The secretary immediately put his hand within the arm of the Princess -Margaret, who turned upon him instantly in great astonishment. - -"Is that also a Plassenburg custom?" she said sharply. "Was it old Bette -who taught you thus to take a lady's arm? It is otherwise thought of in -our ignorant Courtland!" - -The young man blushed and looked down. - -"I am sorry," he said; "it is a common fashion with us. I crave your -pardon if in aught I have offended." - -The Princess Margaret looked quizzically at her companion. - -"I' faith," she said, "I have ever had a curiosity about foreign -customs. This one I find not amiss. Do it again!" - -And with her own princessly hand she took Johann's slender brown fingers -and placed them upon her arm. - -"These are fitter for the pen than for the sword!" she said, a saying -which pleased the owner of them but little. - -The Courtlander Otto, who had been on guard at the gate, had meantime -been relieved, and now followed the pair through the corridors to the -summer palace upon an errand which he had speciously invented. - -At this point he stood astonished. - -"I would that Prince Wasp were here. We should see his sting. He is -indeed a marvel, this fellow of Plassenburg. Glad am I that he does not -know little Lenchen up in the Kaiser Platz. No one of us would have a -maid to his name, if this gamester abode in Courtland long and made the -running in this style!" - -The Princess and her squire now went out into the open air. For she had -led him by devious ways almost round the entire square of the palace -buildings. They passed into a thick avenue of acacias and yews, through -the arcades of which they walked silently. - -For the Princess was content, and the secretary afraid of making any -more mistakes. So he let the foreign custom go at what it might be -worth, knowing that if he tried to better it, ten to one a worse thing -might befall. - -"I have changed my mind," said the Princess, suddenly stopping and -turning upon her companion; "I shall not introduce you to my brother. If -you come from the Ambassador, you must have matters of importance to -speak of. I will rest me here in an arbour and come in later. Then, if -you are good, you shall perhaps be permitted to reconduct me to my -lodging, and as we go, teach me any other pleasant foreign customs!" - -The secretary bowed, but kept his eyes on the ground. - -"You do not say that you are glad," cried the Princess, coming -impulsively a step nearer. "I tell you there is not one youth----but no -matter. I see that it is your innocence, and I am not sure that I do not -like you the better for it." - -Behind an evergreen, Otto the Courtlander nearly discovered himself at -this declaration. - -"His innocence--magnificent Karl the Great! His Plassenburger's -innocence--God wot! He will not die of it, but he may be the death of -me. Oh, for the opinion of Prince Wasp of Muscovy upon such innocence." - -"Come," said the Princess, holding out her hands, "bid me goodbye as you -do in your country. There is the Prince my brother's horse at the door. -You must hasten, or he will be gone ere you do your message." - -At this the heart of the youth gave a great leap. - -"The Prince!" he cried, "he will be gone!" And would have bolted off -without a word. - -"Never mind the Prince--think of me," commanded the Princess, stamping -her foot. "Give me your hand. I am not accustomed to ask twice. Bid me -goodbye." - -With his eyes on the white charger by the door the secretary hastily -took the Princess by both hands. Then, with his mind still upon the -departing Prince, he drew her impulsively towards him, kissed her -swiftly upon both cheeks, and finished by imprinting his lips heartily -upon her mouth! - -Then, still with swift impulse and an ardent glance upward at the palace -front, he ran in the direction of the steps of the summer palace. - -The Princess Margaret stood rooted to the ground. A flush of shame, -anger, or some other violent emotion rose to her brow and stayed there. - -Then she called to mind the straightforward unclouded eyes, the clear -innocence of the youth's brow, and the smile came back to her lips. - -"After all, it is doubtless only his foreign custom," she mused. Then, -after a pause, "I like foreign customs," she added, "they are -interesting to learn!" - -Behind his tree the Courtlander stood gasping with astonishment, as well -he might. - -"God never made such a fellow," he said to himself. "Well might he say -he never kissed any but ladies. Such abilities were lost upon mere men. -An hour's acquaintance--nay, less--and he hath kissed the Princess -Margaret upon the mouth. And she, instead of shrieking and calling the -guard to have the insulter thrust into the darkest dungeon, falls to -musing and smiling. A devil of a secretary this! Of a certainty I must -have little Lenchen out of town!" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -JOHANN IN THE SUMMER PALACE - - -At the door of the summer palace not a soul was on guard. A great quiet -surrounded it. The secretary could hear the gentle lapping of the river -over the parapet, for the little pavilion had been erected overhanging -the water, and the leaves of the linden-trees rustled above. These last -were still clamorous with the hum of bees, whose busy wings gave forth a -sort of dull booming roar, comparable only to the distant noise of -breakers when a roller curls slowly over and runs league-long down the -sandy beach. - -It was with a beating heart that Johann Pyrmont knocked. - -"Enter!" said a voice within, with startling suddenness. - -And opening the door and grasping his papers, the secretary suddenly -found himself in the presence of the hero of the tournament. - -The Prince was standing by a desk covered with books and papers. In his -hand he held a quill, wherewith he had been writing in a great book -which lay on a shelf at his elbow. For a moment the secretary could not -reconcile this monkish occupation with his idea of the gallant -white-plumed knight whom he had seen flash athwart the lists, driving a -clean furrow through the hostile ranks with his single spear. - -But he remembered his sister's description, and looked at him with the -reverence of the time for one to whom all knowledge was open. - -"You have business with me, young sir?" said the Prince courteously, -turning upon the youth a regard full of dignity and condescension. The -knees of Johann Pyrmont trembled. For a full score of moments his tongue -refused its office. - -"I come," he said at last, "to convey these documents to the noble -Prince of Courtland and Wilna." He gained courage as he spoke, for he -had carefully rehearsed this speech to Dessauer. "I am acting as -secretary to the Ambassador--in lieu of a better. These are the -proposals concerning alliance between the realms proposed by our late -master, the Prince Karl, before his death; and now, it is hoped, to be -ratified and carried out between Courtland and Plassenburg under his -successors, the Princess Helene and her husband." - -The tall fair-haired Prince listened carefully. His luminous and steady -eyes seemed to pierce through every disguise and to read the truth in -the heart of the young architect-secretary. He took the papers from the -hand of Johann Pyrmont, and laid them on a desk beside him, without, -however, breaking the seals. - -"I will gladly take charge of such proposals. They do as much credit, I -doubt not, to the sagacity of the late Prince, your great master, as to -the kindness and good-feeling of our present noble rulers. But where is -the Ambassador? I had hoped to see High Councillor von Dessauer for my -own sake, as well as because of the ancient kindliness and -correspondence that there was between him and my brother." - -"His brother," thought the secretary. "I did not know he had a -brother--a lad, I suppose, in whom Dessauer hath an interest. He is ever -considerate to the young!" But aloud he answered, "I grieve to tell you, -my lord, that the High Councillor von Dessauer is not able to leave his -bed this morning. He caught a chill yesterday, either riding hither or -at the tourney, and it hath induced an old trouble which no leech has -hitherto been skilful enough to heal entirely. He will, I fear, be kept -close in his room for several days." - -"I also am grieved," said the Prince, with grave regret, seeing the -youth's agitation, and liking him for it. "I am glad he keeps the art to -make himself so beloved. It is one as useful as it is unusual in a -diplomatist!" - -Then with a quick change of subject habitual to the man, he said, "How -found you your way hither? The corridors are both confusing and -intricate, and the guards ordinarily somewhat exacting." - -The tall youth smiled. - -"I was in the best hands," he said. "Your sister, the Princess Margaret, -was good enough to direct me, being on her way to her own apartment." - -"Ah!" muttered the Prince, smiling as if he knew his sister, "this is -the way to the Princess's apartments, is it? The Moscow road to Rome, I -wot!" - -He said no more, but stood regarding the youth, whose blushes came and -went as he stood irresolute before him. - -"A modest lad," said the Prince to himself; "this ingenuousness is -particularly charming in a secretary of legation. I must see more of -him." - -Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. - -"Why, did I not hear that you came to us by way of Kernsberg?" he said. - -The blushes ceased and a certain pallor showed under the tan which -overspread the young man's face as the Prince continued to gaze fixedly -at him. He could only bow in assent. - -"Then, doubtless, you would see the Duchess Joan?" he continued. "Is she -very beautiful? They say so." - -"I do not think so. I never thought about it at all!" answered the -secretary. Suddenly he found himself plunged into deep waters, just as -he had seen the port of safety before him. - -The Prince laughed, throwing back his head a little. - -"That is surely a strange story to bring here to Courtland," he said, -"whither the lady is to come as a bride ere long! Especially strange to -tell to me, who----" - -"I ask your pardon," said Johann Pyrmont; "your Highness must bear with -me. I have never done an errand of such moment before, having mostly -spent my life among soldiers and ("he was on his guard now") in a -fortress. For diplomacy and word-play I have no skill--no, nor any -liking!" - -"You have chosen your trade strangely, then," smiled the Prince, "to -proclaim such tastes. Wherefore are you not a soldier?" - -"I am! I am!" cried Johann eagerly; "at least, as much as it is allowed -to one of my--of my strength to be." - -"Can you fence?" asked the Prince, "or play with the broad blade?" - -"I can do both!" - -"Then," continued his inquisitor, "you must surely have tried yourself -against the Duchess Joan. They say she has wonderful skill. Joan of the -Sword Hand, I have heard her called. You have often fenced with her?" - -"No," said the secretary, truthfully, "I have never fenced with the -Duchess Joan." - -"So," said the Prince, evidently in considerable surprise; "then you -have certainly often seen her fence?" - -"I have never seen the Duchess fence, but I have often seen others fence -with her." - -"You practise casuistry, surely," cried the Prince. "I do not quite -follow the distinction." - -But, nevertheless, the secretary knew that the difference existed. He -would have given all the proceeds and emoluments of his office to escape -at this moment, but the eye of the Prince was too steady. - -"I doubt not, young sir," he continued, "that you were one of the army -of admirers which, they say, continually surrounds the Duchess of -Hohenstein!" - -"Indeed, you are in great error, my lord," said Johann Pyrmont, with -much earnestness and obvious sincerity; "I never said one single word of -love to the Lady Joan--no, nor to any other woman!" - -"No," said a new voice from the doorway, that of the Princess Margaret, -"but doubtless you took great pleasure in teaching them foreign customs. -And I am persuaded you did it very well, too!" - -The Prince left his desk for the first time and came smilingly towards -his sister. As he stooped to kiss her hand, Johann observed that his -hair seemed already to be thin upon the top of his head. - -"He is young to be growing bald," he said to himself; "but, after all" -(with a sigh), "that does not matter in a man so noble of mien and in -every way so great a prince." - -The impulsive Princess Margaret scarcely permitted her hand to be -kissed. She threw her arms warmly about her brother's neck, and then as -quickly releasing him, she turned to the secretary, who stood -deferentially looking out at the window, that he might not observe the -meeting of brother and sister. - -"I told you he was my favourite brother, and that you would love him, -too," she said. "You must leave your dull Plassenburg and come to -Courtland. I, the Princess, ask you. Do you promise?" - -"I think I shall come again to Courtland," answered the secretary very -gravely. - -"This young man knows the Duchess Joan of Hohenstein," said the Prince, -still smiling quietly; "but I do not think he admires her very -greatly--an opinion he had better keep to himself if he would have a -quiet life of it in Courtland!" - -"Indeed," said the Princess brusquely. "I wonder not at it. I hear she -is a forward minx, and at any rate she shall never lord it over me. I -will run away with a dog-whipper first." - -"Your husband would have occasion for the exercise of his art, sister -mine!" said the Prince. "But, indeed, you must not begin by misliking -the poor young maid that will find herself so far from home." - -"Oh," cried the Princess, laughing outright, "I mislike her not a whit. -But there is no reason in the world why, because you are all ready to -fall down and worship, this young man or any other should be compelled -to do likewise." - -And right princess-like she looked as she pouted her proud little lips -and with her foot patted the polished oak. - -"But," she went on again to her brother, "your poor beast out there hath -almost fretted himself into ribands by this time. If you have done with -this noble youth, I have a fancy to hear him tell of the countries -wherein he has sojourned. And, in addition, I have promised to show him -the carp in the ponds. You have surely given him a great enough dose of -diplomatics and canon law by this time. You have, it seems to me, spent -half the day in each other's society." - -"On the contrary," returned the Prince, smiling again, but going towards -the desk to put away the papers which Dessauer's secretary had -brought--"on the contrary, we talked almost solely about women--a -subject not uncommon when man meets man." - -"But somewhat out of keeping with the dignity of your calling, my -brother!" said the Princess pointedly. - -"And wherefore?" he said, turning quickly with the papers still in his -hand. "If to guide, to advise, to rule, are of my profession, surely to -speak of women, who are the more important half of the human race, -cannot be foreign to my calling!" - -"Come," she said, hearing the words without attending to the sense, "I -also like things foreign. The noble secretary has promised to teach me -some more of them!" - -The tolerant Prince laughed. He was evidently accustomed to his sister's -whims, and, knowing how perfectly harmless they were, he never -interfered with them. - -"A good day to you," he said to the young man, by way of dismissal. "If -I do not see you again before you leave, you must promise me to come -back to the wedding of the Duchess Johanna. In that event you must do -me the honour to be my guest on that occasion." - -The red flooded back to Johann's cheek. - -"I thank you," he said, bowing; "I _will_ come back to the wedding of -the Duchess Joan." - -"And you promise to be my guest? I insist upon it," continued the kindly -Prince, willing to gratify his sister, who was smiling approval, "I -insist that you shall let me be your host." - -"I hope to be your guest, most noble Prince," said the secretary, -looking up at him quickly as he went through the door. - -It was a singular look. For a moment it checked and astonished the -Prince so much that he stood still on the threshold. - -"Where have I seen a look like that before?" he mused, as he cast his -memory back into the past without success. "Surely never on any man's -face?" - -Which, after all, was likely enough. - -Then putting the matter aside as curious, but of no consequence, the -Prince rode away towards that part of the city from which the towers of -the minster loomed up. A couple of priests bowed low before him as he -passed, and the people standing still to watch his broad shoulders and -erect carriage, said one to the other, "Alas! alas! the truest Prince of -them all--to be thus thrown away!" - -And these were the words which the secretary heard from a couple of -guards who talked at the gate of the rose-garden, as they, too, stood -looking after the Prince. - -"Wait," said Johann Pyrmont to himself; "wait, I will yet show them -whether he is thrown away or not." - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE ROSE GARDEN - - -The rose garden of the summer palace of Courtland was a paradise made -for lovers' whisperings. Even now, when the chills of autumn had begun -to blow through its bowers, it was over-clambered with late-blooming -flowers. Its bowers were creeper-tangled. Trees met over paths bedded -with fallen petals, making a shade in sunshine, a shelter in rain, and -delightful in both. - -It was natural that so fair a Princess, taking such a sudden fancy to a -young man, should find her way where the shade was deepest and the -labyrinth most entangled. - -But this secretary Johann of ours, being creditably hard of heart, would -far rather have hied him straight back to old Dessauer with his news. -More than anything he desired to be alone, that he might think over the -events of the morning. - -But the Princess Margaret had quite other intentions. - -"Do you know," she began, "that I might well have lodged you in a -dungeon cell for that which in another had been dire insolence?" - -They were pacing a long dusky avenue of tall yew-trees. The secretary -turned towards her the blank look of one whose thoughts have been far -away. But the Princess rattled on, heedless of his mood. - -"Nevertheless, I forgive you," she said; "after all, I myself asked you -to teach me your foreign customs. If any one be to blame, it is I. But -one thing I would impress upon you, sir secretary: do not practise -these outland peculiarities before my brothers. Either of them might -look with prejudice upon such customs being observed generally -throughout the city. I came back chiefly to warn you. We do not want -that handsome head of yours (which I admit is well enough in its way, -as, being a man, you are doubtless aware) to be taken off and stuck on a -pole over the Strasburg Gate!" - -It was with an effort that the secretary detached himself sufficiently -from his reveries upon the interview in the summer palace to understand -what the Princess was driving at. - -"All this mighty pother, just because I kissed her on the cheek," he -thought. "A Princess of Courtland is no such mighty thing--and why -should I not?--Oh, of course, I had forgotten again. I am not now the -person I was." - -But how can we tell with what infinite condescension the Princess took -the young man's hand and read his fortune, dwelling frowningly on the -lines of love and life? - -"You have too pretty a hand for a man," she said; "why is it hard here -and here?" - -"That is from the sword grip," said the secretary, with no small pride. - -"Do you, then, fence well? I wish I could see you," she cried, clapping -her hands. "How splendid it would be to see a bout between you and -Prince Wasp--that is, the Prince Ivan of Muscovy, I mean. He is a great -fencer, and also desires to be a great friend of mine. He would give -something to be sitting here teaching me how they take hands and bid -each other goodbye in Bearland. They rub noses, I have heard say, a -custom which, to my thinking, would be more provocative than -satisfactory. I like your Plassenburg fashion better." - -Whereat, of course there was nothing for it but that the secretary -should arouse himself out of his reverie and do his part. If the -Princess of Courtland chose to amuse herself with him, well, it was -harmless on either side--even more so than she knew. Soon he would be -far away. Meanwhile he must not comport himself like a puking fool. - -"I think in somewise it were possible to improve upon the customs even -of Plassenburg," said the Princess Margaret, after certain experiments; -"but tell me, since you say that we are to be friends, and I have -admitted your plea, what is your fortune? Nay, do you know that I do not -even know your name--at least, not from your own lips." - -For, headlong as she had proved herself in making love, yet a vein of -Baltic practicality was hidden beneath the princess's impetuosity. - -"My father was the Count von Löen, and I am his heir!" said the -secretary carefully; "but I do not usually call myself so. There are -reasons why I should not." - -Which there were, indeed--grave reasons, too. - -"Then you are the Count von Löen?" said the Princess. "I seem to have -heard that name somewhere before. Tell me, are you the Count von Löen?" - -"I am certainly the heir to that title," said the secretary, grilling -within and wishing himself a thousand miles away. - -"I must go directly and tell my brother. He will be back from the -cathedral by this time. I am sure he did not know. And the estates--a -little involved, doubtless, like those of most well-born folk in these -ill days? Are they in your sole right?" - -"The estates are extensive. They are not encumbered so far as I know. -They are all in my own right," explained the newly styled Count with -perfect truth. But within he was saying, "God help me! I get deeper and -deeper. What a whirling chaos a single lie leads one into! Heaven give -me speedy succour out of this!" And as he thought of his troubles, the -noble count, the swordsman, the learned secretary, could scarce restrain -a desire to break out into hysterical sobbing. - -A new thought seemed to strike the Princess as he was speaking. - -"But so young, so handsome," she murmured, "so apt a pupil at love!" -Then aloud she said, "You are not deceiving me? You are not already -betrothed?" - -"Not to any woman!" said the deceitful Count, picking his words with -exactness. - -The gay laugh of the Princess rang out prompt as an echo. - -"I did not expect you to be engaged to a man!" she cried. "But now -conduct me to the entrance of my chambers" (here she reached him her -hand). "I like you," she added frankly, looking at him with unflinching -eyes. "I am of the house of Courtland, and we are accustomed to say what -we think--the women of us especially. And sooner than carry out this -wretched contract and marry the Prince Wasp, I will do even as I said to -my brother, I will run away and wed a dog-whipper! But perhaps I may do -better than either!" she said in her heart, nodding determinedly as she -looked at the handsome youth before her, who now stood with his eyes -downcast upon the ground. - -They were almost out of the yew-tree walk, and the voice of the Princess -carried far, like that of most very impulsive persons. It reached the -ears of a gay young fashionable, who had just dismounted at the gate -which led from the rose garden into the wing of the palace inhabited by -the Princess Margaret and her suite. - -"Now," said the Princess, "I will show you how apt a pupil I make. Tell -me whether this is according to the best traditions of Plassenburg!" And -taking his face between her hands she kissed him rapidly upon either -cheek and then upon the lips. - -"There!" she said, "I wonder what my noble brothers would say to that! I -will show them that Margaret of Courtland can choose both whom she will -kiss and whom she will marry!" - -And flashing away from him like a bright-winged bird she fled upward -into her chambers. Then, somewhat dazed by the rapid succession of -emotions, Johann the Secretary stepped out of the green gloom of the -yew-tree walk into the broad glare of the September sun and found -himself face to face with Prince Wasp. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -PRINCE WASP - - -Now Ivan, Prince of Muscovy, had business in Courtland very clear and -distinct. He came to woo the Princess Margaret, which being done, he -wished to be gone. There was on his side the certainty of an excellent -fortune, a possible succession, and, in any case, a pretty and wilful -wife. But as he thought on that last the Wasp smiled to himself. In -Moscow there were many ways, once he had her there, of taming the most -wilful of wives. - -As to the inheritance--well, it was true there were two lives between; -but one of these, in Prince Ivan's mind, was as good as nought, and the -other----In addition, the marriage had been arranged by their several -fathers, though not under the same penalty as that which threatened the -Prince of Courtland and Joan Duchess of Hohenstein. - -Prince Wasp had not favourably impressed the family at the palace. His -manners had the strident edge and blatant self-assertion of one who, -unlicensed at home, has been flattered abroad, deferred to everywhere, -and accustomed to his own way in all things. Nevertheless, Ivan had -managed to make himself popular with the townsfolk, on account of the -largesse which he lavished and the custom which his numerous suite -brought to the city. Specially, he had been successful in attaching the -rabble of the place to his cause; and already he had headed off two -other wooers who had come from the south to solicit the smiles of the -Princess Margaret. - -"So," he said, as he faced the secretary, now somewhat compositely -styled--Johann, Count von Löen, "so, young springald, you think to court -a foolish princess. You play upon her with your pretty words and -graceful compliments. That is an agreeable relaxation enough. It passes -the time better than fumbling with papers in front of an escritoire. -Only--you have in addition to reckon with me, Ivan, hereditary Prince of -Muscovy." - -And with a sweep of his hand across his body he drew his sword from its -sheath. - -The sword of the young secretary came into his hand with equal -swiftness. But he answered nothing. A curious feeling of detachment -crept over him. He had held the bare sword before in presence of an -enemy, but never till now unsupported. - -"I do you the honour to suppose you noble," said Prince Wasp, "otherwise -I should have you flogged by my lacqueys and thrown into the town ditch. -I have informed you of my name and pretensions to the hand of the -Princess Margaret, whom you have insulted. I pray you give me yours in -return." - -"I am called Johann, Count von Löen," answered the secretary as curtly -as possible. - -"Pardon the doubt which is in my mind," said the Prince of Muscovy, with -a black sneering bitterness characteristic of him, "but though I am well -versed in all the noble families of the north, and especially in those -of Plassenburg, where I resided a full year in the late Prince's time, I -am not acquainted with any such title." - -"Nevertheless, it is mine by right and by birthright," retorted the -secretary, "as I am well prepared to maintain with my sword in the -meantime. And, after, you can assure yourself from the mouth of the High -State's Councillor Dessauer that the name and style are mine. Your -ignorance, however, need not defer your chastisement." - -"Follow me, Count von Löen," said the Prince; "I am too anxious to deal -with your insolence as it deserves to quarrel as to names or titles, -legal or illegitimate. My quarrel is with your fascinating body and -prettyish face, the beauty of which I will presently improve with some -good Northland steel." - -And with his lithe and springy walk the Prince of Muscovy passed again -along the alleys of the rose garden till he reached the first open -space, where he turned upon the secretary. - -"We are arrived," he said; "our business is so pressing, and will be so -quickly finished, that there is no need for the formality of seconds. -Though I honour you by crossing my sword with yours, it is a mere -formality. I have such skill of the weapon, as I daresay report has told -you, that you may consider yourself dead already. I look upon your -chastisement no more seriously than I might the killing of a fly that -has vexed me with its buzzing. Guard!" - -But Johann Pyrmont had been trained in a school which permitted no such -windy preludes, and with the fencer's smile on his face he kept his -silence. His sword would answer all such boastings, and that in good -time. - -And so it fell out. - -From the very first crossing of the swords Prince Wasp found himself -opposed by a quicker eye, a firmer wrist, a method and science -infinitely superior to his own. His most dashing attack was repelled -with apparent ease, yet with a subtlety which interposed nothing but the -most delicate of guards and parries between Prince Ivan and victory. -This gradually infuriated the Prince, till suddenly losing his temper he -stamped his foot in anger and rushed upon his foe with the true -Muscovite fire. - -Then, indeed, had Johann need of all his most constant practice with the -sword, for the sting of the Wasp flashed to kill as he struck straight -at the heart of his foe. - -[Illustration: "The Prince staggered." [_Page 67_]] - -But lo! the blade was turned aside, the long-delayed answering thrust -glittered out, and the secretary's sword stood a couple of handbreadths -in the boaster's shoulder. - -With an effort Johann recovered his blade and stood ready for the -ripost; but the wound was more than enough. The Prince staggered, cried -out some unintelligible words in the Muscovite language, and pitched -forward slowly on his face among the trampled leaves and blown rose -petals of the palace garden. - -The secretary grew paler than his wont, and ran to lift his fallen -enemy. But, all unseen, other eyes had watched the combat, and from the -door by which they had entered, and from behind the trees of the -surrounding glade, there came the noise of pounding footsteps and fierce -cries of "Seize him! Kill him! Tear him to pieces! He has slain the good -Prince, the friend of the people! The Prince Ivan is dead!" - -And ere the secretary could touch the body of his unconscious foe, or -assure himself concerning his wound, he found himself surrounded by a -yelling crowd of city loafers and gallows'-rats, many of them rag-clad, -others habited in heterogeneous scraps of cast-off clothing, or articles -snatched from clothes-lines and bleaching greens--long-mourned, -doubtless, by the good wives of Courtland. - -The secretary eyed this unkempt horde with haughty scorn, and his -fearless attitude, as he striped his stained sword through his -handkerchief and threw the linen away, had something to do with the fact -that the rabble halted at the distance of half-a-dozen yards and for -many minutes contented themselves with hurling oaths and imprecations at -him. Johann Pyrmont kept his sword in his hand and stood by the body of -his fallen foe in disdainful silence till the arrival of fresh -contingents through the gate aroused the halting spirit of the crowd. -Knives and sword-blades began to gleam here and there in grimy hands -where at first there had been only staves and chance-snatched gauds of -iron. - -"At him! Down with him! He can only strike once!" These and similar -cries inspirited the rabble of Courtland, great haters of the -Plassenburg and the Teutonic west, to rush in and make an end. - -At last they did come on, not all together, but in irregular -undisciplined rushes. Johann's sword streaked out this way and that. -There was an answering cry of pain, a turmoil among the assailants as a -wounded man whirled his way backward out of the press. But this could -not last for long. The odds were too great. The droning roar of hate -from the edges of the crowd grew louder as new and ever newer accretions -joined themselves to its changing fringes. - -Then suddenly came a voice. "Back, on your lives, dogs and traitors! -Germans to the rescue! Danes, Teuts, Northmen to the rescue!" - -Following the direction of the sound, Johann saw a young man drive -through the press, his sword bare in his hand, his eyes glittering with -excitement. It was the Danish prisoner of the guard-hall at Kernsberg, -that same Sparhawk who had fought with Werner von Orseln. - -The crowd stared back and forth betwixt him and that other whom he came -to succour. Far more than ever his extraordinary likeness to the -secretary appeared. Apparent enough at any time, it was accentuated now -by similarity of clothing. For, like Johann Pyrmont, the Sparhawk was -attired in a black doublet and trunk hose of scholastic cut, and as they -stood back to back, little difference could be noted between them, save -that the newcomer was a trifle the taller. - -"Saint Michael and all holy angels!" cried the leader of the crowd, "can -it be that there are scores of these Plassenburg black crows in -Courtland, slaying whom they will? Here be two of them as like as two -peas, or a couple of earthen pipkins from the same potter's wheel!" - -The Dane flung a word over his shoulder to his companion. - -"Pardon me, your grace," said the Sparhawk, "if I stand back to back -with you. They are dangerous. We must watch well for any chance of -escape." - -The secretary did not answer to this strange style of address, but -placed himself back to back with his ally, and their two bright blades -waved every way. Only that of Johann Pyrmont was already reddened -well-nigh half its length. - -A second time the courage of the crowd worked itself up, and they came -on. - -"Death to the Russ, to the lovers of Russians!" cried the Sparhawk, and -his blade dealt thrusts right and left. But the pressure increased every -moment. Those behind cried, "Kill them!" For they were out of reach of -those two shining streaks of steel. Those before would gladly have -fallen behind, but could not for the forward thrust of their friends. -Still the ring narrowed, and the pair of gallant fighters would -doubtlessly have been swept away had not a diversion come to alter the -face of things. - -Out of the gate which led to the wing of the palace occupied by the -Princess Margaret burst a little company of halberdiers, at sight of -whom the crowd gave suddenly back. The Princess herself was with them. - -"Take all prisoners, and bring them within," she cried. "Well you know -that my brother is from home, or you dare not thus brawl in the very -precincts of the palace!" - -And at her words the soldiers advanced rapidly. A further diversion was -caused by the Sparhawk suddenly cleaving a way through the crowd and -setting off at full speed in the direction of the river. Whereupon the -rabble, glad to combine personal safety with the pleasures of the chase, -took to their heels after him. But, light and unexpected in motion as -his namesake, the Sparhawk skimmed down the alleys, darted sideways -through gates which he shut behind him with a clash of iron, and finally -plunged into the green rush of the Alla, swimming safe and unhurt to the -further shore, whither, in the absence of boats at this particular spot, -none could pursue him. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE KISS OF THE PRINCESS MARGARET - - -The Princess and her guard were left alone with the secretary and the -unconscious body of the Prince of Muscovy. - -"Sirrah," she cried severely to the former, "is this the first use you -make of our hospitality, thus to brawl in the street underneath my very -windows with our noble guest the Prince Ivan? Take him to my brother's -room, and keep him safely there to await our lord's return. We shall see -what the Prince will say to this. And as for this wounded man, take him -to his own apartments, and let a surgeon be sent to him. Only not in too -great a hurry!" she added as an afterthought to the commander of her -little company of palace guards. - -So, merely detailing half a dozen to carry the Prince to his chambers, -the captain of the guard conducted the secretary to the very room in -which an hour before he had met the brother of the Princess. Here he was -confined, with a couple of guards at the door. Nor had he been long shut -up before he heard the quick step of the Princess coming along the -passage-way. He could distinguish it a long way off, for the summer -palace was built mostly of wood, and every sound was clearly audible. - -"So," she said, as soon as the door was shut, "you have killed Prince -Wasp!" - -"I trust not," said the secretary gravely; "I meant only to wound him. -But as he attacked me I could not do otherwise than defend myself." - -"Tut," cried the Princess, "I hope you have killed him. It will be good -riddance, and most like the Muscovites will send an army--which, with -your Plassenburg to help us, will make a pretty fight. It serves him -right, in any event, for Prince Wasp must always be thrusting his sting -into honest folk. He will be none the worse for some of his own poison -applied at a rapier's point to keep him quiet for some few days." - -But Johann was not in a mood to relish the jubilation of the Princess. -He grew markedly uneasy in his mind. Every moment he anticipated that -the Prince would return. A trial would take place, and he did not know -what might not be discovered. - -The Princess Margaret delivered him from his anxiety. - -"The laws are strict against duelling," she continued. "The Prince Ivan -is in high favour with my elder brother, and it will be well that you -should be seen no more in Courtland--for the present, that is. But in a -little the Prince Wasp will die or he will recover. In either case the -affair will blow over. Then you will come back to teach me more foreign -customs." - -She smiled and held out her hand. Johann kissed it, perhaps without the -fervour which might have been expected from a brisk young man thus -highly favoured by the fairest and sprightliest of princesses. - -"To-night," she went on, "there will be a boat beneath that window. It -will be manned by those whom I can trust. A ladder of rope will be -thrown to your casement. By it you will descend, and with a good horse -and a sufficient escort you can ride either to Plassenburg--or to -Kernsberg, which is nearer, and tell Joan of the Sword Hand that her -sister the Princess Margaret sends you to her. I will give you a letter -to the minx, though I am sure I shall not like her. She is so forward, -they say. But be ready at the hour of midnight. Who was that youth who -fled as we came up?" - -"A Danish knight who came hither in our train from Kernsberg," replied -Johann. "But for him I should have been lost indeed!" - -"I must have a horse also for him!" cried the Princess. "He will surely -be on the watch and join you, knowing that his danger is as great as -yours. Hearken--they are mourning for their precious Prince Wasp. -To-morrow they will howl louder if by good hap he goes home -to--purgatory!" - -And through the open windows came a sound of distant shoutings as they -carried the wounded Prince to his lodgings. - -"Now," said the Princess, "for the present fare you well--in the colder -fashion of Courtland this time, for the sake of the guards at the door. -But remember that you are more than ever plighted to me to be my -instructor, dear Count von Löen!" - -She went to the door, and with her fingers on the handle she turned her -about with a pretty vixenish expression. "I am so glad you stung the -Wasp. I love you for it!" she said. - -But after she had vanished with these words the secretary grew more and -more downcast in spirit. Even this naïve declaration of affection failed -to cheer him. He sat down and gave himself up to the most melancholy -anticipations. - -At six a servitor silently entered with a well-chosen and beautifully -cooked meal, of which the secretary partook sparingly. At seven it grew -dark, and at ten all was quiet in the city. The river rushed swiftly -beneath, and the noise of it, as the water lapped against the -foundations of the summer palace, helped to disguise the sound of oars, -as the boat, a dark shadow upon greyish water, detached itself from the -opposite shore and approached the window from whose open casement Johann -Pyrmont looked out. - -[Illustration: "The Secretary found himself swaying over the dark -water." [_Page 75_]] - -A low whistle came from underneath, and presently followed the soft -reeving _whisk_ of a coil of rope as it passed through the window and -fell at his feet. The secretary looked about for something to fasten -it to, and finally decided upon the iron uprights of the great desk at -which the Prince had stood earlier in the day. - -No sooner was this done than Johann set his foot on the top round and -began to descend. It was with a sudden emptiness at the pit of the -stomach and a great desire to cry out for some one to hold the ladder -steady that the secretary found himself swaying over the dark water. The -boat seemed very far away, a mere spot of blackness upon the river's -face. - -But presently, and while making up his mind to practise the gymnastic of -rope ladders quietly at home, he made out a man holding the ladder, -while two others with grappled boat-hooks kept the boat steady fore and -aft. - -A shrouded figure sat in the stern. The secretary seemed rather to find -himself in a boat which rose swiftly to meet him than to descend into -it. He was handed from one to the other of the rowers till he reached -the shrouded figure in the stern, out of the folds of whose enveloping -cloak a small warm hand shot forth and pulled him down upon the seat. - -"Draw this corner about you, Count," a low voice whispered; and in -another moment Johann found himself under the shelter of one cloak with -that daring slip of nobility, the Princess Margaret of Courtland. - -"I was obliged to come; there is no danger. These fellows are of my -household and devoted to me. I did not dare to risk anything going -wrong. Besides, I am a princess, and--why need not I say it?--I wanted -to come. I wanted to see you again, though, indeed, there is small -chance of that in such a night. And 'tis as well, for I am sure my hair -is blown every way about my face." - -"The horses are over there," she added after a pause; "we are almost at -the shore now--alas, too quickly! But I must not keep you. I want you to -come back the sooner. And remember, if Prince Wasp gets better and -worries me too much, or my brother is unkind and insists upon marrying -me to the Bear, I will take one or two of these fellows and come to seek -you at Plassenburg, so make your reckoning with that, Sir Count von -Löen. As I said, what is the use of being a princess if you cannot marry -whom you will? Most, I know, marry whom they are told; but then they -have not the spirit of a Baltic weevil, let alone that of Margaret of -Courtland." - -They touched the shore almost at the place where the Sparhawk had landed -in the morning when he escaped from the city rabble, and a stone's-throw -further up the bank they found the horses waiting, ready caparisoned for -the journey. - -Two men were, by the Princess's orders, to accompany Johann. - -But with great thoughtfulness she had provided a fourth horse for the -companion who, equally with himself, was under the ban of the law for -wounding the lieges of the Prince of Courtland within the precincts of -the palace. - -"He cannot have gone far," said the Princess. "He would certainly -conceal himself till nightfall in the first convenient hiding-place. He -will be on the look-out for any chance to release you." - -And the event proved the wisdom of her prophecy. For as soon as he had -distinguished the slim figure of the secretary landing from the boat the -Sparhawk appeared on the crest of the hill, though for the moment he was -still unseen by those below. - -"Goodbye! For the present, goodbye, dear Princess," said Johann, with -his heart in his voice. "God knows, I can never thank or repay you. My -heart is heavy for that. I am unworthy of all your goodness. It is not -as you think----" - -He paused for words which might warn without revealing his secret; but -the Princess, never long silent, struck in. - -"Let there be no talk of parting except for the moment," she said. "Go, -you are my knight. Perhaps one day, if you do not forget me, I may be -yet far kinder to you!" - -And with a most tender kiss and a little sob the Princess sent her -lover, more and more downcast and discouraged by reason of her very -kindness, upon his way. So much did his obvious depression affect -Margaret of Courtland, that after the secretary, with one of the -men-at-arms leading the spare horse, had reached the top of the river -bank, she suddenly bade the rowers wait a moment before casting loose -from the land. - -"Your sword! Your sword!" she called aloud, risking any listener in her -eagerness; "you have forgotten your sword." - -Now it chanced that the Sparhawk had already come up with the little -party of travellers. He kissed the hand of Johann Pyrmont, placed him on -his beast, and was preparing to mount his steed with a glad heart, when -the voice from beneath startled him. - -"Do not trouble, I will bring the sword," said the Sparhawk to Johann, -with his usual impetuosity, putting the reins into the secretary's -hands. And without a moment's hesitation he flung himself down the bank. -The Princess had leaped nimbly ashore, and was standing with the -sheathed sword in her hand. - -When she saw the figure came bounding towards her down the pebbly bank, -she gave a little cry, and dropping the scabbard, threw her arms -impulsively about the Sparhawk's neck. - -"I could not let you go like that--without ever telling you that I loved -you--really, I mean," she whispered, while the youth stood petrified -with astonishment, without sound or motion. "I will marry none but -you--neither Prince Ivan nor another. A woman should not tell a man -that, I know, lest he despise her; but a princess may, if the man dare -not tell her." - - * * * * * - -"And what answered you?" asked the secretary of his companion, as they -rode together through the night out on their road to Kernsberg. - -"Why, I said nothing--speech was not needed," quoth the Dane coolly. - -"She kissed you?" - -"Well," said the Sparhawk, "I could not help that, could I?" - -"But what said you to that?" - -"Why, of course, I kissed her back again, as a man ought!" he made -answer. - -"Poor Princess," mused the secretary; "it is more than I could ever have -done for her!" Aloud he said, "But you do not love her--you had not seen -her before! Why then did you kiss her?" - -For these things are hidden from women. - -The Dane shrugged his shoulders in the dark. - -"Well, I take what the gods send," he replied. "She was a pretty girl, -and her Princess-ship made no difference in her kissing so far as I -could see. I serve you to the death, my Lady Duchess; but if a princess -loves me by the way--why, I am ready to indulge her to the limit of her -desirings!" - -"You are indeed an accommodating youth," sighed the secretary, and -forthwith returned to his own melancholy thoughts. - -And ever as they rode westward they heard all around them the rustle of -corn in the night wind. Stacks of hay shed a sweet scent momently -athwart their path, and more than once fruit-laden branches swept across -their faces. For they were passing through the garden of the Baltic, and -its fresh beauty was never fresher than on that September night when -these four rode out of Courtland towards the distant blue hills on which -was perched Kernsberg, built like an eagle's nest on a crag overfrowning -the wealthier plain. - -At the first boundaries of the group of little hill principalities the -two soldiers were dismissed, suitably rewarded by Johann, to carry the -news of safety back to their wayward and impulsive mistress. And -thence-forward the Sparhawk and the secretary rode on alone. - -At the little châlet among the hills where the Duchess Joan had so -suddenly disappeared they found two of her tire-maidens and an aged -nurse impatiently awaiting their mistress. To them entered that -composite and puzzling youth the ex-architect and secretary of the -embassy of Plassenburg, Johann, Count von Löen. And wonder of wonders, -in an hour afterwards Joan of the Sword Hand was riding eagerly towards -her capital city with her due retinue, as if she had merely been taking -a little summer breathing space at a country seat. - -Her entrance created as little surprise as her exit. For as to her exits -and entrances alike the Duchess consulted no man, much less any woman. -Werner von Orseln saluted as impassively as if he had seen his mistress -an hour before, and the acclamations of the guard rang out as cheerfully -as ever. - -Joan felt her spirits rise to be once more in her own land and among her -own folk. Nevertheless, there was a new feeling in her heart as she -thought of the day of her marriage, when the long-planned bond of -brotherhood-heritage should at last be carried out, and she should -indeed become the mistress of that great land into which she had -ventured so strangely, and the bride of the Prince--her Prince, the most -noble man on whom her eyes had ever rested. - -Then her thoughts flew to the Princess who had delivered her out of -peril so deadly, and her soul grew sick and sad within her, not at all -lest her adventure should be known. She cared not so much about that -now. (Perhaps some day she would even tell him herself when--well, -_after_!) - -But since she had ridden to Courtland, Joan, all untouched before, had -grown suddenly very tender to the smarting of another woman's heart. - -"It is in no wise my fault," she told herself, which in a sense was -true. - -But conscience, being a thing not subject to reason, dealt not a whit -the more easily with her on that account. - -It was six months afterwards that the Sparhawk, who had been given the -command of a troop of good Hohenstein lancers, asked permission to go -on a journey. - -He had been palpably restless and uneasy ever since his return, and in -spite of immediate favour and the prospect of yet further promotion, he -could not settle to his work. - -"Whither would you go?" asked his mistress. - -"To Courtland," he confessed, somewhat reluctantly, looking down at the -peaked toe of his tanned leather riding-boot. - -"And what takes you to Courtland?" said Joan; "you are in danger there. -Besides, even if you could, would you leave my service and engage with -some other?" - -"Nay, my lady," he burst out, "that will not I, so long as life lasts. -But--but the truth is"--he hesitated as he spoke--"I cannot get out of -my mind the Princess who kissed me in the dark. The like never happened -before to any man. I cannot forget her, do what I will. No, nor rest -till I have looked upon her face." - -"Wait," said Joan. "Only wait till the spring and it is my hap to ride -to Courtland for my marriage day. Then I promise you you shall see -somewhat of her--the Lord send that it be not more than enough!" - -So through many bitter winter days the Sparhawk abode at the castle of -Kernsberg, ill content. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -JOAN FORSWEARS THE SWORD - - -It was not in accordance with etiquette that two such nobly born -betrothed persons, to be allied for reasons of high State policy, should -visit each other openly before the day of marriage; but many letters and -presents had at various times come to Kernsberg, all bearing witness to -the lover-like eagerness of the Prince of Courtland and of his desire to -possess so fair a bride, especially one who was to bring him so coveted -a possession as the hill provinces of Kernsberg and Hohenstein. - -Amongst other things he had forwarded portraits of himself, drawn with -such skill as the artists of the Baltic at that time possessed, of a man -in armour, with a countenance of such wooden severity that it might -stand (as the Duchess openly declared) just as well for Werner, her -chief captain, or any other man of war in full panoply. - -"But," said Joan within herself, "what care I for armour black or armour -white? Mine eyes have seen--and my heart does not forget." - -Then she smiled and for a while forgot the coming inevitable -disappointment of the Princess Margaret, which troubled her much at -other times. - -The winter was unusually long and fierce in the mountains of Kernsberg -that year, and even along the Baltic shores the ice packed thicker and -the snow lay longer by a full month than usual. - -It was the end of May, and the full bursting glory of a northern -spring, when at last the bridal cavalcade wound down from the towers of -the Castle of Kernsberg. Four hundred riders there were, every man -arrayed like a prince in the colours of Hohenstein--four fairest maids -to be bridesmaids to their Duchess, and as many matrons of rank and -years to bring their mistress with dignity and discretion to her new -home. But the people and the rough soldiers openly mourned for Joan of -the Sword Hand. "The Princess of Courtland will not be the same thing!" -they said. - -And they were right, for since the last time she rode out Joan had -thought many thoughts. Could it be that she was indeed that reckless -maid who once had vowed that she would go and look once at the man her -father had bidden her marry, and then, if she did not like him, would -carry him off and clap him into a dungeon till he had paid a swinging -ransom? But the knight of the white plume, and the interview she had had -with a certain Prince in the summer palace of Courtland, had changed all -that. - -Now she would be sober, grave--a fit mate for such a man. Almost she -blushed to recall her madcap feats of only a year ago. - -As they approached the city, and each night brought them closer to the -great day, Joan rode more by herself, or talked with the young Dane, -Maurice von Lynar, of the Princess Margaret--without, however, telling -him aught of the rose garden or the expositions of foreign customs which -had preceded the duel with the Wasp. - -The heart of the Duchess beat yet faster when at last the day of their -entry arrived. As they rode toward the gate of Courtland they were aware -of a splendid cavalcade which came out to receive them in the name of -the Prince, and to conduct them with honour to the palace prepared for -them. - -In the centre of a brilliant company rode the Princess Margaret, in a -well-fitting robe of pale blue broidered with crimson, while behind and -about her was such a galaxy of the fashion and beauty of a court, that -had not Joan remembered and thought on the summer parlour and the man -who was waiting for her in the city, she had almost bidden her four -hundred riders wheel to the right about, and gallop straight back to -Kernsberg and the heights of rustic Hohenstein. - -At sight of the Duchess's party the Princess alighted from off her steed -with the help of a cavalier. At the same moment Joan of the Sword Hand -leaped down of her own accord and came forward to meet her new sister. - -The two women kissed, and then held each other at arm's length for the -luxury of a long look. - -The face of the Princess showed a trace of emotion. She appeared to be -struggling with some recollection she was unable to locate with -precision. - -"I hope you will be very happy with my brother," she faltered; then -after a moment she added, "Have you not perchance a brother of your -own?" - -But before Joan could reply the representative of the Prince had come -forward to conduct the bride-elect to her rooms, and the Princess gave -place to him. - -But all the same she kept her eyes keenly about her, and presently they -rested with a sudden brightness upon the young Dane, Maurice von Lynar, -at the head of his troop of horse. He was near enough for her to see his -face, and it was with a curious sense of strangeness that she saw his -eyes fixed upon herself. - -"He is different--he is changed," she said to herself; "but how--wait -till we get to the palace, and I shall soon find out!" - -And immediately she caused it to be intimated that all the captains of -troops and the superior officers of the escort of the Duchess Joan were -to be entertained at the palace of the Princess Margaret. - -So that at the moment when Joan was taking a first survey of her -chambers, which occupied one entire wing of the Palace of the Princes of -Courtland, Margaret the impetuous had already commanded the presence of -the Count von Löen, one of the commanders of the bridal escort. - -The young officer entrusted with the message returned almost -immediately, to find his mistress impatiently pacing up and down. - -"Well?" she said, halting at the upper end of the reception-room and -looking at him. - -"Your Highness," he said, "there is no Count von Löen among the officers -of Kernsberg!" - -Margaret of Courtland stamped her foot. - -"I expected as much," she said. "He shall pay for this. Why, man, I saw -him with my own eyes an hour ago--a young man, slender, sits erect in -his saddle, of a dark allure, and with eyes like those of an eagle." - -A flush came over the youth's face. - -"Does he look like the brother of the Duchess Joan?" he said. - -"That is the man--Count von Löen or no. That is the man, I tell you. -Bring him immediately to me." - -The young officer smiled. - -"Methinks he will come readily enough. He started forward as if to -follow me when first I told my message. But when I mentioned the name of -the Count von Löen he stood aside in manifest disappointment." - -"At all events, bring him instantly!" commanded the Princess. - -The officer bowed low and retired. - -The Princess Margaret smiled to herself. - -"It is some more of their precious State secrets," she said. "Well--I -love secrets, and I can keep them too; but only my own, or those that -are told to me. And I will make my gentleman pay for playing off his -Counts von Löen on me!" - -Presently she heard heavy footsteps approaching the door. - -"Come in--come in straightway," she said in a loud, clear voice; "I have -a word to speak with you, Sir Count--who yet deny that you are a count. -And, prithee, to how many silly girls have you taught the foreign -fashions of linked arms, and all that most pleasant ceremony of -leave-taking in Kernsberg and Plassenburg?" - -Then the Sparhawk had his long-desired view in full daylight of the -woman whose lips, touched once under cloud of night, had dominated his -fancy and enslaved his will during all the weary months of winter. - -Also he had before him, though he knew it not, a somewhat difficult and -complicated explanation. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE SPARHAWK IN THE TOILS - - -The Princess Margaret was standing by the window as the young man -entered. Her golden curls flashed in the late sunshine, which made a -kind of haze of light about her head as she turned the resentful -brilliance of her eyes upon Maurice von Lynar. - -"Is it a safe thing, think you, Sir Count, to jest with a princess in -her own land and then come back to flout her for it?" - -Maurice understood her to refer to the kiss given and returned in the -darkness of the night. He knew not of how many other indiscretions he -was now to bear the brunt, or he had turned on the spot and fled once -more across the river. - -"My lady," he said, "if I offended you once, it was not done -intentionally, but by mistake." - -"By mistake, sir! Have a care. I may have been indiscreet, but I am not -imbecile." - -"The darkness of the night----" faltered von Lynar, "let that be my -excuse." - -"Pshaw!" flashed the Princess, suddenly firing up; "do you not see, man, -that you cannot lie yourself out of this? And, indeed, what need? If _I_ -were a secretary of embassy, and a princess distinguished me with her -slightest favour, methinks when next I came I would not meanly deny her -acquaintance!" - -Von Lynar was distressed, and fortunately for himself his distress -showed in his face. - -"Princess," he said, standing humbly before her, "I did wrong. But -consider the sudden temptation, the darkness of the night----" - -"The darkness of the night," she said, stamping her foot, and in an -instinctively mocking tone; "you are indeed well inspired. You remind me -of what I ventured that you should be free. The darkness of the night, -indeed! I suppose that is all that sticks in your memory, because you -gained something tangible by it. You have forgotten the walk through the -corridors of the Palace, all you taught me in the rose garden, -and--and--how apt a pupil you said I was. Pray, good Master -Forgetfulness, who hath forgotten all these things, forgotten even his -own name, tell me what you did in Courtland eight months ago?" - -"I came--I came," faltered the Sparhawk, fearful of yet further -committing himself, "I came to find and save my dear mistress." - -"Your--dear--mistress?" The Princess spoke slowly, and the blue eyes -hardened till they overtopped and beat down the bold black ones of -Maurice von Lynar; "and you dare to tell me this--me, to whom you swore -that you had never loved woman in the world before, never spoken to them -word of wooing or compliment! Out of my sight, fellow! The Prince, my -brother, shall deal with you." - -Then all suddenly her pride utterly gave way. The disappointment was too -keen. She sank down on a silk-covered ottoman by the window side, -sobbing. - -"Oh, that I could kill you now, with my hands--so," she said in little -furious jerks, gripping at the pillow; "I hate you, thus to put a shame -upon me--me, Margaret of Courtland. Could it have been for such a thing -as you that I sent away the Prince of Muscovy--yes, and many -others--because I could not forget you? And after all----!" - -Now Maurice von Lynar was not quick in discernment where woman was -concerned, but on this occasion he recognised that he was blindly -playing the hand of another--a hand, moreover, of which he could not -hope to see the cards. He did the only thing which could have saved him -with the Princess. He came near and sank on one knee before her. - -"Madam," he said humbly and in a moving voice, "I beseech you not to be -angry--not to condemn me unheard. In the sense of being in love, I never -loved any but yourself. I would rather die than put the least slight -upon one so surpassingly fair, whose memory has never departed from me, -sleeping or waking, whose image, dimly seen, has never for a moment been -erased from my heart's tablets." - -The Princess paused and lifted her eyes till they dwelt searchingly upon -him. His obvious sincerity touched her willing heart. - -"But you said just now that you came to Courtland to see 'your dear -mistress?'" - -The young man put his hand to his head. - -"You must bear with me," he said, "if perchance for a little my words -are wild. I had, indeed, no right to speak of you as my dear mistress." - -"Oh, it was of me that you spoke," said the Princess, smiling a little; -"I begin to understand." - -"Of what other could I speak?" said the shameless Von Lynar, who now -began to feel his way a little clearer. "I have indeed been very ill, -and when I am in straits my head is still unsettled. Oftentimes I forget -my very name, so sharp a pang striking through my forehead that I dote -and stare and forget all else. It springs from a secret wound that at -the time I knew nothing of." - -"Yes--yes, I remember. In the duel with the Wasp--in the yew-tree walk -it happened. Tell me, is it dangerous? Did it well-nigh cost you your -life?" - -The youth modestly hung down his head. - -This sudden spate of falsehood had come upon him, as it were, from the -outside. - -"If the truth will not help me," he muttered, "why, I can lie with any -man. Else wherefore was I born a Dane? But, by my faith, my mistress -must have done some rare tall lying on her own account, and now I am -reaping that which she hath sown." - -As he kneeled thus the Princess bent over him with a quizzical -expression on her face. - -"You are sure that you speak the truth now? Your wound is not again -causing you to dote?" - -"Nay," said the Sparhawk; "indeed, 'tis almost healed." - -"Where was the wound?" queried the Princess anxiously. - -"There were two," answered Von Lynar diplomatically; "one in my shoulder -at the base of my neck, and the other, more dangerous because internal, -on the head itself." - -"Let me see." - -She came and stood above him as he put his hand to the collar of his -doublet, and, unfastening a tie, he slipped it down a little and showed -her at the spring of his neck Werner von Orseln's thrust. - -"And the other," she said, covering it up with a little shudder, "that -on the head, where is it?" - -The youth blushed, but answered valiantly enough. - -"It never was an open wound, and so is a little difficult to find. Here, -where my hand is, above my brow." - -"Hold up your head," said the Princess. "On which side was it? On the -right? Strange, I cannot find it. You are too far beneath me. The light -falls not aright. Ah, that is better!" - -She kneeled down in front of him and examined each side of his head with -interest, making as she did so, many little exclamations of pity and -remorse. - -"I think it must be nearer the brow," she said at last; "hold up your -head--look at me." - -Von Lynar looked at the Princess. Their position was one as charming as -it was dangerous. They were kneeling opposite to one another, their -faces, drawn together by the interest of the surgical examination, had -approached very close. The dark eyes looked squarely into the blue. With -stuff so inflammable, fire and tow in such immediate conjunction, who -knows what conflagration might have ensued had Von Lynar's eyes -continued thus to dwell on those of the Princess? - -But the young man's gaze passed over her shoulder. Behind Margaret of -Courtland he saw a man standing at the door with his hand still on the -latch. A dark frown overspread his face. The Princess, instantly -conscious that the interest had gone out of the situation, followed the -direction of Von Lynar's eyes. She rose to her feet as the young Dane -also had done a moment before. - -Maurice recognised the man who stood by the door as the same whom he had -seen on the ground in the yew-tree walk when he and Joan of the Sword -Hand had faced the howling mob of the city. For the second time Prince -Wasp had interfered with the amusements of the Princess Margaret. - -That lady looked haughtily at the intruder. - -"To what," she said, "am I so fortunate as to owe the unexpected honour -of this visit?" - -"I came to pay my respects to your Highness," said Prince Wasp, bowing -low. "I did not know that the Princess was amusing herself. It is my -ill-fortune, not my fault, that I interrupted at a point so full of -interest." - -It was the truth. The point was decidedly interesting, and therein lay -the sting of the situation, as probably the Wasp knew full well. - -"You are at liberty to leave me now," said the Princess, falling back on -a certain haughty dignity which she kept in reserve behind her headlong -impulsiveness. - -"I obey, madam," he replied; "but first I have a message from the Prince -your brother. He asks you to be good enough to accompany his bride to -the minster to-morrow. He has been ill all day with his old trouble, and -so cannot wait in person upon his betrothed. He must abide in solitude -for this day at least. Your Highness is apparently more fortunate!" - -The purpose of the insult was plain; but the Princess Margaret -restrained herself, not, however, hating the insulter less. - -[Illustration: "The lady looked haughtily at the intruder." [_Page 88_]] - -"I pray you, Prince Ivan," she said, "return to my brother and tell him -that his commands are ever an honour, and shall be obeyed to the -letter." - -She bowed in dignified dismissal. Prince Wasp swept his plumed hat along -the floor with the profundity of his retiring salutation, and in the -same moment he flashed out his sting. - -"I leave your Highness with less regret because I perceive that solitude -has its compensations!" he said. - -The pair were left alone, but all things seemed altered now. Margaret of -Courtland was silent and distrait. Von Lynar had a frown upon his brow, -and his eyes were very dark and angry. - -"Next time I must kill the fellow!" he muttered. He took the hand of the -Princess and respectfully kissed it. - -"I am your servant," he said; "I will do your bidding in all things, in -life or in death. If I have forgotten anything, in aught been remiss, -believe me that it was fate and not I. I will never presume, never count -on your friendship past your desire, never recall your ancient goodness. -I am but a poor soldier, yet at least I can faithfully keep my word." - -The Princess withdrew her hand as if she had been somewhat fatigued. - -"Do not be afraid," she said a little bitterly, "I shall not forget. _I_ -have not been wounded in the head! _Only in the heart!_" she added, as -she turned away. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -AT THE HIGH ALTAR - - -When Maurice von Lynar reached the open air he stood for full five -minutes, light-headed in the rush of the city traffic. The loud -iteration of rejoicing sounded heartless and even impertinent in his -ear. The world had changed for the young Dane since the Count von Löen -had been summoned by the Princess Margaret. - -He cast his mind back over the interview, but failed to disentangle -anything definite. It was a maze of impressions out of which grew the -certainty that, safely to play his difficult part, he must obtain the -whole confidence of the Duchess Joan. - -He looked about for the Prince of Muscovy, but failed to see him. Though -not anxious about the result, he was rather glad, for he did not want -another quarrel on his hands till after the wedding. He would see the -Princess Margaret there. If he played his cards well with the bride, he -might even be sent for to escort her. - -So he made his way to the magnificent suite of apartments where the -Duchess was lodged. The Prince had ordered everything with great -consideration. Her own horsemen patrolled the front of the palace, and -the Courtland guards were for the time being wholly withdrawn. - -[Illustration: "Joan of Hohenstein stood, looking out upon the river." -[_Page 91_]] - -It seemed strange that Joan of the Sword Hand, who not so long ago had -led many a dashing foray and been the foremost in many a brisk -encounter, should be a bride! It could not be that once he had -imagined her the fairest woman under the sun, and himself, for her sake, -the most miserable of men. Thus do lovers deceive themselves when the -new has come to obliterate the old. Some can even persuade themselves -that the old never had any existence. - -The young Dane found the Duchess walking up and down on the noble -promenade which faces the river to the west. For the water curved in a -spacious elbow about the city of Courtland, and the summer palace was -placed in the angle. - -Maurice von Lynar stood awhile respectfully waiting for the Duchess to -recognise him. Werner, John of Thorn, or any of her Kernsberg captains -would have gone directly up to her. But this youth had been trained in -another school. - -Joan of Hohenstein stood a while without moving, looking out upon the -river. She thought with a kind of troubled shyness of the morrow, oft -dreamed of, long expected. She saw the man whom she was not known ever -to have seen--the noble young man of the tournament, the gracious Prince -of the summer parlour, courteous and dignified alike to the poor -secretary of embassy and to his sister the Princess Margaret of -Courtland. Surely there never was any one like him--proudly thought this -girl, as she looked across the river at the rich plain studded with -far-smiling farms and fields just waking to life after their long winter -sleep. - -"Ah, Von Lynar, my brave Dane, what good wind blows you here?" she -cried. "I declare I was longing for some one to talk to." A -consciousness of need which had only just come to her. - -"I have seen the Princess Margaret," said the youth slowly, "and I think -that she must mistake me for some other person. She spoke things most -strange to me to hear. But fearing I might meddle with affairs wherewith -I had no concern, I forebore to correct her." - -The eyes of the Duchess danced. A load seemed suddenly lifted off her -mind. - -"Was she very angry?" she queried. - -"Very!" returned Von Lynar, smiling in recognition of her smile. - -"What said the Princess?" - -"First she would have it that my name and style were those of the Count -Von Löen. Then she reproached me fiercely because I denied it. After -that she spoke of certain foreign customs she had been taught, recalled -walks through corridors and rose gardens with me, till my head swam and -I knew not what to answer." - -Joan of the Sword Hand laughed a merry peal. - -"The Count von Löen, did she say?" she meditated. "Well, so you are the -Count von Löen. I create you the Count von Löen now. I give you the -title. It is mine to give. By to-morrow I shall have done with all these -things. And since as the Count von Löen I drank the wine, it is fair -that you, who have to pay the reckoning, should be the Count von Löen -also." - -"My family is noble, and I am the sole heir--that is, alive," said -Maurice, a little drily. To his mind the grandson of Count von Lynar, of -the order of the Dannebrog, had no need of any other distinction. - -"But I give you also therewith the estates which pertain to the title. -They are situated on the borders of Reichenau. I am so happy to-night -that I would like to make all the world happy. I am sorry for all the -folk I have injured!" - -"Love changes all things," said the Dane sententiously. - -The Duchess looked at him quickly. - -"You are in love--with the Princess Margaret?" she said. - -The youth blushed a deep crimson, which flooded his neck and dyed his -dusky skin. - -"Poor Maurice!" she said, touching his bowed head with her hand, "your -troubles will not be to seek." - -"My lady," said the youth, "I fear not trouble. I have promised to serve -the Princess in all things. She has been very kind to me. She has -forgiven me all." - -"So--you are anxious to change your allegiance," said -the Duchess. "It is as well that I have already made you Count von Löen, -and so in a manner bound you to me, or you would be going off into -another's service with all my secrets in your keeping. Not that it will -matter very much--after to-morrow!" she added, with a glance at the wing -of the palace which held the summer parlour. "But how did you manage to -appease her? That is no mean feat. She is an imperious lady and quick of -understanding." - -Then Maurice von Lynar told his mistress of his most allowable -falsehoods, and begged her not to undeceive the Princess, for that he -would rather bear all that she might put upon him than that she should -know he had lied to her. - -"Do not be afraid," said the Duchess, laughing, "it was I who tangled -the skein. So far you have unravelled it very well. The least I can do -is to leave you to unwind it to the end, my brave Count von Löen." - -So they parted, the Duchess to her apartment, and the young man to pace -up and down the stone-flagged promenade all night, thinking of the -distracting whimsies of the Princess Margaret, of the hopelessness of -his love, and, most of all, of how daintily exquisite and altogether -desirable was her beauty of face, of figure, of temper, of everything! - -For the Sparhawk was not a lover to make reservations. - - * * * * * - -The morning of the great day dawned cool and grey. A sunshade of misty -cloud overspread the city and tempered the heat. It had come up with the -morning wind from the Baltic, and by eight the ships at the quays, and -the tall beflagged festal masts in the streets through which the -procession was to pass, ran clear up into it and were lost, so that the -standards and pennons on their tops could not be seen any more than if -they had been amongst the stars. - -The streets were completely lined with the folk of the city of -Courtland as the Princess Margaret, with the Sparhawk and his company of -lances clattering behind her, rode to the entrance of the palace where -abode the bride-elect. - -"Who is that youth?" asked Margaret of Courtland of Joan, as they came -out together; she looked at the Dane--"he at the head of your first -troops? He looks like your brother." - -"He has often been taken for such!" said the bride. "He is called the -Count von Löen!" - -The Princess did not reply, and as the two fair women came out arm in -arm, a sudden glint of sunlight broke through the leaden clouds and fell -upon them, glorifying the white dress of the one, and the blue and gold -apparel of the other. - -The bells of the minster clanged a changeful thunder of brazen acclaim -as the bride set out for the first time (so they told each other on the -streets) to see her promised husband. - -"'Twas well we did not so manage our affairs, Hans," said a fishmonger's -wife, touching her husband's arm archly. - -"Yea, wife," returned the seller of fish; "whatever thou beest, at least -I cannot deny that I took thee with my eyes open!" - -They reached the Rathhaus, and the clamour grew louder than ever. -Presently they were at the cathedral and making them ready to dismount. -The bells in the towers above burst forth into yet more frantic -jubilation. The cannons roared from the ramparts. - -The Princess Margaret had delayed a little, either taking longer to her -attiring, or, perhaps, gossiping with the bride. So that when the shouts -in the wide Minster Place announced their arrival, all was in readiness -within the crowded church, and the bridegroom had gone in well-nigh half -an hour before them. But that was in accord with the best traditions. - -Very like a Princess and a great lady looked Joan of Hohenstein as she -went up the aisle, with Margaret of Courtland by her side. She kept her -eyes on the ground, for she meant to look at no one and behold nothing -till she should see--that which she longed to look upon. - -Suddenly she was conscious that they had stopped in the middle of a vast -silence. The candles upon the great altar threw down a golden lustre. -Joan saw the irregular shining of them on her white bridal dress, and -wondered that it should be so bright. - -There was a hush over all the assembly, the silence of a great multitude -all intent upon one thing. - -"My brother, the Prince of Courtland!" said the voice of the Princess -Margaret. - -Slowly Joan raised her eyes--pride and happiness at war with a kind of -glorious shame upon her face. - -But that one look altered all things. - -She stood fixed, aghast, turned to stone as she gazed. She could neither -speak nor think. That which she saw almost struck her dead with horror. - -The man whom his sister introduced as the Prince of Courtland was not -the knight of the tournament. He was not the young prince of the summer -palace. He was a man much older, more meagre of body, grey-headed, with -an odd sidelong expression in his eyes. His shoulders were bent, and he -carried himself like a man prematurely old. - -And there, behind the altar-railing, clad in the scarlet of a prince of -the Church, and wearing the mitre of a bishop, stood the husband of her -heart's deepest thoughts, the man who had never been out of her mind all -these weary months. He held a service book in his hand, and stood ready -to marry Joan of Hohenstein to another. - -The man who was called Prince of Courtland came forward to take her -hand; but Joan stood with her arms firmly at her sides. The terrible -nature of her mistake flashed upon her and grew in horror with every -moment. Fate seemed to laugh suddenly and mockingly in her face. Destiny -shut her in. - -"Are you the Prince of Courtland?" she asked; and at the sound of her -voice, unwontedly clear in the great church, even the organ appeared to -still itself. All listened intently, though only a few heard the -conversation. - -"I have that honour," bowed the man with the bent shoulders. - -"Then, as God lives, I will never marry you!" cried Joan, all her soul -in the disgust of her voice. - -"Be not disdainful, my lady," said the bridegroom mildly; "I will be -your humble slave. You shall have a palace and an establishment of your -own, an it like you. The marriage was your father's desire, and hath the -sanction of the Emperor. It is as necessary for your State as for mine." - -Then, while the people waited in a kind of palpitating uncertainty, the -Princess Margaret whispered to the bride, who stood with a face ashen -pale as her own white dress. - -Sometimes she looked at the Prince of Courtland, and then immediately -averted her eyes. But never, after the first glance, did Joan permit -them to stray to the face of him who stood behind the altar railings -with his service book in his hand. - -"Well," she said finally, "I _will_ marry this man, since it is my fate. -Let the ceremony proceed!" - -"I thank you, gracious lady," said the Prince, taking her hand and -leading his bride to the altar. "You will never regret it." - -"No, but you will!" muttered his groomsman, the Prince Ivan of Muscovy. - -The full rich tones of the prince bishop rose and fell through the -crowded minster as Joan of Hohenstein was married to his elder brother, -and with the closing words of the episcopal benediction an awe fell upon -the multitude. They felt that they were in the presence of great unknown -forces, the action and interaction of which might lead no man knew -whither. - -At the close of the service, Joan, now Princess of Courtland, leaned -over and whispered a word to her chosen captain, Maurice von Lynar, an -action noticed by few. The young man started and gazed into her face; -but, immediately commanding his emotion, he nodded and disappeared by a -side door. - -The great organ swelled out. The marriage procession was re-formed. The -prince-bishop had retired to his sacristy to change his robes. The new -Princess of Courtland came down the aisle on the arm of her husband. - -Then the bells almost turned over in their fury of jubilation, and every -cannon in the city bellowed out. The people shouted themselves hoarse, -and the line of Courtland troops who kept the people back had great -difficulty in restraining the enthusiasm which threatened to break all -bounds and involve the married pair in a whirling tumult of acclaim. - -In the centre of the Minster Place the four hundred lances of the -Kernsberg escort had formed up, a serried mass of beautiful well-groomed -horses, stalwart men, and shining spears, from each of which the pennon -of their mistress fluttered in the light wind. - -"Ha! there they come at last! See them on the steps!" The shouts rang -out, and the people flung their headgear wildly into the air. The line -of Courtland foot saluted, but no cheer came from the array of Kernsberg -lances. - -"They are sorry to lose her--and small wonder. Well, she is ours now!" -the people cried, congratulating one another as they shook hands and the -wine gurgled out of the pigskins into innumerable thirsty mouths. - -On the steps of the minster, after they had descended more than -half-way, the new Princess of Courtland turned upon her lord. Her hand -slipped from his arm, which hung a moment crooked and empty before it -dropped to his side. His mouth was a little open with surprise. Prince -Louis knew that he was wedding a wilful dame, but he had not been -prepared for this. - -"Now, my lord," said the Princess Joan, loud and clear. "I have married -you. The bond of heritage-brotherhood is fulfilled. I have obeyed my -father to the letter. I have obeyed the Emperor. I have done all. Now be -it known to you and to all men that I will neither live with you nor yet -in your city. I am your wife in name. You shall never be my husband in -aught else. I bid you farewell, Prince of Courtland. Joan of Hohenstein -may marry where she is bidden, but she loves where she will." - -The horse upon which she had come to the minster stood waiting. There -was the Sparhawk ready to help her into the saddle. - -Ere one of the wedding guests could move to prevent her, before the -Prince of Courtland could cry an order or decide what to do, Joan of the -Sword Hand had placed herself at the head of her four hundred lances, -and was riding through the shouting streets towards the Plassenburg -gate. - -The people cheered as she went by, clearing the way that she might not -be annoyed. They thought it part of the day's show, and voted the -Kernsbergers a gallant band, well set up and right bravely arrayed. - -So they passed through the gate in safety. The noble portal was all -aflutter with colour, the arms of Hohenstein and Courtland being -quartered together on a great wooden plaque over the main entrance. - -As soon as they were clear the Princess Joan turned in her saddle and -spake to the four hundred behind her. - -"We ride back to Kernsberg," she cried. "Joan of the Sword Hand is wed, -but not yet won. If they would keep her they must first catch her. Are -you with me, lads of the hills?" - -Then came back a unanimous shout of "Aye--to the death!" from four -hundred throats. - -"Then give me a sword and put the horses to their speed. We ride for -home. Let them catch us who can!" - -And this was the true fashion of the marrying of Joan of the Sword Hand, -Duchess of Hohenstein, to the Prince Louis of Courtland, by his brother -Conrad, Cardinal and Prince of Holy Church. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -WHAT JOAN LEFT BEHIND - - -After the departure of his bride, the Prince of Courtland stood on the -steps of the minster, dazed and foundered by the shame which had so -suddenly befallen him. Beneath him the people seethed tumultuously, -their holiday ribands and maypole dresses making as gay a swirl of -colour as when one looks at the sun through the facets of a cut Venetian -glass. Prince Louis's weak and fretful face worked with emotion. His -bird-like hands clawed uncertainly at his sword-hilt, wandering off over -the golden pouches that tasselled his baldric till they rested on the -sheath of the poignard he wore. - -"Bid the gates be shut, Prince!" The whisper came over his shoulder from -a young man who had been standing all the time twisting his moustache. -"Bid your horsemen bit and bridle. The plain is fair before you. It is a -long way to Kernsberg. I have a hundred Muscovites at your service, all -well mounted--ten thousand behind them over the frontier if these are -not enough! Let no wench in the world put this shame upon a reigning -Prince of Courtland on his wedding-day!" - -Thus Ivan of Muscovy, attired in silk, banded of black and gold, -counselled the disdained Prince Louis, who stood pushing upward with two -fingers the point of his thin greyish beard and gnawing the straggling -ends between his teeth. - -"I say, 'To horse and ride, man!' Will you dare tell this folk of yours -that you are disdained, slighted at the very church door by your wedded -wife, cast off and trodden in the mire like a bursten glove? Can you -afford to proclaim yourself the scorn of Germany? How it will run, that -news! To Plassenburg first, where the Executioner's Son will smile -triumphantly to his witch woman, and straightway send off a messenger to -tickle the well-larded ribs of his friend the Margraf George with the -rare jest." - -The Prince Louis appeared to be moved by the Wasp's words. He turned -about to the nearest knight-in-waiting. - -"Let us to horse--every man of us!" he said. "Bid that the steeds be -brought instantly." - -The banded Wasp had further counsels to give. - -"Give out that you go to meet the Princess at a rendezvous. For a -pleasantry between yourselves, you have resolved to spend the honeymoon -at a distant hunting-lodge. Quick! Not half a dozen of all the company -caught the true import of her words. You will tame her yet. She will -founder her horses in a single day's ride, while you have relays along -the road at every castle, at every farm-house, and your borders are -fifty good miles away." - -Beneath, in the square, the court jesters leaped and laughed, turning -somersaults and making a flying skirt, like that of a morrice dancer, -out of the long, flapping points of their parti-coloured blouses. The -streets in front of the cathedral were alive with musicians, mostly in -little bands of three, a harper with his harp of fourteen strings, his -companion playing industriously upon a Flute-English, and with these two -their 'prentice or servitor, who accompanied them with shrill iterance -of whistle, while both his hands busied themselves with the merry tuck -of tabour. - -In this incessant merrymaking the people soon forgot their astonishment -at the sudden disappearance of the bride. There was, indeed, no -understanding these great folk. But it was a fine day for a feast--the -pretext a good one. And so the lasses and lads joked as they danced in -the lower vaults of the town house, from which the barrels had been -cleared for the occasion. - -"If thou and I were thus wedded, Grete, would you ride one way and I the -other? Nay, God wot, lass! I am but a tanner's 'prentice, but I'd abide -beside thee, as close as bark by hide that lies three years in the same -tan-pit--aye, an' that I would, lass!" - -Then Gretchen bridled. "I would not marry thee, nor yet lie near or far, -Hans; thou art but a boy, feckless and skill-less save to pole about thy -stinking skins--faugh!" - -"Nay, try me, Grete! Is not this kiss as sweet as any civet-scented fop -could give?" - -At the command of the Prince the trumpets rang out again the call of -"Boot-and-saddle!" from the steps of the cathedral. At the sound the -grooms, who were here and there in the press, hasted to find and -caparison the horses of their lords. Meanwhile, on the wide steps the -Prince Louis fretted, dinting his nails restlessly into his palms and -shaking with anger and disappointment till his deep sleeves vibrated -like scarlet flames in a veering wind. - -Suddenly there passed a wave over the people who crowded the spacious -Dom Platz of Courtland. The turmoil stilled itself unconsciously. The -many-headed parti-coloured throng of women's tall coifs, gay fluttering -ribands, men's velvet caps, gallants' white feathers that shifted like -the permutations of a kaleidoscope, all at once fixed itself into a sea -of white faces, from which presently arose a forest of arms flourishing -kerchiefs and tossing caps. To this succeeded a deep mouth-roar of -burgherish welcome such as the reigning Prince had never heard raised in -his own honour. - -"Conrad--Prince Conrad! God bless our Prince-Cardinal!" - -The legitimate ruler of Courtland, standing where Joan had left him, -with his slim-waisted Muscovite mentor behind him, half-turned to look. -And there on the highest place stood his brother in the scarlet of his -new dignity as it had come from the Pope himself, his red biretta held -in his hand, and his fair and noble head erect as he looked over the -folk to where on the slope above the city gates he could still see the -sun glint and sparkle on the cuirasses and lanceheads of the four -hundred riders of Kernsberg. - -But even as the Prince of Courtland looked back at his brother, the -whisper of the tempter smote his ear. - -"Had Prince Conrad been in your place, and you behind the altar rails, -think you that the Duchess Joan would have fled so cavalierly?" - -By this time the young Cardinal had descended till he stood on the other -side of the Prince from Ivan of Muscovy. - -"You take horse to follow your bride?" he queried, smiling. "Is it a -fashion of Kernsberg brides thus to steal away?" For he could see the -grooms bringing horses into the square, and the guards beating the -people back with the butts of their spears to make room for the mounting -of the Prince's cavalcade. - -"Hark--he flouts you!" came the whisper over the bridegroom's shoulder; -"I warrant he knew of this before." - -"You have done your priest's work, brother," said Louis coldly, "e'en -permit me to go about that of a prince and a husband in my own way." - -The Cardinal bowed low, but with great self-command held his peace, -whereat Louis of Courtland broke out in a sudden overboiling fury. - -"This is your doing!" he cried; "I know it well. From her first coming -my bride had set herself to scorn me. My sister knew it. You knew it. -You smile as at a jest. The Pope's favour has turned your head. You -would have all--the love of my wife, the rule of my folk, as well as the -acclaim of these city swine. Listen--'The good Prince Conrad! God save -the noble Prince!' It is worth while living for favour such as this." - -"Brother of mine," said the young man gently, "as you know well, I -never set eyes upon the noble Lady Joan before. Never spoke word to her, -held no communication by word or pen." - -"Von Dessauer--his secretary!" whispered Ivan, dropping the suggestion -carefully over his shoulder like poison distilled into a cup. - -"You were constantly with the old fox Dessauer, the envoy of -Plassenburg--who came from Kernsberg, bringing with him that slim -secretary. By my faith, now, when I think of it, Prince Ivan told me -last night he was as like this madcap girl as pea to pea--some fly-blown -base-born brother, doubtless!" - -Conrad shook his head. His brother had doubtless gone momentarily -distract with his troubles. - -"Nay, deny it not! And smile not either--lest I spoil the symmetry of -that face for your monkish mummery and processions. Aye, if I have to -lie under ten years' interdict for it from your friend the most Holy -Pope of Rome!" - -"Do not forget there is another Church in my country, which will lay no -interdict upon you, Prince Louis," laughed Ivan of Muscovy. "But to -horse--to horse--we lose time!" - -"Brother," said the Cardinal, laying his hand on Louis's arm, "on my -word as a knight--as a Prince of the Church--I knew nothing of the -matter. I cannot even guess what has led you thus to accuse me!" - -The Princess Margaret came at that moment out of the cathedral and ran -impetuously to her favourite brother. - -He put out his hand. She took it, and instead of kissing his bishop's -ring, as in strict etiquette she ought to have done, she cried out, -"Conrad, do you know what that glorious wench has done? Dared her -husband's authority at the church door, leaped into the saddle, whistled -up her men, cried to all these Courtland gallants, 'Catch me who can!' -And lo! at this moment she is riding straight for Kernsberg, and now our -Louis must catch her. A glorious wedding! I would I were by her side. -Brother Louis, you need not frown, I am nowise affrighted at your -glooms! This is a bride worth fighting for. No puling cloister-maid this -that dares not raise her eyes higher than her bridegroom's knee! Were I -a man, by my faith, I would never eat or drink, neither pray nor sain -me, till I had tamed the darling and brought her to my wrist like a -falcon to a lure!" - -"So, then, madam, you knew of this?" said her elder brother, glowering -upon her from beneath his heavy brows. - -"Nay!" trilled the gay Princess, "I only wish I had. Then I, too, would -have been riding with them--such a jest as never was, it would have -been. Goodbye, my poor forsaken brother! Joy be with you on this your -bridal journey. Take Prince Ivan with you, and Conrad and I will keep -the kingdom against your return, with your prize gentled on your wrist." - -So smiling and kissing her hand the Princess Margaret waved her brother -and Prince Ivan off. The Prince of Courtland neither looked at her nor -answered. But the Muscovite turned often in his saddle as if to carry -with him the picture she made of saucy countenance and dainty figure as -she stood looking up into the face of the Cardinal Prince Conrad. - -"What in Heaven's name is the meaning of all this--I do not understand -in the least?" he was saying. - -"Haste you and unrobe, Brother Con," she said; "this grandeur of yours -daunts me. Then, in the summer parlour, I will tell you all!" - -[Illustration: "They stood ... looking down at the rushing river." -[_Page 105_]] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -PRINCE WASP'S COMPACT - - -"I cannot go back to Courtland dishonoured," said Prince Louis to Ivan -of Muscovy, as they stood on the green bank looking down on the rushing -river, broad and brown, which had so lately been the Fords of Alla. The -river had risen almost as it seemed upon the very heels of the four -hundred horsemen of Kernsberg, and the ironclad knights and men-at-arms -who followed the Prince of Courtland could not face the yeasty swirl of -the flood. - -Prince Ivan, left to himself, would have dared it. - -"What is a little brown water?" he cried. "Let the men leave their -armour on this side and swim their horses through. We do it fifty times -a month in Muscovy in the springtime. And what are your hill-fed brooks -to the full-bosomed rivers of the Great Plain?" - -"It is just because they are hill-fed that we know them and will not -risk our lives. The Alla has come down out of the mountains of -Hohenstein. For four-and-twenty hours nothing without wing may pass and -repass. Yet an hour earlier and our Duchess had been trapped on the -hither side even as we. But now she will sit and laugh up there in -Kernsberg. And--I cannot go back to Courtland without a bride!" - -Prince Ivan stood a moment silent. Then his eyes glanced over his -companion with a certain severe and amused curiosity. From foot to head -they scanned him, beginning at the shoes of red Cordovan leather, -following upwards to the great tassel he wore at his poignard; then came -the golden girdle about his waist, the flowered needlework at his wrists -and neck, and the scrutiny ended with the flat red cap on his head, from -which a white feather nodded over his left eye. - -Then the gaze of Prince Ivan returned again slowly to the pointed red -shoes of Cordovan leather. - -If there was anything so contemptuous as that eye-blink in the open -scorn of all the burghers of Courtland, Prince Louis was to be excused -for any hesitation he might show in facing his subjects. - -The matter of Prince Wasp's meditation ran somewhat thuswise: "Thou man, -fashioned from a scullion's nail-paring, and cocked upon a horse, what -can I make of thee? Thou, to have a country, a crown, a wife! Gudgeon -eats stickleback, jack-pike eats gudgeon and grows fat, till at last the -sturgeon in his armour eats him. I will fatten this jack. I will feed -him like the gudgeons of Kernsberg and Hohenstein, then take him with a -dainty lure indeed, black-tipped, with sleeves gay as cranes' wings, and -answering to the name of 'my lady Joan.' But wait--I must be wary, and -have a care lest I shadow his water." - -So saying within his heart, Prince Wasp became exceedingly thoughtful -and of a demure countenance. - -"My lord," he said, "this day's work will not go well down in Courtland, -I fear me!" - -Prince Louis moved uneasily, keeping his regard steadily upon the brown -turmoil of the Alla swirling beneath, whereas the eyes of Ivan were -never removed from his friend's meagre face. - -"Your true Courtlander is more than half a Muscovite," mused Prince -Wasp, as if thinking aloud; "he wishes not to be argued with. He wants a -master, and he will not love one who permits himself to be choused of a -wife upon his wedding-day!" - -Prince Louis started quickly as the Wasp's sting pricked him. - -"And pray, Prince Ivan," he said, "what could I have done that I left -undone? Speak plainly, since you are so prodigal of smiles suppressed, -so witty with covert words and shoulder-tappings!" - -"My Louis," said Prince Wasp, laying his hand upon the arm of his -companion with an affectation of tenderness. "I flout you not--I mock -you not. And if I speak harshly, it is only that I love not to see you -in your turn flouted, mocked, scorned, made light of before your own -people!" - -"I believe it, Ivan; pardon the heat of my hasty temper!" said the -Prince of Courtland. The watchful Muscovite pursued his advantage, -narrowing his eyes that he might the better note every change on the -face of the man whom he held in his toils. He went on, with a certain -resigned sadness in his voice-- - -"Ever since I came first to Courtland with the not dishonourable hope of -carrying back to my father a princess of your house, none have been so -amiable together as you and I. We have been even as David and Jonathan." - -The Prince Louis put out a hand, which apparently Ivan did not see, for -he continued without taking it. - -"Yet what have I gained either of solid good or even of the lighter but -not less agreeable matter of my lady's favour? So far as your sister is -concerned, I have wasted my time. If I consider the union of our -peoples, already one in heart, your brother works against us both; the -Princess Margaret despises me, Prince Conrad thwarts us. He would bind -us in chains and carry us tinkling to the feet of his pagan master in -Rome!" - -"I think not so," answered Prince Louis--"I cannot think so of my -brother, with all his faults. Conrad is a brave soldier, a good -knight--though, as is the custom of our house, it is his lot to be no -more than a prince-bishop!" - -The Wasp laughed a little hard laugh, clear and inhuman as the snap and -rattle of Spanish castanets. - -"Louis, my good friend, your simplicity, your lack of guile, do you -wrong most grievous! You judge others as you yourself are. Do you not -see that Conrad your brother must pay for his red hat? He must earn his -cardinalate. Papa Sixtus gives nothing for nothing. Courtland must pay -Peter's pence, must become monkish land. On every flake of stockfish, -every grain of sturgeon roe, every ounce of marled amber, your Holy -Father must levy his sacred dues. And the clear ambition of your brother -is to make you chief cat's-paw pontifical upon the Baltic shore. -Consider it, good Louis." - -And the Prince of Muscovy twirled his moustache and smiled -condescendingly between his fingers. Then, as if he thought suddenly of -something else and made a new calculation, he laughed a laugh, quick and -short as the barking of a dog. - -"Ha!" he cried, "truly we order things better in my country. I have -brothers, one, two, three. They are grand dukes, highnesses very serene. -One of them has this province, another this sinecure, yet another waits -on my father. My father dies--and I--well, I am in my father's place. -What will my brothers do with their serene highnesses then? They will -take each one the clearest road and the shortest for the frontier, or by -the Holy Icon of Moscow, there would very speedily be certain new -tablets in the funeral vault of my fathers." - -The Prince of Courtland started. - -"This thing I could never imagine of Conrad my brother. He loves me. At -heart he ever cared but for his books, and now that he is a priest he -hath forsworn knighthood, and tournaments, and wars." - -"Poor Louis," said Ivan sadly, "not to see that once a soldier always a -soldier. But 'tis a good fault, this generous blindness of the eyes. He -hath already the love of your people. He has won already the voice that -speaks from every altar and presbytery. The power to loose and bind -men's consciences is in his hand. In a little, when he has bartered away -your power for his cardinal's hat, he may be made a greater than -yourself, an elector of the empire, the right-hand man of Papa Sixtus, -as his uncle Adrian was before him. Then indeed your Courtland will -underlie the tinkle of Peter's keys!" - -"I am sure that Conrad would do nothing against his fatherland or to the -hurt of his prince and brother!" said Prince Louis, but he spoke in a -wavering voice, like one more than half convinced. - -"Again," continued Ivan, without heeding him, "there is your wife. I am -sure that if he had been the prince and you the priest--well, she had -not slept this night in the Castle of Kernsberg!" - -"Ivan, if you love me, be silent," cried the tortured Prince of -Courtland, setting his hand to his brow. "This is the mere idle dreaming -of a fool. How learned you these things? I mean how did the thoughts -enter into your mind?" - -"I learned the matter from the Princess Margaret, who in the brief space -of a day became your wife's confidante!" - -"Did Margaret tell it you?" - -The Prince Ivan laughed a short, self-depreciatory laugh. - -"Nay, truly," he said, smiling sadly, "you and I are in one despite, -Louis. Your wife scorns you--me, my sweetheart. Did Margaret tell me? -Nay, verily! Yet I learned it, nevertheless, even more certainly because -she denied it so vehemently. But, after all, I daresay all will end for -the best." - -"How so?" demanded Prince Louis haughtily. - -"Why, I have heard that your Papa at Rome will do aught for money. -Doubtless he will dissolve this marriage, which indeed is no more than -one in name. He has done more than that already for his own nephews. He -will absolve your brother from his vows. Then you can be the monk and he -the king. There will be a new marriage, at which doubtless you shall -hold the service book and he the lady's hand. Then we shall have no -ridings back to Kernsberg, with four hundred lances, at a word from a -girl's scornful mouth. And the Alla down there may rise or fall at its -pleasure, and neither hurt nor hinder any!" - -The Prince of Courtland turned an angry countenance upon his friend, but -the keen-witted Muscovite looked so kindly and yet so sadly upon him -that after awhile the severity of his face relaxed as it had been -against his will, and with a quick gesture he added, "I believe you love -me, Ivan, though indeed your words are no better than red-hot pincers in -my heart." - -"Love you, Louis?" cried Prince Ivan. "I love you better than any -brother I have, though they will never live to thwart me as yours -thwarts you--better even than my father, for you do not keep me out of -my inheritance!" - -Then in a gayer tone he went on. - -"I love you so much that I will pledge my father's whole army to help -you, first to win your wife, next to take Hohenstein, Kernsberg, and -Marienfeld. And after that, if you are still ambitious, why--to -Plassenburg and the Wolfmark, which now the Executioner's Son holds. -That would make a noble kingdom to offer a fair and wilful queen." - -"And for this you ask?" - -"Only your love, Louis--only your love! And, if it please you, the -alliance with that Princess of your honourable house, of whom we spoke -just now!" - -"My sister Margaret, you mean? I will do what I can, Ivan, but she also -is wilful. You know she is wilful! I cannot compel her love!" - -The Prince Ivan laughed. - -"I am not so complaisant as you, Louis, nor yet so modest. Give me my -bride on the day Joan of the Sword Hand sleeps in the palace of -Courtland as its princess, and I will take my chance of winning our -Margaret's love!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -WOMAN'S WILFULNESS - - -Joan rode on, silent, a furlong before her men. - -Behind her sulked Maurice von Lynar. Had any been there to note, their -faces were now strangely alike in feature, and yet more curiously unlike -in expression. Joan gazed forward into the distance like a soul dead and -about to be reborn, planning a new life. Maurice von Lynar looked more -like a naughty schoolboy whom some tyrant Fate, rod-wielding, has -compelled to obey against his will. - -Yet, in spite of expression, it was Maurice von Lynar who was planning -the future. Joan's heart was yet too sore. Her tree of life had, as it -were, been cut off close to the ground. She could not go back to the old -so soon after her blissful year of dreams. There was to be no new life -for her. She could not take up the old. But Maurice--his thoughts were -all for the Princess Margaret, of the ripple of her golden hair, of her -pretty wilful words and ways, of that dimple on her chin, and, above -all, of her threat to seek him out if--but it was not possible that she -could mean that. And yet she looked as though she might make good her -words. Was it possible? He posed himself with this question, and for -half an hour rode on oblivious of all else. - -"Eh?" he said at last, half conscious that some one had been speaking to -him from an infinite distance. "Eh? Did you speak, Captain von Orseln?" - -Von Orseln grunted out a little laugh, almost silently, indeed, and -expressed more by a heave of his shoulders than by any alteration of his -features. - -"Speak, indeed? As if I had not been speaking these five minutes. Well -nigh had I stuck my poignard in your ribs to teach you to mind your -superior officer. What think you of this business?" - -"Think?" the Sparhawk's disappointment burst out. "Think? Why, 'tis past -all thinking. Courtland is shut to us for twenty years." - -"Well," laughed Von Orseln, "who cares for that? Castle Kernsberg is -good enough for me, so we can hold it." - -"Hold it?" cried Maurice, with a kind of joy in his face; "do you think -they will come after us?" - -Von Orseln nodded approval of his spirit. - -"Yes, little man, yes," he said; "if you have been fretting to come to -blows with the Courtlanders you are in good case to be satisfied. I -would we had only these lumpish Baltic jacks to fear." - -Even as they talked Castle Kernsberg floated up like a cloud before them -above the blue and misty plain, long before they could distinguish the -walls and hundred gables of the town beneath. - -But no word spoke Joan till that purple shadow had taken shape as -stately stone and lime, and she could discern her own red lion flying -abreast of the banner of Louis of Courtland upon the topmost pinnacle of -the round tower. - -Then on a little mound without the town she halted and faced about. Von -Orseln halted the troop with a backward wave of the hand. - -"Men of Hohenstein," said the Duchess, in a clear, far-reaching alto, -"you have followed me, asking no word of why or wherefore. I have told -you nothing, yet is an explanation due to you." - -There came the sound as of a hoarse unanimous muttering among the -soldiers. Joan looked at Von Orseln as a sign for him to interpret it. - -"They say that they are Joan of the Sword Hand's men, and that they will -disembowl any man who wants to know what it may please you to keep -secret." - -"Aye, or question by so much as one lifted eyebrow aught that it may -please your Highness to do," added Captain Peter Balta, from the right -of the first troop. - -"I said that our Duchess could never live in such a dog's hole as their -Courtland," quoth George the Hussite, who, before he took service with -Henry the Lion, had been a heretic preacher. "In Bohemia, now, where the -pines grow----" - -"Hold your prate, all of you," growled Von Orseln, "or you will find -where hemp grows, and why! My lady," he added, altering his voice as he -turned to her, "be assured, no dog in Kernsberg will bark an -interrogative at you. Shall our young Duchess Joan be wived and bedded -like some little burgheress that sells laces and tape all day long on -the Axel-strasse? Shall the daughter of Henry the Lion be at the -commandment of any Bor-Russian boor, an it like her not? Shall she get a -burr in her throat with breathing the raw fogs of the Baltic? Not a -word, most gracious lady! Explain nothing. Extenuate nothing. It is the -will of Joan of the Sword Hand--that is enough; and, by the word of -Werner von Orseln, it shall be enough!" - -"It is the will of Joan of the Sword Hand! It is enough!" repeated the -four hundred lances, like a class that learns a lesson by rote. - -A lump rose in Joan's throat as she tried to shape into words the -thoughts that surged within. She felt strangely weak. Her pride was not -the same as of old, for the heart of a woman had grown up within her--a -heart of flesh. Surely that could not be a tear in her eye? No; the wind -blew shrewdly out of the west, to which they were riding. Von Orseln -noted the struggle and took up his parable once more. - -"The pact is carried out. The lands united--the will of Henry the Lion -done! What more? Shall the free Princess be the huswife of a yellow -Baltic dwarf? When we go into the town and they ask us, we will say but -this, 'Our Lady misliked the fashion of his beard!' That will be reason -good and broad and deep, sufficient alike for grey-haired carl and -prattling bairn!" - -"I thank you, noble gentlemen," said Joan. "Now, as you say, let us ride -into Kernsberg." - -"And pull down that flag!" cried Maurice, pointing to the black -Courtland Eagle which flew so steadily beside the coronated lion of -Kernsberg and Hohenstein. - -"And pray, sir, why?" quoth Joan of the Sword Hand. "Am I not also -Princess of Courtland?" - - * * * * * - -From woman's wilfulness all things somehow have their beginning. Yet of -herself she is content with few things (so that she have what she -wants), somewhat Spartan in fare if let alone, and no dinner-eating -animal. Wine, tobacco, caviare, Strasburg goose-liver--Epicurus's -choicest gifts to men of this world--are contemned by womankind. Left to -their own devices, they prefer a drench of sweet mead or hydromel laced -with water, or even of late the China brew that filters in black bricks -through the country of the Muscovite. Nevertheless, to woman's wantings -may be traced all restraints and judgments, from the sword flaming every -way about Eden-gate to the last merchant declared bankrupt and "dyvour" -upon the exchange flags of Hamburg town. Eve did not eat the apple when -she got it. She hasted to give it away. She only wanted it because it -had been forbidden. - -So also Joan of Hohenstein desired to go down with Dessauer that she -might look upon the man betrothed to her from birth. She went. She -looked, and, as the tale tells, within her there grew a heart of flesh. -Then, when the stroke fell, that heart uprose in quick, intemperate -revolt. And what might have issued in the dull compliance of a princess -whose life was settled for her, became the imperious revolt of a woman -against an intolerable and loathsome impossibility. - -So in her castle of Kernsberg Joan waited. But not idly. All day long -and every day Maurice von Lynar rode on her service. The hillmen -gathered to his word, and in the courtyard the stormy voices of George -the Hussite and Peter Balta were never hushed. The shepherds from the -hills went to and fro, marching and countermarching, wheeling and -charging, porting musket and thrusting pike, till all Kernsberg was -little better than a barracks, and the maidens sat wet-eyed at their -knitting by the fire and thought, "Well for Her to please herself whom -she shall marry--but how about us, with never a lad in the town to -whistle us out in the gloaming, or to thumb a pebble against the -window-lattice from the deep edges of the ripening corn?" - -But there were two, at least, within the realm of the Duchess Joan who -knew no drawbacks to their joy, who rubbed palm on palm and nudged each -other for pure gladness. These (it is sad to say) were the military -_attachés_ of the neighbouring peaceful State of Plassenburg. Yet they -had been specially cautioned by their Prince Hugo, in the presence of -his wife Helene, the hereditary Princess, that they were most carefully -to avoid all international complications. They were on no account to -take sides in any quarrel. Above all they must do nothing prejudicial to -the peace, neutrality, and universal amity of the State and Princedom of -Plassenburg. Such were these instructions. - -They promised faithfully. - -But, their names being Captains Boris and Jorian, they now rubbed their -hands and nudged each other. They ought to have been in their chamber in -the Castle of Kernsberg, busily concocting despatches to their master -and mistress, giving an account of these momentous events. - -Instead, how is it that we find them lying on that spur of the -Jägernbergen which overlooks the passes of Alla, watching the gathering -of the great storm which in the course of days must break over the -domains of the Duchess Joan--who had refused and slighted her wedded -husband, Louis, Prince of Courtland? - -Being both powerfully resourceful men, long lean Boris and rotund Jorian -had found a way out of the apparent difficulty. There had come with -them from Plassenburg a commission written upon an entire square of -sheepskin by a secretary and sealed with the seal of Leopold von -Dessauer, High Councillor of the United Princedom and Duchy, bearing -that "In the name of Hugo and Helene our well-loved lieges Captains -Boris and Jorian are empowered to act and treat," and so forth. This -momentous deed was tied about the middle with a red string, and -presented withal so courtly and respectable an appearance to the -uncritical eyes of the ex-men-at-arms themselves, that they felt almost -anything excusable which they might do in its name. - -Before leaving Kernsberg, therefore, Boris placed this great red-waisted -parchment roll in his bed, leaning it angle-wise against his pillow. -Jorian tossed a spare dagger with the arms of Plassenburg beside it. - -"There--let the civil power and the military for once lie down -together!" he said. "We delegate our authority to these two during our -absence!" - -To the silent Plassenburgers who had accompanied them, and who now kept -their door with unswerving attention, Boris explained himself briefly. - -"Remember," he said, "when you are asked, that the envoys of Plassenburg -are ill--ill of a dangerous and most contagious disease. Also, they are -asleep. They must on no account be waked. The windows must be kept -darkened. It is a great pity. You are desolated. You understand. The -first time I have more money than I can spend you shall have ten marks!" - -The men-at-arms understood, which was no wonder, for Boris generally -contrived to make himself very clear. But they thought within them that -their chances of financial benefit from their captain's conditional -generosity were worth about one sole stiver. - -So these two, being now free fighting-men, as it were, soldiers of -fortune, lay waiting on the slopes of the Jägernbergen, talking over the -situation. - -"A man surely has a right to his own wife!" said Jorian, taking for the -sake of argument the conventional side. - -"_Narren-possen_, Jorian!" cried Boris, raising his voice to the -indignation point. "Clotted nonsense! Who is going to keep a man's wife -for him if he cannot do it himself? And he a prince, and within his own -city and fortress, too. She boxed his ears, they say, and rode away, -telling him that if he wanted her he might come and take her! A pretty -spirit, i' faith! Too good for such a dried stockfish of the Baltic, -with not so much soul as a speckled flounder on his own mud-flats! -Faith! if I were a marrying man, I would run off with the lass myself. -She ought at least to be a soldier's wife." - -"The trouble is that so far she feels no necessity to be any one's -wife," said Jorian, shifting his ground. - -"That also is nonsense," said Boris, who, spite his defence of Joan, -held the usual masculine views. "Every woman wishes to marry, if she can -only have first choice." - -"There they come!" whispered Jorian, whose eyes had never wandered from -the long wavering lines of willow and alder which marked the courses of -the sluggish streams flowing east toward the Alla. - -Boris rose to his feet and looked long beneath his hand. Very far away -there was a sort of white tremulousness in the atmosphere which after a -while began to give off little luminous glints and sparkles, as the sea -does when a shaft of moonlight touches it through a dark canopy of -cloud. - -Then there arose from the level green plain first one tall column of -dense black smoke and then another, till as far as they could see to the -left the plain was full of them. - -"God's truth!" cried Jorian, "they are burning the farms and herds' -houses. I thought they had been Christians in Courtland. But these are -more like Duke Casimir's devil's tricks." - -Boris did not immediately answer. His eyes were busy seeing, his brain -setting in order. - -"I tell you what," he said at last, in a tone of intense interest, -"these are no fires lighted by Courtlanders. The heavy Baltic knights -could never ride so fast nor spread so wide. The Muscovite is out! These -are Cossack fires. Bravo, Jorian! we shall yet have our Hugo here with -his axe! He will never suffer the Bear so near his borders." - -"Let us go down," said Jorian, "or we shall miss some of the fun. In two -good hours they will be at the fords of the Alla!" - -So they looked to their arms and went down. - -"What do you here? Go back!" shouted Werner von Orseln, who with his men -lay waiting behind the floodbanks of the Alla. "This is not your -quarrel! Go back, Plassenburgers!" - -"We have for the time being demitted our office," Boris exclaimed. "The -envoys of Plassenburg are at home in bed, sick of a most sanguinary -fever. We offer you our swords as free fighting-men and good Teuts. The -Muscovites are over yonder. Lord, to think that I have lived to -forty-eight and never yet killed even one bearded Russ!" - -"You may mend that record shortly, to all appearance, if you have luck!" -said Von Orseln grimly. "And this gentleman here," he added, looking at -Jorian, "is he also in bed, sick?" - -"My sword is at your service," said the round one, "though I should -prefer a musketoon, if it is all the same to you. It will be something -to do till these firebrands come within arm's length of us." - -"I have here two which are very much at your service, if you know how to -use them!" said Werner. - -The men-at-arms laughed. - -"We know their tricks better than those of our sweethearts!" they said, -"and those we know well!" - -"Here they be, then," said Von Orseln. "I sent a couple of men spurring -to warn my Lady Joan, and I bade them leave their muskets and bandoliers -till they came back, that they might ride the lighter to and from -Kernsberg." - -Boris and Jorian took the spare pieces with a glow of gratitude, which -was, however, very considerably modified when they discovered the state -in which their former owners had kept them. - -"Dirty Wendish pigs," they said (which was their favourite malediction, -though they themselves were Wend of the Wends). "Were they but an hour -in our camp they should ride the wooden horse with these very muskets -tied to their soles to keep them firmly down. Faugh!" - -And Jorian withdrew his finger from the muzzle, black as soot with the -grease of uncleansed powder. - -Looking up, they saw that the priest with the little army of Kernsberg -was praying fervently (after the Hussite manner, without book) for the -safety of the State and person of their lady Duchess, and that the men -were listening bareheaded beneath the green slope of the water-dyke. - -"Go on cleaning," said Boris; "this is some heretic function, and might -sap our morality. We are volunteers, at any rate, as well as the best of -good Catholics. We do not need unlicensed prayers. If you have quite -done with that rag stick, lend it to me, Jorian!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -CAPTAINS BORIS AND JORIAN PROMOTE PEACE - - -Now this is the report which Captains Boris and Jorian, envoys (very) -extraordinary from the Prince and Princess of Plassenburg to the -reigning Duchess of Hohenstein, made to their home government upon their -return from the fords of the Alla. - -They wrote it in collaboration, on the usual plan of one working and the -other assisting him with advice. - -Jorian, being of the rotund and complaisant faction, acquiesced in the -proposal that he should do the writing. But as he never got beyond "To -our honoured Lord and Lady, Hugo and Helene, these----" there needs not -to be any particularity as to his manner of acting the scribe. He mended -at a pen till it looked like a brush worn to the straggling point. He -squared his elbows suddenly and overset the inkhorn. He daubed an entire -folio of paper with a completeness which left nothing to the -imagination. - -Then he remembered that he knew where a secretary was in waiting. He -would go and borrow him. Jorian re-entered their bedroom with a beaming -smile, and the secretary held by the sleeve to prevent his escape. Both -felt that already the report was as good as written. It began thus:-- - -"With great assiduity (a word suggested by the secretary) your envoys -remembered your Highnesses' princely advice and command that we should -involve ourselves in no warfare or other local disagreement. So when we -heard that Hohenstein was to be invaded by the troops of the Prince of -Courtland we were deeply grieved. - -"Nevertheless, judging it to be for the good of our country that we -should have a near view of the fighting, we left worthy and assured -substitutes in our place and room----" - -"The parchment commission with a string round his belly!" explained -Jorian, in answer to the young secretary's lifted eyebrow; "there he is, -hiding behind the faggot-chest." - -"Get on, Boris," quoth Jorian, from the settee on which he had thrown -himself; "it is your turn to lie." - -"Good!" says Boris. And did it as followeth:-- - -"We left our arms behind us----" - -"Such as we could not carry," added Jorian under his breath. The -secretary, a wise youth--full of the new learning and of talk concerning -certain books printed on paper and bound all with one _druck_ of a great -machine like a cheese-press--held his pen suspended over the paper in -doubt what to write. - -"Do not mind him," said Boris. "_I_ am dictating this report." - -"Yes, my lord!" replied the secretary from behind his hand. - -"We left our arms and armour behind us, and went out to make -observations in the interest of your Highnesses' armies. Going down -through the woods we saw many wild swine, exceeding fierce. But having -no means of hunting these, we evaded them, all save one, which -misfortunately met its death by falling against a spear in the hands of -Captain Boris, and another, also of the male sex, shot dead by Jorian's -pistol, which went off by accident as it was passing." - -"I have already written that your arms were left at home, according to -your direction," said the secretary, who was accustomed to criticise the -composition of diplomatic reports. - -"Pshaw!" growled Boris, bending his brow upon such superfluity of -virtue; "a little thing like that will never be noticed. Besides, a man -must carry something. We had no cannon or battering rams with us, -therefore we were unarmed--to all intents and purposes, that is." - -The secretary sighed. Verily life (as Von Orseln averred) must be easy -in Plassenburg, if such stories would pass with the Prince. And now it -seemed as if they would. - -"We found the soldiers of the Duchess Joan waiting at the fords of the -Alla, which is the eastern border of their province. There were not many -of them, but all good soldiers. The Courtlanders came on in myriads, -with Muscovites without number. These last burned and slew all in their -path. Now the men of Hohenstein are good to attack, but their fault is -that they are not patient to defend. So it came to pass that not long -after we arrived at the fords of the Alla, one Werner von Orseln, -commander of the soldiers of the Duchess, ordered that his men should -attack the Courtlanders in front. Whereupon they crossed the ford, when -they should have stayed behind their shelter. It was bravely done, but -had better have been left undone. - -"Remembering, however, your orders and our duty, we advanced with him, -hoping that by some means we might be able to promote peace. - -"This we did. For (wonderful as it may appear) we convinced no fewer -than ten Muscovites whom we found sacking a farm, and their companions, -four sutlers of Courtland, that it was wrong to slay and ravish in a -peaceful country. In the heat of the argument Captain Boris received a -bullet through his shoulder which caused us for the time being to cease -our appeal and fall back. The Muscovites, however, made no attempt to -follow us. Our arguments had been sufficient to convince them of the -wickedness of their deed. We hope to receive your princely approval of -this our action--peace being, in our opinion, the greatest blessing -which any nation can enjoy. For without flattery we may say that if -others had argued with equal persuasiveness, the end would have been -happier. - -"Then, being once more behind the flood-dykes of the Alla, Captain -Jorian examined the hurt of Captain Boris which he had received in the -peace negotiations with the Muscovites. It was but a flesh wound, -happily, and was soon bound up. But the pain of it acted upon both your -envoys as an additional incentive to put a stop to the horrors of war. - -"So when a company of the infantry of Courtland, with whom we had -hitherto had no opportunity of wrestling persuasively, attacked the -fords, wading as deep as mid-thigh, we took upon us to rebuke them for -their forwardness. And accordingly they desisted, some retreating to the -further shore, while others, finding the water pleasant, remained, and -floated peacefully down with the current. - -"This also, in some measure, made for peace, and we humbly hope for the -further approval of your Highnesses, when you have remarked our careful -observance of all your instructions. - -"If only we had had with us our several companies of the Regiment of -Karl the Miller's Son to aid us in the discussion, more Cossacks and -Strelits might have been convinced, and the final result have been -different. Nevertheless, we did what we could, and were successful with -many beyond our hopes. - -"But the men of Hohenstein being so few, and those of Courtland with -their allies so many, the river was overpassed both above and below the -fords. Whereupon I pressed it upon Werner von Orseln that he should -retreat to a place of greater hope and safety, being thus in danger on -both flanks. - -"For your envoys have a respect for Werner von Orseln, though we grieve -to report that, being a man of war from his youth up, he does not -display that desire for peace which your good counsels have so deeply -implanted in our breasts, and which alone animates the hearts of Boris -and Jorian, captains in the princely guard of Plassenburg." - -"Put that in, till I have time to think what is to come next!" said -Boris, waving his hand to the secretary. "We are doing pretty well, I -think!" he added, turning to his companion with all the self-conscious -pride of an amateur in words. - -"Let us now tell more about Von Orseln, and how he would in no wise -listen to us!" suggested Jorian. "But let us not mix the mead too -strong! Our Hugo is shrewd!" - -"This Werner von Orseln (be it known to your High Graciousnesses) was -the chief obstacle in the way of our making peace--except, perhaps, -those Muscovites with whom we were unable to argue, having no -opportunity. This Werner had fought all the day, and, though most -recklessly exposing himself, was still unhurt. His armour was covered -with blood and black with powder after the fashion of these wild -hot-bloods. His face also was stained, and when he spoke it was in a -hoarse whisper. The matter of his discourse to us was this:-- - -"'I can do no more. My people are dead, my powder spent. They are more -numerous than the sea-sands. They are behind us and before, also -outflanking us on either side.' - -"Then we advised him to set his face to Hohenstein and with those who -were left to him to retreat in that direction. We accompanied him, -bearing in mind your royal commands, and eager to do all that in us lay -to advance the interests of amity. The enemy fetched a compass to close -us in on every side. - -"Whereupon we argued with them again to the best of our ability. There -ensued some slight noise and confusion, so that Captain Boris forgot his -wound, and Captain Jorian admits that in his haste he may have spoken -uncivilly to several Bor-Russian gentry who thrust themselves in his -way. And for this unseemly conduct he craves the pardon of their -Highnesses Hugo and Helene, his beloved master and mistress. However, as -no complaint has been received from the enemy's headquarters, no breach -of friendly relations may be apprehended. Captain Boris is of opinion -that the Muscovite boors did not understand Captain Jorian's Teuton -language. At least they were not observed to resent his words. - -"In this manner were the invaders of Hohenstein broken through, and the -remnant of the soldiers of the Duchess Joan reached Kernsberg in -safety--a result which, we flatter ourselves, was as much due to the -zeal and amicable persuasiveness of your envoys as to the skill and -bravery of Werner von Orseln and the soldiers of the Duchess. - -"And your humble servants will ever pray for the speedy triumph of peace -and concord, and also for an undisturbed reign to your Highnesses -through countless years. In token whereof we append our signatures and -seals. - - "BORIS - "JORIAN." - -"Is not that last somewhat overstrained about peace and concord and so -forth?" asked Jorian anxiously. - -"Not a whit--not a whit!" cried Boris, who, having finished his -composition, was wholly satisfied with himself, after the manner of the -beginner in letters. "Our desire to promote peace needs to be put -strongly, in order to carry persuasion to their Highnesses in -Plassenburg. In fact, I am not sure that it has been put strongly -enough!" - -"I am troubled with some few doubts myself!" said Jorian, under his -breath. - -And as the secretary jerked the ink from his pen he smiled. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -JOAN STANDS WITHIN HER DANGER - - -So soon as Werner von Orseln returned to Castle Kernsberg with news of -the forcing of the Alla and the overwhelming numbers of the Muscovite -hordes, the sad-eyed Duchess of Hohenstein became once more Joan of the -Sword Hand. - -Hitherto she had doubted and feared. But now the thought of Prince Wasp -and his Muscovite savages steadied her, and she was here and there, in -every bastion of the Castle, looking especially to the gates which -commanded the roads to Courtland and Plassenburg. - -Her one thought was, "Will _he_ be here?" - -And again she saw the knight of the white plume storm through the lists -of Courtland, and the enemy go down before him. Ah, if only----! - -[Illustration: "Captain Boris was telling a story." [_Page 127_]] - -The invading army must have numbered thirty thousand, at least. There -were, all told, about two thousand spears in Kernsberg. Von Orseln, -indeed, could easily have raised more. Nay, they would have come in of -themselves by hundreds to fight for their Duchess, but the little hill -town could not feed more. Yet Joan was not discouraged. She joked with -Peter Balta upon the louts of Courtlanders taking the Castle which Henry -the Lion had fortified. The Courtlanders, indeed! Had not Duke Casimir -assaulted Kernsberg in vain, and even the great Margraf George -threatened it? Yet still it remained a virgin fortress, looking out over -the fertile and populous plain. But now what were left of the -shepherds had fled to the deep-bosomed mountains with their flocks. The -cattle were hidden in the thickest woods; only the white farm-houses -remained tenantless, silently waiting the coming of the spoiler. And, -stripped for combat, Castle Kernsberg looked out towards the invader, -the rolling plain in front of it, and behind the grim intricate hill -country of Hohenstein. - -When Werner von Orseln and Peter Balta met the invader at the fords of -the Alla, Maurice von Lynar and Alt Pikker had remained with Joan, -nominally to assist her dispositions, but really to form a check upon -the impetuosity of her temper. - -Now Von Orseln was back again. The fords of the Alla were forced, and -the fighting strength of Kernsberg united itself in the Eagle's Nest to -make its final stand. - -Aloft on the highest ramparts there was a terrace walk which the -Sparhawk much affected, especially when he was on guard at night. It -looked towards the east, and from it the first glimpse of the -Courtlanders would be obtained. - -In the great hall of the guard they were drinking their nightly toast. -The shouting might have been heard in the town, where at street corners -were groups of youths exercising late with wooden spears and mimic -armour, crying "Hurrah, Kernsberg!" - -They changed it, however, in imitation of their betters in the Castle -above. - -"_Joan of the Sword Hand! Hoch!_" - -The shout went far into the night. Again and yet again it was repeated -from about the crowded board in the hall of the men-at-arms and from the -gloomy streets beneath. - -When all was over, the Sparhawk rose, belted his sword a hole or two -tighter, set a steel cap without a visor upon his head, glanced at -Werner von Orseln, and withdrew, leaving the other captains to their -free-running jest and laughter. Captain Boris of Plassenburg was telling -a story with a countenance more than ordinarily grave and earnest, -while the table round rang with contagious mirth. - -The Sparhawk found the high terrace of the Lion Tower guarded by a -sentry. Him he removed to the foot of the turret-stair, with orders to -permit no one save Werner von Orseln to pass on any pretext. - -Presently the chief captain's step was heard on the stone turnpike. - -"Ha, Sparhawk," he cried, "this is cold cheer! Why could we not have -talked comfortably in hall, with a beaker of mead at one's elbow?" - -"The enemy are not in sight," said the Sparhawk gloomily. - -"Well, that is bad luck," said Werner; "but do not be afraid, you will -have your chance yet--indeed, all you want and a little over--in the way -of killing of Muscovites." - -"I wanted to speak with you on a matter we cannot mention elsewhere," -said Maurice von Lynar. - -The chief captain stopped in his stride, drew his cloak about him, -rested his thigh on a square battlement, and resigned himself. - -"Well," he said, "youth has ever yeasty brains. Go on." - -"I would speak of my lady!" said the youth. - -"So would most mooncalves of your age!" growled Werner; "but they do not -usually bring their commanding officers up to the housetops to do it!" - -"I mean our lady, the Duchess Joan!" - -"Ah," said Werner, with the persiflage gone out of his tone, "that is -altogether another matter!" - -And the two men were silent for a minute, both looking out into the -blackness where no stars shone or any light twinkled beyond the walls of -the little fortified hill town. - -At last Maurice von Lynar spoke. - -"How long can we hold out if they besiege us?" - -"Two months, certainly--with luck, three!" - -"And then?" - -Werner von Orseln shrugged his shoulders, but only said, "A soldier -never anticipates disaster!" - -"And what of the Duchess Joan?" persisted the young man. - -"Why, in the same space of time she will be dead or wed!" said Von -Orseln, with an affectation of carelessness easily seen through. - -The young man burst out, "Dead she may be! I know she will never be wife -to that Courtland Death's-head. I saw it in her eyes that day in their -cathedral, when she bade me slip out and bring up our four hundred -lances of Kernsberg." - -"Like enough," said Werner shortly. "I, for one, set no bounds to any -woman's likings or mislikings!" - -"We must get her away to a place of safety," said the young man. - -Von Orseln laughed. - -"Get her? Who would persuade or compel our lady? Whither would she go? -Would she be safer there than here? Would the Courtlander not find out -in twenty-four hours that there was no Joan of the Sword Hand in -Kernsberg, and follow on her trail? And lastly--question most pertinent -of all--what had you to drink down there in hall, young fellow?" - -The Sparhawk did not notice the last question, nor did he reply in a -similarly jeering tone. - -"We must persuade her--capture her, compel her, if necessary. Kernsberg -cannot for long hold out against both the Muscovite and the Courtlander. -Save good Jorian and Boris, who will lie manfully about their fighting, -there is no help for us in mortal man. So this is what we must do to -save our lady!" - -"What? Capture Joan of the Sword Hand and carry her off? The mead buzzes -in the boy's head. He grows dotty with anxiety and too much hard ale. -'Ware, Maurice--these battlements are not over high. I will relieve you, -lad! Go to bed and sleep it off!" - -"Von Orseln," said the youth, with simple earnestness, not heeding his -taunts, "I have thought deeply. I see no way out of it but this. Our -lady will eagerly go on reconnaissance if you represent it as necessary. -You must take ten good men and ride north, far north, even to the edges -of the Baltic, to a place I know of, which none but I and one other can -find. There, with a few trusty fellows to guard her, she will be safe -till the push of the times is over." - -The chief captain was silent. He had wholly dropped his jeering mood. - -"There is nothing else that I can see for it," the young Dane went on, -finding that Werner did not speak. "Our Joan will never go to Courtland -alive. She will not be carried off on Prince Louis' saddle-bow, as a -Cossack might carry off a Circassian slave!" - -"But how," said Von Orseln, meditating, "will you prevent her absence -being known? The passage of so large a party may easily be traced and -remembered. Though our folk are true enough and loyal enough, sooner or -later what is known in the Castle is known in the town, and what is -known in the town becomes known to the enemy!" - -Maurice von Lynar leaned forward towards his chief captain and whispered -a few words in his ear. - -"Ah!" he said, and nodded. Then, after a pause for thought, he added, -"That is none so ill thought on for a beardless younker! I will think it -over, sleep on it, and tell you my opinion to-morrow!" - -The youth tramped to and fro on the terrace, muttering to himself. - -"Good-night, Sparhawk!" said Von Orseln, from the top of the corkscrew -stair, as he prepared to descend; "go to bed. I will send Alt Pikker to -command the house-guard to-night. Do you get straightway between the -sheets as soon as maybe. If this mad scheme comes off you will need your -beauty-sleep with a vengeance! So take it now!" - -"At any rate," the chief captain growled to himself, "you have set a -pretty part for me. I may forthwith order my shroud. I shall never be -able to face my lady again!" - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -THE CHIEF CAPTAIN'S TREACHERY - - -The Duchess Joan was in high spirits. It had been judged necessary, in -consultation with her chief officers, to ride a reconnaissance in person -in order to ascertain whether the advancing enemy had cut Kernsberg off -towards the north. On this matter Von Orseln thought that her Highness -had better judge for herself. Here at last was something definite to be -done. It was almost like the old foraying days, but now in a more -desperate cause. - -Ten days before, Joan's maidens and her aged nurse had been sent for -safety into Plassenburg, under escort of Captains Boris and Jorian as -far as the frontier--who had, however, returned in time to accompany the -party of observation on their ride northward. - -No one in all Castle Kernsberg was to know of the departure of this -cavalcade. Shortly before midnight the horses were to be ready under the -Castle wall. The Sparhawk was appointed to command the town during Von -Orseln's absence. Ten men only were to go, and these picked and sifted -riders--chosen because of their powers of silence--and because, being -unmarried, they had no wives to worm secrets out of them. Sweethearts -they might have, but then, in Kernsberg at least, that is a very -different thing. - -Finally, having written to their princely master in Plassenburg, that -they were leaving on account of the war--in which, as envoys -extraordinary, they did not desire to be further mixed up--Captains -Boris and Jorian made them ready to accompany the reconnaissance. It -proved to be a dark and desperate night of storm and rain. The stars -were ever and anon concealed by the thick pall of cloud which the wind -from the south drove hurtling athwart them. Joan herself was in the -highest spirits. She wore a long blue cloak, which completely concealed -the firmly knit slender figure, clad in forester's dress, from prying -eyes. - -As for Werner von Orseln, that high captain was calm and grave as usual, -but the rest of the ten men were plainly nervous, as they fingered their -bridle-reins and avoided looking at each other while they waited in -readiness to mount. - -With a clatter of hoofs they were off, none in the Castle knowing more -than that Werner the chief captain rode out on his occasions. A townsman -or two huddled closer among his blankets as the clatter and jingle of -the horses mingled with the sharp volleying of the rain upon his -wind-beaten lattice, while the long _whoo_ of the wind sang of troublous -times in the twisted chimneys overhead. - -Joan, as the historian has already said, was in high spirits. - -"Werner," she cried, as soon as they were clear of the town, "if we -strike the enemy to-night, I declare we will draw sword and ride through -them." - -"_If_ we strike them to-night, right so, my lady!" returned Werner -promptly. - -But he had the best of reasons for knowing that they would not strike -any enemy that night. His last spy from the north had arrived not half -an hour before they started, having ridden completely round the enemy's -host. - -Joan and her chief captain rode on ahead, Von Orseln glancing keenly -about him, and Joan riding free and careless, as in the old days when -she overpassed the hills to drive a prey from the lands of her father's -enemies. - -It was grey morning when they came to a goatherd's hut at the top of the -green valley. Already they had passed the bounds of Hohenstein by half a -dozen miles. The goatherd had led his light-skipping train to the hills -for the day, and the rude and chaotic remains of his breakfast were -still on the table. Boris and Jorian cleared these away, and, with the -trained alacrity of seasoned men-at-arms, they placed before the party a -breakfast prepared with speed out of what they had brought with them and -those things which they had found to their hand by foraging in the -larder of the goatherd--to wit, sliced neat's-tongue dried in the smoke, -and bread of fine wheat which Jorian had carried all the way in a net at -his saddle-bow. Boris had charge of the wine-skins, and upon a shelf -above the door they found a great butter-pot full of freshly made curded -goats' milk, very delicious both to taste and smell. - -Of these things they ate and drank largely, Joan and Von Orseln being -together at the upper end of the table. Boris and Jorian had to sit with -them, though much against their wills, being (spite of their -sweethearts) more accustomed to the company of honest men-at-arms than -to the practice of dainty eating in ladies' society. - -Joan undertook to rally them upon their loves, for whose fair fingers, -as it has been related in an earlier chapter, she had given them rings. - -"And how took your Katrin the ring, Boris?" she said, looking at him -past the side of her glass. For Jorian had bethought him to bring one -for the Duchess, the which he cleansed and cooled at the spring without. -As for the others, they all drank out of one wooden whey-cog, as was -most fitting. - -"Why, she took it rarely," said honest Boris, "and swore to love me more -than ever for it. We are to be married upon my first return to -Plassenburg." - -"Which, perhaps, is the reason why you are in no hurry to return -thither, seeing that you stopped short at the frontier last week?" said -the Duchess shrewdly. - -"Nay, my lady, that grieved me sore--for, indeed, we love each other -dearly, Katrin and I," persisted Captain Boris, thinking, as was his -custom, to lie himself out of it by dint of the mere avoirdupois of -asseveration. - -"That is the greater marvel," returned the lady, smiling upon him, -"because when last I spoke with you concerning the matter, her name was -not Katrin, but Gretchen!" - -Boris was silent, as well he might be, for even as he lied he had had -some lurking suspicion of this himself. He felt that he could hope to -get no further by this avenue. - -The lady now turned to Jorian, who, having digested the defeat and shame -of Boris, was ready to be very indignant at his companion for having -claimed his sweetheart. - -"And you, Captain Jorian," she said, "how went it with you? Was your -ring well received?" - -"Aye, marry," said that gallant captain, "better than well. Much better! -Never did I see woman so grateful. Katrin, whom this long, wire-drawn, -splenetic fool hath lyingly claimed as his (by some trick of tongue born -of his carrying the malmsey at his saddle-bow)--Katrin, I say, did kiss -and clip me so that my very soul fainted within me. She could not make -enough of the giver of such a precious thing as your Highness's ring?" - -Jorian in his own estimation was doing very well. He thought he could -yet better it. - -"Her eyes sparkled with joy. Her hands twitched--she could not keep them -from turning the pretty jewel about upon her finger. She swore never to -part with it while life lasted----" - -"Then," said Joan, smiling, "have no more to do with her. She is a false -wench and mansworn. For do not I see it upon the little finger of your -left hand at this moment? Nay, do not turn the stone within. I know my -gift, and will own it even if your Katrin (was it not?) hath despised -it. What say you now to that, Jorian?" - -"My lady," faltered Jorian, striving manfully to recover himself, "when -I came again in the honourable guise of an ambassador to Kernsberg, -Katrin gave it back again to me, saying, 'You have no signet ring. Take -this, so that you be not ashamed among those others. Keep it for me. I -myself will place it on your finger with a loving kiss.'" - -"Well done, Captain Jorian, you are a somewhat better liar than your -friend. But still your excuses should accord better. The ring I gave you -is not a signet ring. That Katrin of yours must have been ignorant -indeed." - -With these words Joan of the Sword Hand rose to her feet, for the -ex-men-at-arms had not so much as a word to say. - -"Let us now mount and ride homeward," she said; "there are no enemy to -be found on this northerly road. We shall be more fortunate upon another -occasion." - -Then Werner Von Orseln nerved himself for a battle more serious than any -he had ever fought at the elbow of Henry the Lion of Hohenstein. - -"My lady," he said, standing up and bowing gravely before her, "you see -here eleven men who love you far above their lives, of whom I am the -chief. Two others also there are, who, though not of our nation, are in -heart joined to us, especially in this thing that we have done. With all -respect, your Highness cannot go back. We have come out, not to make a -reconnaissance, but to put your Grace in a place of safety till the -storm blows over." - -The Duchess had slowly risen to her feet, with her hand on the sword -which swung at her belt. - -"You have suddenly gone mad, Werner!" she said; "let us have no more of -this. I bid you mount and ride. Back to Kernsberg, I say! Ye are not -such fools and traitors as to deliver the maiden castle, the Eagle's -Nest of Hohenstein, into the hands of our enemies?" - -"Nay," said Von Orseln, looking steadily upon the ground, "that will we -not do. Kernsberg is in good hands, and will fight bravely. But we -cannot hold out with our few folk and scanty provender against the -leaguer of thirty thousand. Nevertheless we will not permit you to -sacrifice yourself for our sakes or for the sake of the women and -children of the city." - -Joan drew her sword. - -"Werner von Orseln, will you obey me, or must I slay you with my hand?" -she cried. - -The chief captain yet further bowed his head and abased his eyes. - -"We have thought also of this," he made answer. "Me you may kill, but -these that are with me will defend themselves, though they will not -strike one they love more than their lives. But man by man we have sworn -to do this thing. At all hazards you must abide in our hands till the -danger is overpast. For me (this he added in a deeper tone), I am your -immediate officer. There is none to come between us. It is your right to -slay me if you will. Mine is the responsibility for this deed, though -the design was not mine. Here is my sword. Slay your chief captain with -it if you will. He has faithfully served your house for five-and-thirty -years. 'Tis perhaps time he rested now." - -And with these words Werner von Orseln took his sword by the point and -offered the hilt to his mistress. - -Joan of the Sword Hand shook with mingled passion and helplessness, and -her eyes were dark and troublous. - -"Put up your blade," she said, striking aside the hilt with her hand; -"if you have not deserved death, no more have I deserved this! But you -said that the design was not yours. Who, then, has dared to plot against -the liberty of Joan of Hohenstein?" - -"I would I could claim the honour," said Werner the chief captain; "but -truly the matter came from Maurice von Lynar the Dane. It is to his -mother, who after the death of her brother, the Count von Lynar, -continued to dwell in a secret strength on the Baltic shore, that we are -conducting your Grace!" - -"Maurice von Lynar?" exclaimed Joan, astonished. "He remains in Castle -Kernsberg, then?" - -"Aye," said Werner, relieved by her tone, "he will take your place when -danger comes. In morning twilight or at dusk he makes none so ill a -Lady Duchess, and, i' faith, his 'sword hand' is brisk enough. If the -town be taken, better that he than you be found in Castle Kernsberg. Is -the thing not well invented, my lady?" - -Werner looked up hopefully. He thought he had pleaded his cause well. - -"Traitor! Supplanter!" cried Joan indignantly; "this Dane in my place! I -will hang him from the highest window in the Castle of Kernsberg if ever -I win back to mine own again!" - -"My lady," said Werner, gently and respectfully, "your servant Von Lynar -bade me tell you that he would as faithfully and loyally take your place -now as he did on a former occasion!" - -"Ah," said Joan, smiling wanly with a quick change of mood, "I hope he -will be more ready to give up his privileges on this occasion than on -that!" - -She was thinking of the Princess Margaret and the heritage of trouble -upon which, as the Count von Löen, she had caused the Sparhawk to enter. - -Then a new thought seemed to strike her. - -"But my nurse and my women--how can he keep the imposture secret? He may -pass before the stupid eyes of men. But they----" - -"If your Highness will recollect, they have been sent out of harm's way -into Plassenburg. There is not a woman born of woman in all the Castle -of Kernsberg!" - -"Yes," mused Joan, "I have indeed been fairly cozened. I gave that order -also by the Dane's advice. Well, let him have his run. We will reeve him -a firm collar of hemp at the end of it, and maybe for Werner von Orseln -also, as a traitor alike to his bread and his mistress. Till then I hope -you will both enjoy playing your parts." - -The chief captain bowed. - -"I am content, my lady," he said respectfully. - -"Now, good jailers all," cried Joan, "lead on. I will follow. Or would -you prefer to carry me with you handcuffed and chained? I will go with -you in whatsoever fashion seemeth good to my masters!" - -She paused and looked round the little goatherd's hut. - -"Only," she said, nodding her head, "I warn you I will take my own time -and manner of coming back!" - -There was a deep silence as the men drew their belts tighter and -prepared to mount and depart. - -"About that time, Jorian," whispered Boris as they went out, "you and I -will be better in Plassenburg than within the bounds of Kernsberg--for -our health's sake and our sweethearts', that is!" - -"Good!" said Jorian, dropping the bars of his visor; "but for all that -she is a glorious wench, and looks her bravest when she is angry!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -ISLE RUGEN - - -They had travelled for six hours through high arched pines, their fallen -needles making a carpet green and springy underfoot. Then succeeded -oaks, stricken a little at top with the frosts of years. Alternating -with these came marshy tracts where alder and white birch gleamed from -the banks of shallow runnels and the margins of black peaty lakes. Anon -the broom and the gorse began to flourish sparsely above wide -sand-hills, heaved this way and that like the waves of a mountainous -sea. - -The party was approaching that no-man's-land which stretches for upwards -of a hundred miles along the southern shores of the Baltic. It is a land -of vast brackish backwaters connected with the outer sea by devious -channels often half silted up, but still feeling the pulse of the outer -green water in the winds which blow over the sandy "bills," bars, and -spits, and bring with them sweet scents of heather and wild thyme, and, -most of all, of the southernwood which grows wild on the scantily -pastured braes. - -It was at that time a beautiful but lonely country--the 'batable land of -half a dozen princedoms, its only inhabitant a stray hunter setting up -his gipsy booth of wattled boughs, heaping with stones a rude fireplace, -or fixing a tripod over it whereon a pottinger was presently a-swing, in -some sunny curve of the shore. - -At eventide of the third day of their journeying the party came to a -great morass. Black decaying trunks of trees stood up at various -angles, often bristling with dead branches like _chevaux-de-frise_. The -horses picked their path warily through this tangle, the rotten sticks -yielding as readily and silently as wet mud beneath their hoofs. Finally -all dismounted except Joan, while Werner von Orseln, with a rough map in -his hand, traced out the way. Pools of stagnant black water had to be -evaded, treacherous yellow sands tested, bridges constructed of the -firmer logs, till all suddenly they came out upon a fairylike little -half-moon of sand and tiny shells. - -Here was a large flat-bottomed boat, drawn up against the shore. In the -stern a strange figure was seated, a man, tall and angular, clad in -jerkin and trunks of brown tanned leather, cross-gartered hose of grey -cloth, and home-made shoon of hide with the hair outside. He wore a -black skull cap, and his head had the strange, uncanny look of a wild -animal. It was not at the first glance nor yet at the second that Boris -and Jorian found out the cause of this curious appearance. - -Meanwhile Werner von Orseln was putting into his hand some pledge or -sign which he scrutinised carefully, when Jorian suddenly gripped his -companion's arm. - -"Look," he whispered, "he's got no ears!" - -"Nor any tongue!" responded Boris, staring with all his eyes at the -prodigy. - -And, indeed, the strange man was pointing to his mouth with the index -finger of his right hand and signing that they were to follow him into -the boat which had been waiting for them. - -Joan of the Sword Hand had never spoken since she knew that her men were -taking her to a place of safety. Nor did her face show any trace of -emotion now that Werner von Orseln, approaching cap in hand, humbly -begged her to permit him to conduct her to the boat. - -But the Duchess leapt from her horse, and without accepting his hand she -stepped from the little pier of stone beside which the boat lay. Then -walking firmly from seat to seat she reached the stern, where she sat -down without seeming to have glanced at any of the company. - -Werner von Orseln then motioned Captains Boris and Jorian to take their -places in the bow, and having bared his head he seated himself beside -his mistress. The wordless earless man took the oars and pushed off. The -boat slid over a little belt of still water through a wilderness of tall -reeds. Then all suddenly the wavelets lapped crisp and clean beneath her -bottom, and the wide levels of a lake opened out before them. The ten -men left on the shore set about building a fire and making shelters of -brushwood, as if they expected to stay here some time. - -The tiny harbour was fenced in on every side with an unbroken wall of -lofty green pines. The lower part of their trunks shot up tall and -straight and opened long vistas into the black depths of the forest. The -sun was setting and threw slant rays far underneath, touching with gold -the rank marish growths, and reddening the mouldering boles of the -fallen pines. - -The boat passed almost noiselessly along, the strange man rowing -strongly and the boat drawing steadily away across the widest part of -the still inland sea. As they thus coasted along the gloomy shores the -sun went down and darkness came upon them at a bound. Then at the far -end of the long tunnel, which an hour agone had been sunny glades, they -saw strange flickering lights dancing and vanishing, waving and leaping -upward--will-o'-the-wisps kindled doubtless from the stagnant boglands -and the rotting vegetation of that ancient northern forest. - -The breeze freshened. The water clappered louder under the boat's -quarter. Breaths born of the wide sea unfiltered through forest dankness -visited more keenly the nostrils of the voyagers. They heard ahead of -them the distant roar of breakers. Now and then there came a long and -gradual roll underneath their quarter, quite distinct from the little -chopping waves of the fresh-water _haff_, as the surface of the mere -heaved itself in a great slope of water upon which the boat swung -sideways. - -After a space tall trees again shot up overhead, and with a quick turn -the boat passed between walls of trembling reeds that rustled against -the oars like silk, emerged on a black circle of water, and then, -gliding smoothly forward, took ground in the blank dark. - -As the broad keel grated on the sand, the Wordless Man leapt out, and, -standing on the shore, put his hands to his mouth and emitted a long -shout like a blast blown on a conch shell. Again and again that -melancholy ululation, with never a consonantal sound to break it, went -forth into the night. Yet it was so modulated that it had obviously a -meaning for some one, and to put the matter beyond a doubt it was -answered by three shrill whistles from behind the rampart of trees. - -Joan sat still in the boat where she had placed herself. She asked no -question, and even these strange experiences did not alter her -resolution. - -Presently a light gleamed uncertainly through the trees, now lost behind -brushwood and again breaking waveringly out. - -A tall figure moved forward with a step quick and firm. It was that of a -woman who carried a swinging lantern in her hand, from which wheeling -lights gleamed through a score of variously coloured little plates of -horn. She wore about her shoulders a great crimson cloak which masked -her shape. A hood of the same material, attached at the back of the neck -to the cloak, concealed her head and dropped about her face, partially -hiding her features. - -Standing still on a little wooden pier she held the lantern high, so -that the light fell directly on those in the boat, and their faces -looked strangely white in that illumined circle, surrounded as it was by -a pent-house of tense blackness--black pines, black water, black sky. - -"Follow me!" said the woman, in a deep rich voice--a voice whose tones -thrilled those who heard them to their hearts, so full and low were some -of the notes. - -Joan of the Sword Hand rose to her feet. - -"I am the Duchess of Hohenstein, and I do not leave this boat till I -know in what place I am, and who this may be that cries 'Follow!' to the -daughter of Henry the Lion!" - -The tall woman turned without bowing and looked at the girl. - -"I am the mother of Maurice von Lynar, and this is the Isle Rugen!" she -said simply, as if the answer were all sufficient. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE HOUSE ON THE DUNES - - -The woman in the crimson cloak waited for Joan to be assisted from the -boat, and then, without a word of greeting, led the way up a little -sanded path to a gate which opened in a high stone wall. Through this -she admitted her guests, whereupon they found themselves in an enclosure -with towers and battlements rising dimly all round. It was planted with -fragrant bushes and fruit trees whose leaves brushed pleasantly against -their faces as they walked in single file following their guide. - -Then came a long grey building, another door, small and creaking heavily -on unaccustomed hinges, a sudden burst of light, and lo! the wanderers -found themselves within a lighted hall, wherein were many stands of arms -and armour, mingled with skins of wild animals, wide-spreading -many-tined antlers, and other records of the chase. - -The woman who had been their guide now set down her lantern and allowed -the hood of her cloak to slide from her head. Werner and his two male -companions the captains of Plassenburg, fell back a little at the -apparition. They had expected to see some hag or crone, fit companion of -their wordless guide. - -Instead, a woman stood before them, not girlish certainly, nor yet in -the first bloom of her youth, but glorious even among fair women by -reason of the very ripeness of her beauty. Her hair shone full auburn -with shadows of heavy burnt-gold upon its coils. It clustered about the -broad low brow in a few simple locks, then, sweeping back round her head -in loose natural waves, it was caught in a broad flat coil at the back, -giving a certain statuesque and classic dignity to her head. - -The mother of that young paladin, their Sparhawk? It seemed impossible. -This woman was too youthful, too fair, too bountiful in her gracious -beauty to be the mother of such a tense young yew-bow as Maurice von -Lynar. - -Yet she had said it, and women do not lie (affirmatively) about such a -matter. So, indeed, at heart thought Werner von Orseln. - -"My lady Joan," she said, in the same thrilling voice, "my son has sent -me word that till a certain great danger is overpast you are to abide -with me here on the Isle Rugen. I live alone, save for this one man, -dumb Max Ulrich, long since cruelly maimed at the hands of his enemies. -I can offer you no suite of attendants beyond those you bring with you. -Our safety depends on the secrecy of our abode, as for many years my own -life has done. I ask you, therefore, to respect our privacy, as also to -impose the same upon your soldiers." - -The Duchess Joan bowed slightly. - -"As you doubtless know, I have not come hither of my own free will," she -answered haughtily; "but I thank you, madam, for your hospitality. Rest -assured that the amenity of your dwelling shall not be endangered by -me!" - -The two looked at each other with that unyielding "at-arm's-length" -eyeshot which signifies instinctive antipathy between women of strong -wills. - -Then with a large gesture the elder indicated the way up the broad -staircase, and throwing her own cloak completely off she caught it -across her arm as it dropped, and so followed Joan out of sight. - -Werner von Orseln stood looking after them a little bewildered. But the -more experienced Boris and Jorian exchanged significant glances with -each other. - -Then Boris shook his head at Jorian, and Jorian shook his head at Boris. -And for once they did not designate the outlook by their favourite -adjective. - - * * * * * - -Nevertheless, instinct was so strong that, as soon as the women had -withdrawn themselves upstairs, the three captains seized the lantern and -started towards the door to make the round of the defences. The Wordless -Man accompanied them unasked. The square enclosure in which they found -themselves seemed liker an old fortified farmhouse or grange than a -regular castle, though the walls were thick as those of any fortress, -being loopholed for musketry, and (in those days of bombards few and -heavy) capable of standing a siege in good earnest against a small army. - -The doors were of thick oak crossed in all directions with strengthening -iron. The three captains examined every barred window with keen -professional curiosity, and, coming to another staircase in a distant -part of the house, Von Orseln intimated to the dumb man that they wished -to examine it. In rapid pantomime he indicated to them that there was an -ascending flight of steps leading round and round a tower till a -platform was reached, from which (gazing out under his hand and making -with his finger the shape of battlements) he gave them to understand -that an extensive prospect was to be enjoyed. - -With an inward resolve to ascend that stair and look upon that prospect -at an early hour on the morrow, the three captains returned through the -hall into a long dining-room vaulted above with beams of solid oak. -Curtains were drawn close all about the walls. In the recesses were many -stands of arms of good and recent construction, and opening a cupboard -with the freedom of a man-at-arms, Boris saw ramrods, powder and shot -horns arranged in order, as neatly as though he had done it himself, -than which no better could be said. - -In a little while the sound of footsteps descending the nearer staircase -was heard. The Wordless Man moved to the door and held it open as Joan -came in with a proud high look on her face. She was still pale, partly -with travel and partly from the seething indignant angers of her heart. -Von Lynar's mother entered immediately after her guest, and it needed -nothing more subtle than Werner von Orseln's masculine acumen to discern -that no word had been spoken between them while they were alone. - -With a queenly gesture the hostess motioned her guest to the place of -honour at her right hand, and indicated that the three soldiers were to -take their places at the other side of the table. Werner von Orseln -moved automatically to obey, but Jorian and Boris were already at the -sideboard, dusting platters and making them ready to serve the meal. - -"I thank you, madam," said Jorian. "Were we here as envoys of our -master, Prince Hugo of Plassenburg, we would gladly and proudly sit at -meat with you. But we are volunteers, and have all our lives been -men-at-arms. We will therefore assist this good gentleman to serve, an -it please you to permit us!" - -The lady bowed slightly and for the first time smiled. - -"You have, then, accompanied the Lady Duchess hither for pleasure, -gentlemen? I fear Isle Rugen is a poor place for that!" she said, -looking across at them. - -"Aye and no!" said Jorian; "Kernsberg is, indeed, no fit dwelling-place -for great ladies just now. The Duchess Joan will indeed be safer here -than elsewhere till the Muscovites have gone home, and the hill-folk of -Hohenstein have only the Courtlanders to deal with. All the same, we -could have wished to have been permitted to speak with the Muscovite in -the gate!" - -"My son remains in Castle Kernsberg?" she asked, with an upward -inflection, an indescribable softness at the same time overspreading her -face, and a warmth coming into the grey eyes which showed what this -woman might be to those whom she really loved. - -"He keeps the Castle, indeed--in his mistress's absence and mine," said -Werner. "He will make a good soldier. Our lady has already made him -Count von Löen, that he may be the equal of those who care for such -titles." - -A strange flash as of remembrance and emotion passed over the face of -their hostess. - -"And your own title, my lord?" she asked after a little pause. - -"I am plain Werner von Orseln, free ritter and faithful servant of my -mistress the Duchess Joan, as I was also of her father, Henry the Lion -of Hohenstein!" - -He bowed as he spoke and continued, "I do not love titles, and, indeed, -they would be wasted on an ancient grizzle-pate like me. But your son is -young, and deserves this fortune, madam. He will doubtless do great -honour to my lady's favour." - -The eyes of the elder lady turned inquiringly to those of Joan. - -"I have now no faithful servants," said the young Duchess at last, -breaking her cold silence; "I have only traitors and jailers about me." - -With that she became once more silent. A painful restraint fell upon the -three who sat at table, and though their hostess and Werner von Orseln -partook of the fish and brawn and fruit which their three servitors set -before them in silver platters, it was but sparingly and without -appetite. - -All were glad when the meal was over and they could rise from the table. -As soon as possible Boris and Jorian got outside into the long passage -which led to the kitchen. - -"Ha!" cried Boris, "I declare I would have burst if I had stayed in -there another quarter hour! It was solemn as serving Karl the Great and -his longbeards in their cellar under the Hartz. I wonder if they are -going to keep it up all the time after this fashion!" - -"And this is pleasure," rejoined Jorian gloomily; "not even a good -rousing fight on the way. And then--why, prayers for the dead are -cheerful as dance-gardens in July to that festal board. Good Lord! give -me the Lady Ysolinde and the gnomes we fought so long ago at Erdberg. -This stiff sword-handed Joan of theirs freezes a man's internals like -Baltic ice." - -"Jorian," said Boris, solemnly lowering his voice to a whisper, "if that -Courtland fellow had known what we know, he would have been none so -eager to get her home to bed and board!" - -"Ice will melt--even Baltic ice!" said Jorian sententiously. - -"Yes, but greybeard Louis of Courtland is not the man to do the -melting!" retorted Boris. - -"But I know who could!" said Jorian, nodding his head with an air of -immense sagacity. - -Boris went on cutting brawn upon a wooden platter with a swift and -careful hand. The old servitor moved noiselessly about behind them, with -feet that made no more noise than those of a cat walking on velvet. - -"Who?" said Boris, shortly. - -The door of the kitchen opened slightly and the tall woman stood a -moment with the latch in her hand, ready to enter. - -"Our Sparhawk could melt the Baltic ice!" said Jorian, and winked at -Boris with his left eye in a sly manner. - -Whereupon Boris dropped his knife and, seizing Jorian by the shoulders, -he thrust him down upon a broad stool. - -Then he dragged the platter of brawn before him and dumped the mustard -pot beside it upon the deal table with a resounding clap. - -"There!" he cried, "fill your silly mouth with that, Fatsides! 'Tis all -you are good for. I have stood a deal of fine larded ignorance from you -in my time, but nothing like this. You will be saying next that my Lady -Duchess is taking a fancy to you!" - -"She might do worse!" said Jorian philosophically, as he stirred the -mustard with his knife and looked about for the ale tankard. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE FACE THAT LOOKED INTO JOAN'S - - -The chamber to which the Duchess Joan was conducted by her hostess had -evidently been carefully prepared for her reception. It was a large low -room, with a vaulted roof of carven wood. The work was of great merit -and evidently old. The devices upon it were mostly coats-of-arms, which -originally had been gilded and painted in heraldic colours, though -neglect through long generations had tarnished the gold leaf and caused -the colours to peel off in places. Here and there, however, were shields -of more recent design, but in every case the motto and scutcheon of -these had been defaced. At both ends of the room were windows, through -whose stained glass Joan peered without result into blank darkness. Then -she opened a little square of panes just large enough to put her head -through and saw a walk of lofty poplars silhouetted against the sky, -dark towers of leaves all a-rustle and a-shiver from the zenith to the -ground, as a moaning and sobbing wind drew inward and whispered to them -of the coming storm. - -Then Joan shut the window and looked about her. A table with a little -_prie-Dieu_ stood in the corner, screened by a curtain which ran on a -brazen rod. A Roman Breviary lay open on a velvet-covered table before -the crucifix. Joan lifted it up and her eyes fell on the words: "_By a -woman he overcame. By a woman he was overcome. A woman was once his -weapon. A woman is now become the instrument of his defeat. He findeth -that the weak vessel cannot be broken._" - -"Nor shall it!" said Joan, looking at the cross before her; "by the -strength of Mary the Mother, the weak vessel shall not be broken!" - -She turned her about and examined with interest the rest of the room -which for many days was to be her own. The bed was low and wide, with -sheets of fine linen folded back, and over all a richly embroidered -coverlet. At the further end of the chamber was a fireplace, with a -projecting hood of enamelled brick, looking fresh and new amid so much -that was centuries old. Oaken panels covered the walls, opening mostly -into deep cupboards. The girl tried one or two of these. They proved to -be unlocked and were filled with ancient parchments, giving forth a -faintly aromatic smell, but without a particle of dust upon their -leaves. The cleanliness of everything within the chamber had been -scrupulously attended to. - -For a full hour Joan walked the chamber with her hands clasped behind -her back, thinking how she was to return to her well-beloved Kernsberg. -Her pride was slowly abating, and with it her anger against those -faithful servants who had risked her favour to convey her beyond the -reach of danger. But none the less she was resolved to go back. This -conflict must not take place without her. If Kernsberg were captured, -and Maurice von Lynar found personating his mistress, he would surely be -put to death. If he fell into Muscovite hands that death would be by -torture. - -At all hazards she would return. And to this problem she turned her -thoughts, knitting her brows and working her fingers nervously through -each other. - -She had it. There was a way. She would wait till the morrow and in the -meantime--sleep. - -As she stooped to blow out the last candle, a motto on the stem caught -her eye. It ran round the massive silver base of the candelabra in the -thick Gothic characters of a hundred years before. Joan took the candle -out of its socket and read the inscription word by word-- - - "DA PACEM, DOMINE, IN DIEBUS NOSTRIS." - -It was her own scroll, the motto of the reigning dukes of Hohenstein--a -strange one, doubtless, to be that of a fighting race, but, -nevertheless, her father's and her own. - -Joan held the candle in her hand a long time, looking at it, heedless of -the wax that dripped on the floor. - -What did her father's motto, the device of her house, upon this Baltic -island, far from the highlands of Kernsberg? Had these wastes once -belonged to men of her race? And this woman, who so regally played the -mistress of this strange heritage, who was she? And what was the secret -of the residence of one in this wilderness who, by her manner, might in -her time have queened it in royal courts? - -And as Joan of Hohenstein blew out the candle she mused in her heart -concerning these things. - - * * * * * - -The Duchess Joan slept soundly, her dark boyish head pillowed on the -full rounded curves of an arm thrown behind her. On the little -velvet-covered table beside the bed lay her belt and its dependent -sword, a faithful companion in its sheath of plain black leather. Under -the pillow, and within instant reach of her right hand, was her father's -dagger. With it, they said, Henry the Lion had more than once removed an -enemy who stood in his way, or more honourably given the _coup de grâce_ -to a would-be assassin. - -Without, the mood of the night had changed. The sky, which had hitherto -been of favourable aspect, save for the green light in the north as they -rowed across the waters of the Haff, was now overflowed by thin wisps of -cloud tacking up against the wind. Towards the sea a steely blue smother -had settled down along the horizon, while the thunder growled nearer -like a roll of drums beaten continuously. The wind, however, was not -regular, but came in little puffs and bursts, now warm, now cold, from -every point of the compass. - -But still Joan slept on, being tired with her journey. - -In their chamber in the wing which looks towards the north the three -captains lay wrapped in their several mantles, Jorian and Boris -answering each other nasally, in alternate trumpet blasts, like Alp -calling to Alp. Werner von Orseln alone could not sleep, and after he -had sworn and kicked his noisy companions in the ribs till he was weary -of the task, he rose and went to the window to cast open the lattice. -The air within felt thick and hot. He fumbled long at the catch, and in -the unwholesome silence of the strange house the chief captain seemed to -hear muffled feet going to and fro on the floor above him. But of this -he thought little. For strange places were familiar to him, and any -sense of danger made but an added spice in his cup of life. - -At last he worried the catch loose, the lattice pane fell sagging -inwards on its double hinge of skin. As Werner set his face to the -opening quick flashes of summer lightning flamed alternately white and -lilac across the horizon, and he felt the keen spit of hailstones in his -face, driving level like so many musket balls when the infantry fires by -platoons. - - * * * * * - -Above, in the vaulted chamber, Joan turned over on her bed, murmuring -uneasily in her sleep. A white face, which for a quarter of an hour had -been bent down to her dark head as it lay on the pillow, was suddenly -retracted into the blackness at the girl's slight movement. - -Again, apparently reassured, the shadowy visage approached as the young -Duchess lay without further motion. Without the storm broke in a burst -of appalling fury. The pale blue forks of the lightning flamed just -outside the casement in flash on continuous flash. The thunder shook the -house like an earthquake. - -Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, Joan's eyes opened, and she found -herself looking with bewilderment into a face that bent down upon her, -a white face which somehow seemed to hang suspended in the dark above -her. The features were lit up by the pulsing lightning which shone in -the wild eyes and glittered on a knife-blade about the handle of which -were clenched the tense white fingers of a hand equally detached. - -A quick icy thrill chilled the girl's marrow, darting like a spear -through her body. But Joan of Hohenstein was the true seed of Henry the -Lion. In a moment her right hand had grasped the sword beside her -pillow. Her left, shooting upward, closed on the arm which held the -threatening steel. At the same time she flung herself forward, and with -the roaring turmoils of the storm dinning in her ears she grappled -something that withstood her in the interspace of darkness that had -followed the flashes. Joan's spring had been that of the couchant young -wild cat. Almost without rising from her bed she had projected herself -upon her enemy. Her left hand grasped the wrist so tightly that the -blade fell to the ground, whereupon Joan of the Sword Hand shifted her -grasp upwards fiercely till she felt her fingers sink deep in the soft -curves of a woman's throat. - -Then a shriek, long and terrible, inhuman and threatening, rang through -the house. A light began to burn yellow and steady through the cracks of -the chamber door, not pulsing and blue like the lightning without. -Presently, as Joan overbore her assailant upon the floor, the door -opened, and glancing upwards she saw the Wordless Man stand on the -threshold, a candle in one hand and a naked sword in the other. - -The terrible cry which had rung in her ears had been his. At sight of -him Joan unclasped her fingers from the throat of the woman and rose -slowly to her feet. The old man rushed forward and knelt beside the -prostrate body of his mistress. - -At the same moment there came the sound of quick footsteps running up -the stairway. The door flew open and Werner von Orseln burst in, also -sword in hand. - -"What is the meaning of this?" he shouted. "Who has dared to harm my -lady?" - -Joan did not answer, but remained standing tall and straight by the -hooded mantel of the fireplace. As was her custom, before lying down she -had clad herself in a loose gown of white silk which on all her journeys -she carried in a roll at her saddle-bow. - -She pointed to the mother of Maurice von Lynar, who lay on the floor, -still unconscious, with the dumb man kneeling over her, chafing her -hands and murmuring unintelligible tendernesses, like a mother crooning -over a sick child. - -But the face of the chief captain grew stern and terrible as he saw on -the floor a knife of curious design. He stooped and lifted it. It was a -Danish _tolle knife_, the edge a little curved outward and keen as a -razor. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -THE SECRET OF THERESA VON LYNAR - - -"Go down and bring a cup of wine!" commanded Joan as soon as he -appeared. And Werner von Orseln, having glanced once at his mistress -where she stood with the point of her sword to the ground and her elbow -on the corner of the mantel, turned on his heel and departed without a -word to do her bidding. - -Meanwhile the Wordless Man had raised his mistress up from the ground. -Her eyes slowly opened and began to wander vaguely round the room, -taking in the objects one by one. When they fell on Joan, standing erect -by the fireplace, a spasm seemed to pass across her face and she strove -fiercely but ineffectually to rise. - -"Carry your mistress to that couch!" said the young Duchess, pointing to -the tumbled bed from which a few minutes before she had so hastily -launched herself. - -The dumb man understood either the words or the significant action of -Joan's hand, for he stooped and lifted Von Lynar's mother in his arms. -Whilst he was thus engaged Werner came in quickly with a silver cup in -his hand. - -Joan took it instantly and going forward she put it to the lips of the -woman on the bed. Her hair had escaped from its gathered coils and now -flowed in luxuriant masses of red-gold over her shoulders and showered -itself on either side of the pillow before falling in a shining cataract -to the floor. - -Putting out her hands the woman took the cup and drank of it slowly, -pausing between the draughts to draw long breaths. - -"I must have strength," she said. "I have much to say. Then, Joan of -Hohenstein, yourself shall judge between thee and me!" - -The fluttering of the lightning at the window seemed to disturb her, for -as Joan bowed her assent slightly and sternly, the tall woman kept -looking towards the lattice as if the pulsing flame fretted her. Joan -moved her hand slightly without taking her eyes away, and the chief -captain, used to such silent orders from his mistress, strode over to -the window and pulled the curtains close. The storm had by this time -subsided to a rumble, and only round the edges of the arras could a -faint occasional glow be seen, telling of the turmoil without. But a -certain faint tremulousness pervaded all the house, which was the Baltic -thundering on the pebbly beaches and shaking the walls to their sandy -foundations. - -The colour came slowly back to the woman's pale face, and, after a -little, she raised herself on the pillows. Joan stood motionless and -uncompromising by the great iron dogs of the chimney. - -"You are waiting for me to speak, and I will speak," said the woman. -"You have a double right to know all. Shall it be told to yourself alone -or in the presence of this man?" - -She looked at Von Orseln as she spoke. - -"I have no secrets in my life," said Joan; "there is nothing that I -would hide from him. _Save one thing!_" She added the last words in her -heart. - -"I warn you that the matter concerns yourself very closely," answered -the woman somewhat urgently. - -"Werner von Orseln is my chief captain!" answered Joan. - -"It concerns also your father's honour!" - -"He was my father's chief captain before he was mine, and had charge of -his honour on twenty fields." - -Gratefully and silently Von Orseln lifted his mistress's hand to his -lips. The tall woman on the bed smiled faintly. - -"It is well that your Highness is so happy in her servants. I also have -one who can hold his peace." - -She pointed to the Wordless Man, who now stood with the candelabra in -his hand, mute and immutable by his mistress's bedhead, as if watching -that none should do her harm. - -There was an interval of silence in the room, filled up by the hoarse -persistent booming of the storm without and the shuddering shocks of the -wind on the lonely house. Then the woman spoke again in a low, distinct -voice. - -"Since it is your right to know my name, I am Theresa von Lynar--who -have also a right to call myself 'of Hohenstein'--and your dead father's -widow!" - -In an instant the reserve of Joan's sternly equal mind was broken up. -She dropped her sword clattering on the floor and started angrily -forward towards the bed. - -"It is a lie most foul," she cried; "my father lived unwed for many -years--nay, ever since my mother's death, who died in giving me life, he -never so much as looked on woman. It is a thing well known in the -Duchy!" - -The woman did not answer directly. - -"Max Ulrich, bring the silver casket," she said, taking from her neck a -little silver key. - -The Wordless Man, seeing her action, came forward and took the key. He -went out of the room, and after an interval which seemed interminable he -returned with a peculiarly shaped casket. It was formed like a heart, -and upon it, curiously worked in gold and precious stones, Joan saw her -father's motto and the armorial bearings of Hohenstein. - -The woman touched a spring with well-practised hand, the silver heart -divided, and a roll of parchment fell upon the bed. With a strange smile -she gave it to Joan, beckoning her with an upward nod to approach. - -"I give this precious document without fear into your hands. It is my -very soul. But it is safe with the daughter of Henry the Lion." - -Joan took the crackling parchment. It had three seals attached to it and -the first part was in her father's own handwriting. - - "_I declare by these presents that I have married, according to - the customs of Hohenstein and the laws of the Empire, Theresa - von Lynar, daughter of the Count von Lynar of Jutland. But this - marriage shall not, by any of its occasions or consequents, - affect the succession of my daughter Joanna to the Duchy of - Hohenstein and the Principalities of Kernsberg and Marienfeld. - To which we subscribe our names as conjointly agreeing thereto - in the presence of his High Eminence the Cardinal Adrian, - Archbishop of Cologne and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire._" - -Then followed the three signatures, and beneath, in another handwriting, -Joan read the following:-- - - "_These persons, Henry Duke of Hohenstein and Theresa von Lynar, - were married by me subject to the above conditions mutually - agreed upon in the Church of Olsen near to the Kurische Haff, in - the presence of Julius Count von Lynar and his sons Wolf and - Mark, in the year 14--, the day being the eve of St. - John.--Adrian, Archiepiscop. et Elector._" - -After her first shock of surprise was over Joan noted carefully the -date. It was one year after her own birth, and therefore the like period -after the death of her mother, the openly acknowledged Duchess of -Hohenstein. - -The quick eyes of the woman on the bed had followed hers as they read -carefully down the parchment, eagerly and also apprehensively, like -those of a mother who for some weighty reason has placed her child in -peril. - -Joan folded the parchment and handed it back. Then she stood silent -waiting for an explanation. - -The woman took up her parable calmly, like one who has long comprehended -that such a crisis must one day arrive, and who knows her part -thoroughly. - -"I, who speak to you, am Theresa von Lynar. Your father saw me first at -the coronation of our late sovereign, Christian, King of Denmark. And we -loved one another. For this cause I moved my brother and his sons to -build Castle Lynar on the shores of the Northern Sea. For this cause I -accompanied him thither. For many years at Castle Lynar, and also at -this place, called the Hermitage of the Dunes, Henry of Kernsberg and I -dwelt in such happiness as mortals seldom know. I loved your father, -obeyed him, adored him, lived only for him. But there came a spring when -my brother, being like your father a hot and passionate man, quarrelled -with Duke Henry, threatening to go before the Diet of the Empire if I -were not immediately acknowledged Duchess and my son Maurice von Lynar -made the heir of Hohenstein. But I, being true to my oath and promise, -left my brother and abode here alone with my husband when he could -escape from his Dukedom, living like a simple squire and his dame. Those -were happy days and made up for much. Then in an evil day I sent my son -to my brother to train as his own son in arms and the arts of war. But -he, being at enmity with my husband, made ready to carry the lad before -the Diet of the Empire, that he might be declared heir to his father. -Then, in his anger, Henry the Lion rose and swept Castle Lynar with fire -and sword, leaving none alive but this boy only, whom he meant to take -back and train with his captains. But on the way home, even as he rode -southward through the forest towards Kernsberg, he reeled in the saddle -and passed ere he could speak a word, even the name of those he loved. -So the boy remained a captive at Kernsberg, called by my brother's name, -and knowing even to this day nothing of his father." - -[Illustration: "I bid you slay me for the evil deed my heart was -willing to do." [_Page 161_]] - -And as the woman ceased speaking Werner von Orseln nodded gravely and -sadly. - -"This thing concerning my lord's death is true," he said; "I was -present. These arms received him as he fell. He was dead ere we laid him -on the ground!" - -Theresa von Lynar raised herself. She had spoken thus far reclining on -the bed from which Joan had risen. Now she sat up and for a little space -rested her hands on her lap ere she went on. - -"Then my son, whom, not knowing, you had taken pity upon and raised to -honour, and who is now your faithful servant, sent a secret messenger -that you would come to abide secretly with me till a certain dark day -had overpassed in Kernsberg. And then there sprang up in my heart a -dreadful conceit that he loved you, knowing young blood and hearing the -fame of your beauty, and I was afraid for the greatness of the sin--that -one should love his sister." - -Joan made a quick gesture of dissent, but the woman went on. - -"I thought, being a woman alone, and one also, who had given all freely -up for love's sake, that he would certainly love you even as I had -loved. And when I saw you in my house, so cold and so proud, and when I -thought within me that but for you my son would have been a mighty -prince, a strange terrible anger and madness came over me, darkening my -soul. For a moment I would have slain you. But I could not, because you -were asleep. And, even as you stirred, I heard you speak the name of a -man, as only one who loves can speak it. I know right well how that is, -having listened to it with a glad heart in the night. The name was----" - -"Hold!" cried Joan of the Sword Hand. "I believe you--I forgive you!" - -"The name," continued Theresa von Lynar, "was _not that of my son_! And -now," she went on, slowly rising from the couch to her height, "I am -ready. I bid you slay me for the evil deed my heart was willing for a -moment to do!" - -Joan looked at her full in the eyes for the space of a breath. Then -suddenly she held out her hand and answered like her father's daughter. - -"Nay," she said, "I only marvel that you did not strike me to the heart, -because of your son's loss and my father's sin!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -BORNE ON THE GREAT WAVE - - -It chanced that in the chamber from which Werner von Orseln had come so -swiftly at the cry of the Wordless Man, Boris and Jorian, after sleeping -through the disturbances above them and the first burst of the storm, -were waked by the blowing open of the lattice as the wind reached its -height. Jorian lay still on his pallet and slily kicked Boris, hoping -that he would rise and take upon him the task of shutting it. - -Then to Boris, struggling upward to the surface of the ocean of sleep, -came the same charitable thought with regard to Jorian. So, both kicking -out at the same time, their feet encountered with clash of iron -footgear, and then with surly snarls they hent them on their feet, -abusing each other in voices which could be heard above the humming of -the storm without. - -It was tall Boris who, having cursed himself empty, first made his way -to the window. The lattice hung by one leathern thong. The other had -been torn away, and indeed it was a wonder that the whole framework had -not been blown bodily into the room. For the tempest pressed against it -straight from the north, and the sticky spray from the waves which broke -on the shingle drove stingingly into the eyes of the man-at-arms. - -Nevertheless he thrust his head out, looked a moment through half-closed -eyelids, and then cried, "Jorian, we are surely lost! The sea is -breaking in upon us. It has passed the beach of shingle out there!" - -And seizing Jorian by the arm Boris made his way to the door by which -they had entered, and, undoing the bolts, they reached the walled -courtyard, where, however, they found themselves in the open air, but -sheltered from the utmost violence of the tempest. There was a momentary -difficulty here, because neither could find the key of the heavy door in -the boundary wall. But Boris, ever fertile in expedient, discovered a -ladder under a kind of shed, and setting it against the northern wall he -climbed to the top. While he remained under the shelter of the wall his -body was comfortably warm; only an occasional veering flaw sent a purl -downwards of what he was to meet. But the instant his head was above the -copestone, and the ice-cold northerly blast met him like a wall, he -fairly gasped, for the furious onslaught of the storm seemed to blow -every particle of breath clean out of his body. - -The spindrift flew smoking past, momentarily white in the constant -lightning flashes, and before him, and apparently almost at the foot of -the wall, Boris saw a wonderful sight. The sea appeared to be climbing, -climbing, climbing upwards over a narrow belt of sand and shingle which -separated the scarcely fretted Haff from the tumbling milk of the outer -Baltic. - -In another moment Jorian was beside him, crouching on the top of the -wall to save himself from being carried away. And there, in the steamy -smother of the sea, backed by the blue electric flame of the lightning, -they saw the slant masts of a vessel labouring to beat against the wind. - -"Poor souls, they are gone!" said Boris, trying to shield his eyes with -his palm, as the black hull disappeared bodily, and the masts seemed to -lurch forward into the milky turmoil. "We shall never see her again." - -For one moment all was dark as pitch, and the next a dozen flashes of -lightning burst every way, as many appearing to rise upwards as could be -seen to fall downwards. A black speck poised itself on the crest of a -wave. "It is a boat! It can never live!" cried the two men together, and -dropping from the top of the wall they ran down to the shore, going as -near as they dared to the surf which arched and fell with ponderous roar -on the narrow strip of shingle. - -Here Jorian and Boris ran this way and that, trying to pierce the -blackness of the sky with their spray-blinded eyes, but nothing more, -either of the ship or of the boat which had put out from it, did they -see. The mountainous roll and ceaseless iterance of the oncoming -breakers hid the surface of the sea from their sight, while the sky, -changing with each pulse of the lightning from densest black to green -shot with violet, told nothing of the men's lives which were being riven -from their bodies beneath it. - -"Back, Boris, back!" cried Jorian suddenly, as after a succession of -smaller waves a gigantic and majestic roller arched along the whole -seaward front, stood for a moment black and imminent above them, and -then fell like a whole mountain-range in a snowy avalanche of troubled -water which rushed savagely up the beach. The two soldiers, who would -have faced unblanched any line of living enemies in the world, fled -terror-stricken at that clutching onrush of that sea of milk. The wet -sand seemed to catch and hold their feet as they ran, so that they felt -in their hearts the terrible sensation of one who flees in dreams from -some hideous imagined terror and who finds his powers fail him as his -pursuer approaches. - -Upward and still upward the wave swept with a soft universal hiss which -drowned and dominated the rataplan of the thunder-peals above and the -sonorous diapason of the surf around them. It rushed in a creaming -smother about their ankles, plucked at their knees, but could rise no -higher. Yet so fierce was the back draught, that when the water -retreated, dragging the pebbles with it down the shingly shore with the -rattle of a million castanets, the two stout captains of Plassenburg -were thrown on their faces and lay as dead on the wet and sticky stones, -each clutching a double handful of broken shells and oozy sand which -streamed through his numbed fingers. - -Boris was the first to rise, and finding Jorian still on his face he -caught the collar of his doublet and pulled him with little ceremony up -the sloping bank out of tide-reach, throwing him down on the shingly -summit with as little tenderness or compunction as if he had been a bag -of wet salt. - -By this time the morning was advancing and the storm growing somewhat -less continuous. Instead of the wind bearing a dead weight upon the -face, it came now in furious gusts. Instead of one grand roar, -multitudinous in voice yet uniform in tone, it hooted and piped overhead -as if a whole brood of evil spirits were riding headlong down the -tempest-track. Instead of coming on in one solid bank of blackness, the -clouds were broken into a wrack of wild and fantastic fragments, the -interspaces of which showed alternately paly green and pearly grey. The -thunder retreated growling behind the horizon. The violet lightning grew -less continuous, and only occasionally rose and fell in vague distant -flickerings towards the north, as if some one were lifting a lantern -almost to the sea-line and dropping it again before reaching it. - -Looking back from the summit of the mound, Boris saw something dark -lying high up on the beach amid a wrack of seaweed and broken timber -which marked where the great wave had stopped. Something odd about the -shape took his eye. - -A moment later he was leaping down again towards the shore, taking his -longest strides, and sending the pebbles spraying out in front and on -all sides of him. He stooped and found the body of a man, tall, well -formed, and of manly figure. He was bareheaded and stripped to his -breeches and underwear. - -Boris stooped and laid his hand upon his heart. Yes, so much was -certain. He was not dead. Whereupon the ex-man-at-arms lifted him as -well as he could and dragged him by the elbows out of reach of the -waves. Then he went back to Jorian and kicked him in the ribs. The -rotund man sat up with an execration. - -"Come!" cried Boris, "don't lie there like Reynard the Fox waiting for -Kayward the Hare. We want no malingering here. There's a man at death's -door down on the shingle. Come and help me to carry him to the house." - -It was a heavy task, and Jorian's head spun with the shock of the wave -and the weight of their burden long before they reached the point where -the boundary wall approached nearest to the house. - -"We can never hope to get him up that ladder and down the other side," -said Boris, shaking his head. - -"Even if we had the ladder!" answered Jorian, glad of a chance to -grumble; "but, thanks to your stupidity, it is on the other side of the -wall." - -Without noticing his companion's words, Boris took a handful of small -pebbles and threw them up at a lighted window. The head of Werner von -Orseln immediately appeared, his grizzled hair blown out like a misty -aureole about his temples. - -"Come down!" shouted Boris, making a trumpet of his hands to fight the -wind withal. "We have found a drowned man on the beach!" - -And indeed it seemed literally so, as they carried their burden round -the walls to the wicket door and waited. It seemed an interminable time -before Werner von Orseln arrived with the dumb man's lantern in his -hand. - -They carried the body into the great hall, where the Duchess and the old -servitor met them. There they laid him on a table. Joan herself lifted -the lantern and held it to his face. His fair hair clustered about his -head in wet knots and shining twists. The features of his face were -white as death and carven like those of a statue. But at the sight the -heart of the Duchess leaped wildly within her. - -"Conrad!" she cried--that word and no more. And the lantern fell to the -floor from her nerveless hand. - -There was no doubt in her mind. She could make no mistake. The regular -features, the pillar-like neck, the massive shoulders, the strong -clean-cut mouth, the broad white brow--and--yes, the slight tonsure of -the priest. It was the White Knight of the Courtland lists, the noble -Prince of the summer parlour, the red-robed prelate of her marriage-day, -Conrad of Courtland, Prince and Cardinal, but to her--"_he_"--the only -"he." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -THE GIRL BENEATH THE LAMP - - -When Conrad, Cardinal-designate of the Holy Roman Church and Archbishop -of Courtland, opened his eyes, it seemed to him that he had passed -through warring waters into the serenity of the Life Beyond. His hand, -on which still glittered his episcopal ring, lay on a counterpane of -faded rose silk, soft as down. Did he dream that another hand had been -holding it, that gentlest fingers had rested caressingly on his brow? - -A girl, sweet and stately, sat by his bedside. By the door, to which -alone he could raise his eyes, stood a tall gaunt man, clad in grey from -head to foot, his hands clasped in front of him, and his chin sunk upon -his breast. - -The Prince-Bishop's eyes rested languidly on the girl's face, on which -fell the light of a shaded silver lamp. There was a book in her lap, -written upon sheets of thin parchment, bound in gold-embossed leather. -But she did not read it. Instead she breathed softly and regularly. She -was asleep, with her hand on the coverlet of rosy silk. - -Strange fancies passed through the humming brain of the rescued man--as -it had been, hunting each other across a stage--visions of perilous -endeavour, of fights with wild beasts in shut-in places from which there -was no escape, of brutal fisticuffs with savage men. All these again -merged into the sense of falling from immense heights only to find that -the air upheld him and that, instead of breaking himself to pieces at -the bottom, he alighted soft as thistledown on couches of flowers. -Strange rich heady scents seemed to rise about him like something -palpable. His brain wavered behind his brow like a summer landscape when -the sun is hot after a shower. Perfumes, strange and haunting, dwelt in -his nostrils. The scent, at once sour and sweet, of bee-hives at night, -the richness of honey in the comb, the delicacy of wet banks of violets, -full-odoured musk, and the luxury of sun-warmed afternoon beanfields -dreamily sweet--these made his very soul swoon within him. Then followed -odours of rose gardens, of cool walks drenched in shadow and random -scents blown in at open windows. Yes, he knew now; surely he was again -in his own chamber in the summer pavilion of the palace in Courtland. He -could hear the cool wash of the Alla under its walls, and with the -assurance there came somehow a memory of a slim lad with clear-cut -features who brought him a message from--was it his sister Margaret, or -Louis his brother? He could not remember which. - -Of what had he been dreaming? In the endeavour to recall something he -harked back on the terrors of the night in which, of all on board the -ship, his soul alone had remained serene. He remembered the fury of the -storm, the helpless impotence and blank cowardice of the sailor folk, -the desertion of the officers in the only seaworthy boat. - -Slowly the drifting mists steadied themselves athwart his brain. The -actual recomposed itself out of the shreds of dreams. Conrad found -himself in a long low room such as he had seen many times in the houses -of well-to-do ritters along the Baltic shores. The beams of the -roof-tree above were carven and ancient. Arras went everywhere about the -halls. Silver candlesticks, with princely crests graven upon them, stood -by his bedhead. After each survey his eyes settled on the sleeping girl. -She was very young and very beautiful. It was--yet it could not be--the -Duchess Joan, whom he himself had married to his brother Louis in the -cathedral church of his own archiepiscopal city. - -Conrad of Courtland had not been trained a priest, yet, as was common at -that age, birth and circumstance had made him early a Prince of the -Roman Church. He had been thrust into the hierarchy solely because of -his name, for he had succeeded his uncle Adrian in his ecclesiastical -posts and emoluments as a legal heir succeeds to an undisputed property. -In due time he received his red hat from a pontiff who distributed these -among his favourites (or those whom he thought might aggrandise his -temporal power) as freely as a groomsman distributes favours at a -wedding. - -Nevertheless, Conrad of Courtland had all the warm life and imperious -impulses of a young man within his breast. Yet he was no Borgia or Della -Rovere, cloaking scarlet sins with scarlet vestments. For with the high -dignities of his position and the solemn work which lay to his hand in -his northern province there had come the resolve to be not less, but -more faithful than those martyrs and confessors of whom he read daily in -his Breviary. And while, in Rome herself, vice-proud princes, consorting -in the foulest alliance with pagan popes, blasphemed the sanctuary and -openly scoffed at religion, this finest and most chivalrous of young -northern knights had laid down the weapons of his warfare to take up the -crucifix, and now had set out joyfully for Rome to receive his -cardinal's hat on his knees as the last and greatest gift of the Vicar -of Christ. - -He had begun his pilgrimage by express command of the Holy Father, who -desired to make the youthful Archbishop his Papal assessor among the -Electors of the Empire. But scarcely was he clear of the Courtland -shores when there had come the storm, the shipwreck, the wild struggle -among the white and foaming breakers--and then, wondrously emergent, -like heaven after purgatory, the quiet of this sheltered room and this -sleeping girl, with her white hand lying lax and delicate on the rosy -silk. - -The book slipped suddenly from her fingers, falling on the polished wood -of the floor with a startling sound. The eyes of the gaunt man by the -door were lifted from the ground, glittered beadily for a moment, and -again dropped as before. - -The girl did not start, but rather passed immediately into full -consciousness with a little shudder and a quick gesture of the hand, as -if she pushed something or some one from her. Then, from the pillow on -which his head lay, Joan of Hohenstein saw the eyes of the Prince Conrad -gazing at her, dark and solemn, from within the purplish rings of recent -peril. - -"You are my brother's wife!" he said softly, but yet in the same rich -and thrilling voice she had listened to with so many heart-stirrings in -the summer palace, and had last heard ring through the cathedral church -of Courtland on that day when her life had ended. - -A chill came over the girl's face at his words. - -"I am indeed the Duchess Joan of Hohenstein," she answered. "My father -willed that I should wed Prince Louis of Courtland. Well, I married him -and rode away. In so much I am your brother's wife." - -It was a strange awaking for a man who had passed from death to life, -but at least her very impetuosity convinced him that the girl was flesh -and blood. - -He smiled wanly. The light of the lamp seemed to waver again before his -eyes. He saw his companion as it had been transformed and glorified. He -heard the rolling of drums in his ears, and merry pipes played sweetly -far away. Then came the hush of many waters flowing softly, and last, -thrumming on the parched earth, and drunk down gladly by tired flowers, -the sound of abundance of rain. The world grew full of sleep and rest -and refreshment. There was no longer need to care about anything. - -His eyes closed. He seemed about to sink back into unconsciousness, when -Joan rose, and with a few drops from Dessauer's phial, which she kept by -her in case of need, she called him back from the misty verges of the -Things which are Without. - -As he struggled painfully upward he seemed to hear Joan's last words -repeated and re-repeated to the music of a chime of fairy bells, "_In so -much--in so much--I am your brother's wife--your brother's wife!_" He -came to himself with a start. - -"Will you tell me how I came here, and to whom I am indebted for my -life?" he said, as Joan stood up beside him, her shapely head dim and -retired in the misty dusk above the lamp, only her chin and the shapely -curves of her throat being illumined by the warm lamplight. - -"You were picked up for dead on the beach in the midst of the storm," -she answered, "and were brought hither by two captains in the service of -the Prince of Plassenburg!" - -"And where is this place, and when can I leave it to proceed upon my -journey?" - -The girl's head was turned away from him a trifle more haughtily than -before, and she answered coldly, "You are in a certain fortified grange -somewhere on the Baltic shore. As to when you can proceed on your -journey, that depends neither on you nor on me. I am a prisoner here. -And so I fear must you also consider yourself!" - -"A prisoner! Then has my brother----?" cried the Prince-Bishop, starting -up on his elbow and instantly dropping back again upon the pillow with a -groan of mingled pain and weakness. Joan looked at him a moment and -then, compressing her lips with quick resolution, went to the bedside -and with one hand under his head rearranged the pillow and laid him back -in an easier posture. - -"You must lie still," she said in a commanding tone, and yet softly; -"you are too weak to move. Also you must obey me. I have some skill in -leechcraft." - -"I am content to be your prisoner," said the Prince-Bishop -smiling--"that is, till I am well enough to proceed on my journey to -Rome, whither the Holy Father Pope Sixtus hath summoned me by a special -messenger." - -"I fear me much," answered Joan, "that, spite of the Holy Father, we may -be fellow-prisoners of long standing. Those of my own folk who hold me -here against my will are hardly likely to let the brother of Prince -Louis of Courtland escape with news of my hiding-place and present -hermitage!" - -The young man seemed as if he would again have started up, but with a -gesture smilingly imperious Joan forbade him. - -"To-morrow," she said, "perhaps if you are patient I will tell you more. -Here comes our hostess. It is time that I should leave you." - -Theresa von Lynar came softly to the side of the bed and stood beside -Joan. The young Cardinal thought that he had never seen a more queenly -pair--Joan resplendent in her girlish strength and beauty, Theresa still -in the ripest glory of womanhood. There was a gentler light than before -in the elder woman's eyes, and she cast an almost deprecating glance -upon Joan. For at the first sound of her approach the girl had stiffened -visibly, and now, with only a formal word as to the sick man's -condition, and a cold bow to Conrad, she moved away. - -Theresa watched her a little sadly as she passed behind the deep -curtain. Then she sighed, and turning again to the bedside she looked -long at the young man without speaking. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -WIFE AND PRIEST - - -"I have a right to call myself the widow of the Duke Henry of Kernsberg -and Hohenstein," said Theresa von Lynar, in reply to Conrad's question -as to whom he might thank for rescue and shelter. - -"And therefore the mother of the Duchess Joan?" he continued. - -Theresa shook her head. - -"No," she said sadly; "I am not her mother, but--and even that only in a -sense--her stepmother. A promise to a dead man has kept me from claiming -any privileges save that of living unknown on this desolate isle of sand -and mist. My son is an officer in the service of the Duchess Joan." - -The face of the Prince-Bishop lighted up instantaneously. - -"Most surely, then, I know him. Did he not come to Courtland with my -Lord Dessauer, the Ambassador of Plassenburg?" - -The lady of Isle Rugen nodded indifferently. - -"Yes," she said; "I believe he went to Courtland with the embassy from -Plassenburg." - -"Indeed, I was much drawn to him," said the Prince eagerly; "I remember -him most vividly. He was of an olive complexion, his features without -colour, but graven even as the Greeks cut those of a young god on a -gem." - -"Yes," said Theresa von Lynar serenely, "he has his father's face and -carriage, which are those also of the Duchess Joan." - -"And why," said the young man, "if I may ask without offence, is your -son not the heir to the Dukedom?" - -There was a downcast sadness in the woman's voice and eye as she -replied, "Because when I wedded Duke Henry it was agreed between us that -aught which might be thereafter should never stand between his daughter -and her heritage; and, in spite of deadly wrong done to those of my -house, I have kept my word." - -The Prince-Cardinal thought long with knitted brow. - -"The Duchess is my brother Louis's wife," he said slowly. - -"In name!" retorted Theresa, quickly and breathlessly, like one called -on unexpectedly to defend an absent friend. - -"She is his wife--I married them. I am a priest," he made answer. - -A gleam, sharp and quick as lightning jetted from a thunder cloud, -sprang into the woman's eye. - -"In this matter I, Theresa von Lynar, am wiser than all the priests in -the world. Joan of Hohenstein is no more his wife than I am!" - -"Holy Church, the mother of us all, made them one!" said the Cardinal -sententiously. For such words come easily to dignitaries even when they -are young. - -She bent towards him and looked long into his eyes. - -"No," she said; "you do not know. How indeed is it possible? You are too -young to have learned the deep things--too certain of your own -righteousness. But you will learn some day. I, Theresa von Lynar, -know--aye, though I bear the name of my father and not that of my -husband!" And at this imperious word the Prince was silent and thought -with gravity upon these things. - -Theresa sat motionless and silent by his bed till the day rose cool and -untroubled out of the east, softly aglow with the sheen of clouded silk, -pearl-grey and delicate. Prince Conrad, being greatly wearied and -bruised inwardly with the buffeting of the waves and the stones of the -shore, slumbered restlessly, with many tossings and turnings. But as oft -as he moved, the hands of the woman who had been a wife were upon him, -ordering his bruised limbs with swift knowledgeable tenderness, so that -he did not wake, but gradually fell back again into dreamless and -refreshing sleep. This was easy to her, because the secret of pain was -not hid from Theresa, the widow of the Duke of Hohenstein--though Henry -the Lion's daughter, as yet, knew it not. - -In the morning Joan came to bid the patient good-morrow, while Werner -von Orseln stood in the doorway with his steel cap doffed in his hand, -and Boris and Jorian bent the knee for a priestly blessing. But Theresa -did not again appear till night and darkness had wrapped the earth. So -being all alone he listened to the heavy plunge of the breakers on the -beach among which his life had been so nearly sped. The sound grew -slower and slower after the storm, until at last only the wavelets of -the sheltered sea lapsed on the shingle in a sort of breathing whisper. - -"Peace! Peace! Great peace!" they seemed to say hour after hour as they -fell on his ear. - -And so day passed and came again. Long nights, too, at first with hourly -tendance and then presently without. But Joan sat no more with the young -man after that first watch, though his soul longed for her, that he -might again tell the girl that she was his brother's wife, and urge her -to do her duty by him who was her wedded husband. So in her absence -Conrad contented himself and salved his conscience by thinking austere -thoughts of his mission and high place in the hierarchy of the only -Catholic and Apostolic Church. So that presently he would rise up and -seek Werner von Orseln in order to persuade him to let him go, that he -might proceed to Rome at the command of the Holy Father, whose servant -he was. - -But Werner only laughed and put him off. - -"When we have sure word of what your brother does at Kernsberg, then we -will talk of this matter. Till then it cannot be hid from you that no -hostage half so valuable can we keep in hold. For if your brother loves -my Lord Cardinal, then he will desire to ransom him. On the other hand, -if he fear him, then we will keep your Highness alive to threaten him, -as the Pope did with Djem, the Sultan's brother!" - -So after many days it was permitted to the Prince to walk abroad within -the narrow bounds of the Isle Rugen, the Wordless Man guarding him at -fifty paces distance, impassive and inevitable as an ambulant rock of -the seaboard. - -As he went Prince Conrad's eyes glanced this way and that, looking for a -means of escape. Yet they saw none, for Werner von Orseln with his ten -men of Kernsberg and the two Captains of Plassenburg were not soldiers -to make mistakes. There was but one boat on the island, and that was -locked in a strong house by the inner shore, and over against it a -sentry paced night and day. It chanced, however, upon a warm and -gracious afternoon, when the breezes played wanderingly among the garden -trees before losing themselves in the solemn aisles of the pines as in a -pillared temple, that Conrad, stepping painfully westwards along the -beach, arrived at the place of his rescue, and, descending the steep -bank of shingle to look for any traces of the disaster, came suddenly -upon the Duchess Joan gazing thoughtfully out to sea. - -She turned quickly, hearing the sound of footsteps, and at sight of the -Prince-Bishop glanced east and west along the shore as if meditating -retreat. - -But the proximity of Max Ulrich and the encompassing banks of water-worn -pebbles convinced her of the awkwardness, if not the impossibility, of -escape. - -[Illustration: "Joan looked steadily across the steel-grey sea." -[_Page 179_]] - -Conrad the prisoner greeted Joan with the sweet gravity which had been -characteristic of him as Conrad the prince, and his eyes shone upon her -with the same affectionate kindliness that had dwelt in them in the -pavilion of the rose garden. But after one glance Joan looked steadily -away across the steel-grey sea. Her feet turned instinctively to walk -back towards the house, and the Prince turned with her. - -"If we are two fellow-prisoners," said Conrad, "we ought to see more of -each other. Is it not so?" - -"That we may concert plans of escape?" said Joan. "You desire to -continue your pilgrimage--I to return to my people, who, alas, think -themselves better off without me!" - -"I do, indeed, greatly desire to see Rome," replied the Prince. "The -Holy Father Sixtus has sent me the red biretta, and has commanded me to -come to Rome within a year to exchange it for the Cardinal's hat, and -also to visit the tombs of the Apostles." - -But Joan was not listening. She went on to speak of the matters which -occupied her own mind. - -"If you were a priest, why did you ride in the great tournament of the -Blacks and the Whites at Courtland not a year ago?" - -The Prince-Cardinal smiled indulgently. - -"I was not then fledged full priest; hardly am I one now, though they -have made me a Prince of Holy Church. Yet the tournaying was in a -manner, perhaps, what her bridal dress is to a nun ere she takes the -veil. But, my Lady Joan, what know you of the strife of Blacks and -Whites at Courtland?" - -"Your sister, the Princess Margaret, spoke of it, and also the Count von -Löen, an officer of mine," answered Joan disingenuously. - -"I am indeed a soldier by training and desire," continued the young man. -"In Italy I have played at stratagem and countermarch with the Orsini -and Colonna. But in this matter the younger son of the house of -Courtland has no choice. We are the bulwark of the Church alike against -heretic Muscovite to the north and furious Hussite to the south. We of -Courtland must stand for the Holy See along all the Baltic edges; and -for this reason the Pope has always chosen from amongst us his -representative upon the Diet of the Empire, till the office has become -almost hereditary." - -"Then you are not really a priest?" said Joan, woman-like fixing upon -that part of the young man's reply, which somehow had the greatest -interest for her. - -"In a sense, yes--in truth, no. They say that the Pope, in order to -forward the Church's polity, makes and unmakes cardinals every day, some -even for money payments; but these are doubtless Hussite lies. Yet -though by prescript right and the command of the head of the Church I am -both priest and bishop, in my heart I am but Prince Conrad of Courtland -and a simple knight, even as I was before." - -They paced along together with their eyes on the ground, the Wordless -Man keeping a uniform distance behind them. Then the Prince laughed a -strange grating laugh, like one who mocks at himself. - -"By this time I ought to have been well on my way to the tombs of the -Apostles; yet in my heart I cannot be sorry, for--God forgive me!--I had -liefer be walking this northern shore, a young man along with a fair -maiden." - -"A priest walking with his brother's wife!" said Joan, turning quickly -upon him and flashing a look into the eyes that regarded her with some -wonder at her imperiousness. - -"That is true, in a sense," he answered; "yet I am a priest with no -consent of my desire--you a wife without love. We are, at least, alike -in this--that we are wife and priest chiefly in name." - -"Save that you are on your way to take on you the duties of your office, -while I am more concerned in evading mine." - -The Cardinal meditated deeply. - -"The world is ill arranged," he said slowly; "my brother Louis would -have made a far better Churchman than I. And strange it is to think that -but a year ago the knights and chief councillors of Courtland came to -me to propose that, because of his bodily weakness, my brother should be -deposed and that I should take over the government and direction of -affairs." - -He went on without noticing the colour rising in Joan's cheek, smiling a -little to himself and talking with more animation. - -"Then, had I assented, my brother might have been walking here with -tonsured head by your side, while I would doubtless have been knocking -at the gates of Kernsberg, seeking at the spear's point for a runaway -bride." - -"Nay!" cried Joan, with sudden vehemence; "that would you not----" - -And as suddenly she stopped, stricken dumb by the sound of her own -words. - -The Prince turned his head full upon her. He saw a face all suffused -with hot blushes, haughtiest pride struggling with angry tears in eyes -that fairly blazed upon him, and a slender figure drawn up into an -attitude of defiance--at sight of all which something took him instantly -by the throat. - -"You mean--you mean----" he stammered, and for a moment was silent. "For -God's sake, tell me what you mean!" - -"I mean nothing at all!" said Joan, stamping her foot in anger. - -And turning upon her heel she left him standing fixed in wonder and -doubt upon the margin of the sea. - -Then the wife of Louis, Prince of Courtland, walked eastward to the -house upon the Isle Rugen with her face set as sternly as for battle, -but her nether lip quivering--while Conrad, Cardinal and Prince of Holy -Church, paced slowly to the west with a bitter and downcast look upon -his ordinarily so sunny countenance. - -For Fate had been exceeding cruel to these two. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -THE RED LION FLIES AT KERNSBERG - - -And meanwhile right haughtily flew the red lion upon the citadel of -Kernsberg. Never had the Lady Duchess, Joan of the Sword Hand, approven -herself so brave and determined. In her forester's dress of green -velvet, with the links of chain body-armour glinting beneath its frogs -and taches, she went everywhere on foot. At all times of the day she was -to be seen at the half-moons wherein the cannon were fixed, or on -horseback scouring the defenced posts along the city wall. She seemed to -know neither fear nor fatigue, and the noise of cheering followed her -about the little hill city like her shadow. - -Three only there were who knew the truth--Peter Balta, Alt Pikker, and -George the Hussite. And when the guards were set, the lamps lit, and the -bars drawn, a stupid faithful Hohensteiner set on watch at the turnpike -foot with command to let none pass upon his life--then at last the lithe -young Sparhawk would undo his belt with huge refreshful gusting of air -into his lungs, amid the scarcely subdued laughter of the captains of -the host. - -"Lord Peter of the Keys!" Von Lynar would cry, "what it is to unbutton -and untruss! 'Tis very well to admire it in our pretty Joan, but 'fore -the Lord, I would give a thousand crowns if she were not so slender. It -cuts a man in two to get within such a girdle. Only Prince Wasp could -make a shift to fit it. Give me a goblet of ale, fellows." - -"Nay, lad--mead! Mead of ten years alone must thou have, and little -enough of that! Ale will make thee fat as mast-fed pigs." - -"Or stay," amended George the Hussite; "mead is not comely drink for a -maid--I will get thee a little canary and water, scented with -millefleurs and rosemary." - -"Check your fooling and help to unlace me, all of you," quoth the -Sparhawk. "Now there is but a silken cord betwixt me and Paradise. But -it prisons me like iron bars. Ah, there"--he blew a great breath, -filling and emptying his lungs with huge content--"I wonder why we men -breathe with our stomachs and women with their chests?" - -"Know you not that much?" cried Alt Pikker. "'Tis because a man's life -is in his stomach; and as for women, most part have neither heart, -stomach, nor bowels of mercy--and so breathe with whatever it liketh -them!" - -"No ribaldry in a lady's presence, or in a trice thou shalt have none of -these, either!" quoth the false Joan; "help me off with this -thrice-accursed chain-mail. I am pocked from head to heel like a Swiss -mercenary late come from Venice. Every ring in this foul devil's jerkin -is imprinted an inch deep on my hide, and itches worse than a hundred -beggars at a church door. Ah! better, better. Yet not well! I had -thought our Joan of the Sword Hand a strapping wench, but now a hop-pole -is an abbot to her when one comes to wear her _carapace_ and -_justaucorps_!" - -"How went matters to-day on your side?" he went on, speaking to Balta, -all the while chafing the calves of his legs and rubbing his pinched -feet, having first enwrapped himself in a great loose mantle of red and -gold which erstwhile had belonged to Henry the Lion. - -"On the whole, not ill," said Peter Balta. "The Muscovites, indeed, -drove in our outposts, but could not come nearer than a bowshot from the -northern gate, we galled them so with our culverins and bombardels." - -"Duke George's famous Fat Peg herself could not have done better than -our little leathern vixens," said Alt Pikker, rubbing his grey badger's -brush contentedly. "Gott, if we had only provender and water we might -keep them out of the city for ever! But in a week they will certainly -have cut off our river and sent it down the new channel, and the wells -are not enough for half the citizens, to say nothing of the cattle and -horses. This is a great fuss to make about a graceless young jackanapes -of a Jutlander like you, Master Maurice von Lynar, Count von -Löen--wedded wife of his Highness Prince Louis of Courtland. Ha! ha! -ha!" - -"I would have you know, sirrah," cried the Sparhawk, "that if you do not -treat me as your liege lady ought to be treated, I will order you to the -deepest dungeon beneath the castle moat! Come and kiss my hand this -instant, both of you!" - -"Promise not to box our ears, and we will," said Alt Pikker and George -the Hussite together. - -"Well, I will let you off this time," said Maurice royally, stretching -his limbs luxuriously and putting one hosened foot on the mantel-shelf -as high as his head. "Heigh-ho! I wonder how long it will last, and when -we must surrender." - -"Prince Louis must send his Muscovites back beyond the Alla first, and -then we will speak with him concerning giving him up his wife!" quoth -Peter Balta. - -"I wonder what the craven loon will do with her when he gets her," said -Alt Pikker. "You must not surrender in your girdle-brace and ring-mail, -my liege lady, or you will have to sleep with them on. It would not be -seemly to have to call up half a dozen lusty men-at-arms to help untruss -her ladyship the Princess of Courtland!" - -"Perhaps your goodman will kiss you upon the threshold of the palace as -a token of reconciliation!" cackled Hussite George. - -"If he does, I will rip him up!" growled Maurice, aghast at the -suggestion. "But there is no doubt that at the best I shall be between -the thills when they get me once safe in Courtland. To ride the wooden -horse all day were a pleasure to it!" - -But presently his face lighted up and he murmured some words to -himself-- - -"Yet, after all, there is always the Princess Margaret there. I can -confide in her when the worst comes. She will help me in my need--and, -what is better still, she may even kiss me!" - -And, spite of gloomy anticipations, his ears tingled with happy -expectancy, when he thought of opportunities of intimate speech with the -lady of his heart. - - * * * * * - -Nevertheless, in the face of brave words and braver deeds, provisions -waxed scarce and dear in Castle Kernsberg, and in the town below women -grew gaunt and hollow-cheeked. Then the children acquired eyes that -seemed to stand out of hollow purple sockets. Last of all, the stout -burghers grew thin. And all three began to dream of the days when the -good farm-folk of the blackened country down below them, where now stood -the leafy lodges of the Muscovites and the white tents of the -Courtlanders, used to come into Kernsberg to market, the great -solemn-eyed oxen drawing carts full of country sausages, and brown meal -fresh ground from the mill to bake the wholesome bread--or better still -when the stout market women brought in the lappered milk and the butter -and curds. So the starving folk dreamed and dreamed and woke, and cried -out curses on them that had waked them, saying, "Plague take the hands -that pulled me back to this gutter-dog's life! For I was just a-sitting -down to dinner with a haunch of venison for company, and such a lordly -trout, buttered, with green sauce all over him, a loaf of white bread, -crisp and crusty, at my elbow, and--Holy Saint Matthew!--such a noble -flagon of Rhenish, holding ten pints at the least." - -About this time the Sparhawk began to take counsel with himself, and the -issue of his meditations the historian must now relate. - -It was in the outer chamber of the Duchess Joan, which looks to the -north, that the three captains usually sat--burly Peter Balta, -stiff-haired, dry-faced, keen-eyed--Alt Pikker, lean and leathery, the -life humour within him all gone to fighting juice, his limbs mere bone -and muscle, a certain acrid and caustic wit keeping the corners of his -lips on the wicker, and, a little back from these two, George the -Hussite, a smaller man, very solemn even when he was making others -laugh, but nevertheless with a proud high look, a stiff upper lip, and a -moustache so huge that he could tie the ends behind his head on a windy -day. - -These three had been speaking together at the wide, low window from -which one can see the tight little red-roofed town of Kernsberg and the -green Kernswater lying like a bright many-looped ribbon at the foot of -the hills. - -To them entered the Sparhawk, a settled frown of gloom upon his brow, -and the hunger which he shared equally with the others already -sharpening the falcon hook of his nose and whitening his thin nostrils. - -At sight of him the three heads drew apart, and Alt Pikker began to -speak of the stars that were rising in the eastern dusk. - -"The dog-star is white," he said didactically. "In my schooldays I used -to read in the Latin tongue that it was red!" - -But by their interest in such a matter the Sparhawk knew that they had -been speaking of far other things than stars before he burst open the -door. For little George the Hussite pulled his pandour moustaches and -muttered, "A plague on the dog-star and the foul Latin tongue. They are -only fit for the gabble of fat-fed monks. Moreover, you do not see it -now, at any rate. For me, I would I were back under the Bohemian -pinetrees, where the very wine smacks of resin, and where there is a -sheep (your own or another's, it matters not greatly) tied at every true -Hussite's door." - -[Illustration: "These three had been speaking together." [_Page 186_]] - -"What is this?" cried the Sparhawk. "Do not deceive me. You were none of -you talking of stars when I came up the stairs. For I heard Peter -Balta's voice say, 'By Heaven! it must come to it, and soon!' And you -Hussite George, answered him, 'Six days will settle it.' What do you -keep from me? Out with it? Speak up, like three good little men!" - -It was Alt Pikker who first found words to answer. - -"We spoke indeed of the stars, and said it was six days till the moon -should be gone, and that the time would then be ripe for a sally by -the--by the--Plassenburg Gate!" - -"Pshaw!" cried the Sparhawk. "Lie to your father confessor, not to me. I -am not a purblind fool. I have ears, long enough, it is true, but at -least they answer to hear withal. You spoke of the wells, I tell you; I -saw your heads move apart as I entered; and then, forsooth, that dotard -Alt Pikker (who ran away in his youth from a monk's cloister-school with -the nun that taught them stocking-mending) must needs furbish up some -scraps of Latin and begin to prate about dog-stars red and dog-stars -white. Faugh! Open your mouths like men, set truthful hearts behind -them, and let me hear the worst!" - -Nevertheless the three captains of Kernsberg were silent awhile, for -heaviness was upon their souls. Then Peter Balta blurted out, "God help -us! There is but ten days more provender in the city, the river is -turned, and the wells are almost dried up!" - -After this the Sparhawk sat awhile on the low window seat, watching the -twinkling fires of the Muscovites and listening to the hum of the town -beneath the Castle--all now sullen and subdued, no merry hucksters -chaffering about the church porches, no loitering lads and lasses -linking arms and bartering kisses in the dusky corners of the linen -market, no clattering of hammers in the armourers' bazaar--a muffled -buzzing only, as of men talking low to themselves of bitter memories and -yet dismaller expectations. - -"I have it!" said the Sparhawk at last, his eyes on the misty plain of -night, with its twinkling pin-points of fire which were the watch-fires -of the enemy. - -The three men stirred a little to indicate attention, but did not speak. - -"Listen," he said, "and do not interrupt. You must deliver me up. I am -the cause of war--I, the Duchess Joan. Hear you? I have a husband who -makes war upon me because I contemn his bed and board. He has summoned -the Muscovite to help him to woo me. Well, if I am to be given up, it is -for us to stipulate that the armies be withdrawn, first beyond the Alla, -and then as far as Courtland. I will go with them; they will not find me -out--at least, not till they are back in their own land." - -"What matter?" cried Balta. "They would return as soon as they -discovered the cheat." - -"Let us sink or swim together," said Hussite George. "We want no talk of -surrender!" - -But grey dry Alt Pikker said nothing, weighing all with a judicial mind. - -"No, they would not come back," said the Sparhawk; "or, at worst, we -would have time--that is, you would have time--to revictual Kernsberg, -to fill the tanks and reservoirs, to summon in the hillmen. They would -soon learn that there had been no Joan within the city but the one they -had carried back with them to Courtland. Plassenburg, slow to move, -would have time to bring up its men to protect its borders from the -Muscovite. All good chances are possible if only I am out of the way. -Surrender me--but by private treaty, and not till you have seen them -safe across the fords of the Alla!" - -"Nay, God's truth;" cried the three, "that we will not do! They would -kill you by slow torture as soon as they found out that they had been -tricked." - -"Well," said the Sparhawk slowly, "but by that time they _would_ have -been tricked." - -Then Alt Pikker spoke in his turn. - -"Men," he said, "this Dane is a man--a better than any of us. There is -wisdom in what he says. Ye have heard in church how priests preach -concerning One who died for the people. Here is one ready to die--if no -better may be--for the people!" - -"And for our Duchess Joan!" said the Sparhawk, taking his hat from his -head at the name of his mistress. - -"Our Lady Joan! Aye, that is it!" said the old man. "We would all gladly -die in battle for our lady. We have done more--we have risked our own -honour and her favour in order to convey her away from these dangers. -Let the boy be given up; and that he go not alone without fit -attendance, I will go with him as his chamberlain." - -The other two men, Peter Balta and George the Hussite, did not answer -for a space, but sat pondering Alt Pikker's counsel. It was George the -Hussite who took up the parable. - -"I do not see why you, Alt Pikker, and you, Maurice the Dane, should -hold such a pother about what you are ready to do for our Lady Joan. So -are we all every whit as ready and willing as you can be; and I think, -if any are to be given up, we ought to draw lots for who it shall be. -You fancy yourselves overmuch, both of you!" - -The Sparhawk laughed. - -"Great tun-barrelled dolt," he said, clapping Peter on the back, "how -sweet and convincing it would be to see you, or that canting ale-faced -knave George there, dressed up in the girdle-brace and steel corset of -Joan of the Sword Hand! And how would you do as to your beard? Are you -smooth as an egg on both cheeks as I am? It would be rare to have a -Duchess Joan with an inch of blue-black stubble on her chin by the time -she neared the gates of Courtland! Nay, lads, whoever stays--I must go. -In this matter of brides I have qualities (how I got them I know not) -that the best of you cannot lay claim to. Do you draw lots with Alt -Pikker there, an you will, as to who shall accompany me, but leave this -present Joan of the Sword Hand to settle her own little differences with -him who is her husband by the blessing of Holy Church." - -And he threw up his heels upon the table and plaited his knees one above -the other. - -Then it was Alt Pikker's time. - -"Peter Balta, and you, George the Heretic, listen," he cried, vehemently -emphasising the points on the palm of his hand. "You, Peter, have a wife -that loves you--so, at least, we understand--and your Marion, how would -she fare in this hard world without you? Have you laid by a -stocking-foot full of gold? Does it hang inside your chimney? I trow -not. Well, you at least must bide and earn your pay, for Marion's sake. -I have neither kith nor kin, neither sweetheart nor wife, covenanted or -uncovenanted. And for you, George, you are a heretic, and if they burn -you alive or let out the red sap at your neck, you will go straight to -hell-fire. Think of it, George! I, on the other hand, am a true man, and -after a paltry year or two in purgatory (just for the experience) will -enter straightway into the bosom of patriarchs and apostles, along with -our Holy Father the Pope, and our elder brothers the Cardinals Borgia -and Delia Rovere!" - -"You talk a deal of nothings with your mouth," said George the Hussite. -"It is true that I hold not, as you do, that every dishclout in a church -is the holy veil, and every old snag of wood with a nail in't a -veritable piece of the true cross. But I would have you know that I can -do as much for my lady as any one of you--nay, and more, too, Alt -Pikker. For a good Hussite is afraid neither of purgatory nor yet of -hell-fire, because, if he should chance to die, he will go, without -troubling either, straight to the abode of the martyrs and confessors -who have been judged worthy to withstand and to conquer." - -"And as to what you said concerning Marion," nodded Peter Balta -truculently, "she is a soldier's wife and would cut her pretty throat -rather than stand in the way of a man's advancement!" - -"Specially knowing that so pretty a wench as she is could get a better -husband to-morrow an it liked her!" commented Alt Pikker drily. - -"Well," cried the Sparhawk, "still your quarrel, gentlemen. At all -events, the thing is settled. The only question is _when_? How many -days' water is there in the wells?" - -Said Peter Balta, "I will go and see." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -THE GREETING OF THE PRINCESS MARGARET - - -They were making terms concerning treaty of delivering thus:-- - -"When the last Muscovite has crossed the Alla, when the men of Courtland -stand ready to follow--then, and not sooner, we will deliver up our Lady -Joan. For this we shall receive from you, Louis, Prince of Courtland, -fifty hogsheads of wine, six hundred wagon-loads of good wheat, and the -four great iron cannon now standing before the Stralsund Gate. This all -to be completed before we of Kernsberg hand our Lady over." - -"It is a thing agreed!" answered Louis of Courtland, who longed to be -gone, and, above all, to get his Muscovite allies out of his country. -For not only did they take all the best of everything in the field, but, -like locusts, they spread themselves over the rear, carrying plunder and -rapine through the territories of Courtland itself--treating it, indeed, -as so much conquered country, so that men were daily deserting his -colours in order to go back to protect their wives and daughters from -the Cossacks of the Don and the Strelits of Little Russia. - -Moreover, above all, Prince Louis wanted that proud wench, his wife. -Without her as his prisoner, he dared not go back to his capital city. -He had sworn an oath before the people. For the rest, Kernsberg itself -could wait. Without a head it would soon fall in, and, besides, he -flattered himself that he would so sway and influence the Duchess, when -once he had her safe in his palace by the mouth of Alla, that she would -repent her folly, and at no distant day sit knee by knee with him on his -throne of state in the audience hall when the suitors came to plead -concerning the law. - -And even his guest Prince Ivan was complaisant, standing behind Louis's -chair and smiling subtly to himself. - -"Brother of mine," he would say, "I came to help you to your wife. It is -your own affair how you take her and what you do with her when you get -her. For me, as soon as you have her safe within the summer palace, and -have given me, according to promise, my heart's desire your sister -Margaret, so soon will I depart for Moscow. My father, indeed, sends -daily posts praying my instant despatch, for he only waits my return to -launch a host upon his enemy the King of Polognia." - -And Prince Louis, reaching over the arm of his chair, patted his -friend's small sweet-scented hand, and thanked him for his most -unselfish and generous assistance. - -Thus the leaguer of Hohenstein attained its object. Prince Louis had -not, it is true, stormed the heights of Kernsberg as he had sworn to do. -He had, in fact, left behind him to the traitors who delivered their -Duchess a large portion of his stores and munitions of war. -Nevertheless, he returned proud in heart to his capital city. For in the -midst of his most faithful body of cavalry rode the young Duchess Joan, -Princess of Courtland, on a white Neapolitan barb, with reins that -jingled like silver bells and rosettes of ribbon on the bosses of her -harness. - -The beautiful prisoner appeared, as was natural, somewhat wan and -anxious. She was clad in a close-fitting gown of pale blue, with -inch-wide broidering of gold, laced in front, and with a train which -drooped almost to the ground. Over this a cloak of deeper blue was worn, -with a hood in which the dark, proud head of the Princess nestled half -hidden and half revealed. The folk who crowded to see her go by took -this for coquetry. She rode with only the one councillor by her who had -dared to share her captivity--one Alt Pikker, a favourite veteran of her -little army, and the master-swordsman (they said) who had instructed her -in the use of arms. - -No indignity had been offered to her. Indeed, as great honour was done -her as was possible in the circumstances. Prince Louis had approached -and led her by the hand to the steed which awaited her at the fords of -the Alla. The soldiers of Courtland elevated their spears and the -trumpets of both hosts brayed a salute. Then, without a word spoken, her -husband had bowed and withdrawn as a gentleman should. Prince Ivan then -approached, and on one knee begged the privilege of kissing her fair -hand. - -The traitors of Kernsberg, who had bartered their mistress for several -tuns of Rhenish, could not meet her eye, but stood gloomily apart with -faces sad and downcast, and from within the town came the sound of women -weeping. Only George the Hussite stood by with a smile on his face and -his thumbs stuck in his waistband. - -The captive Princess spoke not at all, as was indeed natural and -fitting. A woman conquered does not easily forgive those who have -humbled her pride. She talked little even to Alt Pikker, and then only -apart. The nearest guide, who had been chosen because of his knowledge -of German, could not hear a murmur. With bowed head and eyes that dwelt -steadily on the undulating mane of her white barb, Joan swayed her -graceful body and compressed her lips like one captured but in nowise -vanquished. And the soldiers of the army of Courtland (those of them who -were married) whispered one to another, noting her demeanour, "Our good -Prince is but at the beginning of his troubles; for, by Brunhild, did -you ever see such a wench? They say she can engage any two fencers of -her army at one time!" - -"Her eye itself is like a rapier thrust," whispered another. "Just now I -went near her to look, and she arched an eyebrow at me, no more--and -lo! I went cold at my marrow as if I felt the blue steel stand out at my -backbone." - -"It is the hunger and the anger that have done it," said another; "and, -indeed, small wonder! She looked not so pale when I saw her ride along -Courtland Street that day to the Dom--the day she was to be married. -Then her eyes did not pierce you through, but instead they shone with -their own proper light and were very gracious." - -"A strange wench, a most strange wench," responded the first, "so soon -to change her mind." - -"Ha!" laughed his companion, "little do you know if you say so! She is a -woman--small doubt of that! Besides, is she not a princess? and -wherefore should our Prince's wife not change her mind?" - -They entered Courtland, and the flags flew gaily as on the day of -wedding. The drums beat, and the populace drank from spigots that foamed -red wine. Then Louis the Prince came, with hat in hand, and begged that -the Princess Joan would graciously allow him to ride beside her through -the streets. He spoke respectfully, and Joan could only bow her head in -acquiescence. - -Thus they came to the courtyard of the palace, the people shouting -behind them. There, on the steps, gowned in white and gold, with bare -head overrun with ringlets, stood the Princess Margaret among her women. -And at sight of her the heart of the false Princess gave a mighty bound, -as Joan of the Sword Hand drew her hood closer about her face and tried -to remember in what fashion a lady dismounted from her horse. - -"My lady," said Prince Louis, standing hat in hand before her barb, "I -commit you to the care of my sister, the Princess Margaret, knowing the -ancient friendship that there is between you two. She will speak for me, -knowing all my will, and being also herself shortly contracted in -marriage to my good friend, Prince Ivan of Muscovy. Open your hearts to -each other, I pray you, and be assured that no evil or indignity shall -befall one whom I admire as the fairest of women and honour as my wedded -wife!" - -Joan made no answer, but leaped from her horse without waiting for the -hand of Alt Pikker, which many thought strange. In another moment the -arms of the Princess Margaret were about her neck, and that impulsive -Princess was kissing her heartily on cheek and lips, talking all the -while through her tears. - -"Quick! Let us get in from all these staring stupid men. You are to -lodge in my palace so long as it lists you. My brother hath promised it. -Where are your women?" - -"I have no women," said Joan, in a low voice, blushing meanwhile; "they -would not accompany a poor betrayed prisoner from Kernsberg to a prison -cell!" - -"Prison cell, indeed! You will find that I have a very comfortable -dungeon ready for you! Come--my maidens will assist you. Hasten--pray do -make haste!" cried the impetuous little lady, her arm close about the -tall Joan. - -"I thank you," said the false bride, with some reluctance, "but I am -well accustomed to wait on myself." - -"Indeed, I do not wonder," cried the ready Princess; "maids are -vexatious creatures, well called 'tirewomen.' But come--see the -beautiful rooms I have chosen for you! Make haste and take off your -cloak, and then I will come to you; I am fairly dying to talk. Ah, why -did you not tell me that day? That was ill done. I would have ridden so -gladly with you. It was a glorious thing to do, and has made you famous -all over the world, they say. I have been thinking ever since what I can -do to be upsides with you and make them talk about me. I will give them -a surprise one day that shall be great as yours. But perhaps I may not -wait till I am married to do it." - -And she took her friend by the hand and with a light-hearted skipping -motion convoyed her to her summer palace, kissed her again at the door, -and shut her in with another imperious adjuration to be speedy. - -"I will give you a quarter of an hour," she cried, as she lingered a -moment; "then I will come to hear all your story, every word." - -Then the false Princess staggered rather than walked to a chair, for -brain and eye were reeling. - -"God wot," she murmured; "strange things to hear, indeed! Sweet lady, -you little know how strange! This is ten thousand times a straiter place -to be in than when I played the Count von Löen. Ah, women, women, what -you bring a poor innocent man to!" - -So, without unhooking her cloak or even throwing back the hood, this -sadly bewildered bride sat down and tried to select any hopeful line of -action out of the whirling chaos of her thoughts. And even as she sat -there a knock came sharply at the door. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -LOVE'S CLEAR EYE - - -"And now," cried Princess Margaret, clapping her hands together -impulsively, "now at last I shall hear everything. Why you went away, -and who gave you up, and about the fighting. Ugh! the traitors, to -betray you after all! I would have their heads off--and all to save -their wretched town and the lives of some score of fat burghers!" - -So far the Princess Margaret had never once looked at the Sparhawk in -his borrowed plumage, as he stood uneasily enough by the fireplace of -the summer palace, leaning an elbow on the mantelshelf. But now she -turned quickly to her guest. - -"Oh, I love you!" she cried, running to Maurice and throwing her arms -about her false sister-in-law in an impulsive little hug. "I think you -are so brave. Is my hair sadly tangled? Tell me truly, Joan. The wind -hath tumbled it about mine eyes. Not that it matters--with you!" - -She said the last words with a little sigh. - -Then the Princess Margaret tripped across the polished floor to a -dressing-table which had been set out in the angle between the two -windows. She turned the combs and brushes over with a contumelious hand. - -"Where is your hand-glass?" she cried. "Do not tell me that you have -never looked in it since you came to Courtland, or that you can put up -with that squinting falsifier up there." She pointed to the oval-framed -Venetian mirror which was hung opposite her. "It twists your face all -awry, this way and that, like a monkey cracking a nut. 'Twas well enough -for our good Conrad, but the Princess Joan is another matter." - -"I have never even looked in either!" said the Sparhawk. - -Some subtle difference in tone of voice caused the Princess to stop her -work of patting into temporary docility her fair clustering ringlets, -winding them about her fingers and rearranging to greater advantage the -little golden combs which held her sadly rebellious tresses in place. -She looked keenly at the Sparhawk, standing with both her shapely arms -at the back of her head and holding a long ivory pin with a head of -bright green malachite between her small white teeth. - -"Your voice is hoarse--somehow you are different," she said, taking the -pin from her lips and slipping it through the rebellious plaits with a -swift vindictive motion. - -"I have caught a cold riding into the city," quoth the Sparhawk hastily, -blushing uneasily under her eyes. But for the time being his disguise -was safe. Already Margaret of Courtland was thinking of something else. - -"Tell me," she began, going to the window and gazing pensively out upon -the green white-flecked pour of the Alla, swirling under the beams of -the Summer Palace, "how many of your suite have followed you hither?" - -"Only Alt Pikker, my second captain!" said the Sparhawk. - -Again the tones of his voice seemed to touch her woman's ear with some -subtile perplexity even in the midst of her abstraction. Margaret turned -her eyes again upon Maurice, and kept them there till he shivered in the -flowing, golden-belted dress of velvet which sat so handsomely upon his -splendid figure. - -"And your chief captain, Von Orseln?" The Princess seemed to be -meditating again, her thoughts far from the rush of the Alla beneath -and from the throat voice of the false Princess before her. - -"Von Orseln has gone to the Baltic Edge to raise on my behalf the folk -of the marshes!" answered the Sparhawk warily. - -"Then there was----" the Princess hesitated, and her own voice grew a -trifle lower--"the young man who came hither as Dessauer's -secretary--what of him? The Count von Löen, if I mistake not--that was -his name?" - -"He is a traitor!" - -The Princess turned quickly. - -"Nay," she said, "you do not think so. Your voice is kind when you speak -of him. Besides, I am sure he is no traitor. Where is he?" - -"He is in the place where he most wishes to be--with the woman he -loves!" - -The light died out of the bright face of the Princess Margaret at the -answer, even as a dun snow-cloud wipes the sunshine off a landscape. - -"The woman he loves?" she stammered, as if she could not have heard -aright. - -"Aye," said the false bride, loosening her cloak and casting it behind -her. "I swear it. He is with the woman he loves." - -But in his heart the Sparhawk was saying, "Steady, Master Maurice von -Lynar--or all will be out in five minutes." - -The Princess Margaret walked determinedly from the window to the -fireplace. She was not so tall by half a head as her guest, but to the -eyes of the Sparhawk she towered above him like a young poplar tree. He -shrank from her searching glance. - -The Princess laid her hand upon the sleeve of the velvet gown. A flush -of anger crimsoned her fair face. - -"Ah!" she cried, "I see it all now, madam the Princess. You love the -Count and you think to blind me. This is the reason of your riding off -with him on your wedding day. I saw you go by his side. You sent Count -Maurice to bring to you the four hundred lances of Kernsberg. It was for -his sake that you left my brother Prince Louis at the church door. Like -draws to like, they say, and your eyes even now are as like as peas to -those of the Count von Löen." - -And this, indeed, could the Sparhawk in no wise deny. The Princess went -her angry way. - -"There have been many lies told," she cried, raising the pitch of her -voice, "but I am not blind. I can see through them. I am a woman and can -gauge a woman's pretext. You yourself are in love with the Count von -Löen, and yet you tell me that he is with the woman he loves. Bah! he -loves you--you, his mistress--next, that is, to his selfish self-seeking -self. If he is with the woman he loves, as you say, tell me her name!" - -There came a knocking at the door. - -"Who is there?" demanded imperiously the Princess Margaret. - -"The Prince of Muscovy, to present his duty to the Princess of -Courtland!" - -"I do not wish to see him--I will not see him!" said the Sparhawk -hastily, who felt that one inquisitor at a time was as much as he could -hope to deal with. - -"Enter!" said the Princess Margaret haughtily. - -The Prince opened the door and stood on the threshold bowing to the -ladies. - -"Well?" queried Margaret of Courtland, without further acknowledgment of -his salutation than the slightest and chillest nod. - -"My service to both, noble Princesses," the answer came with suave -deference. "The Prince Louis sent me to beg of his noble spouse, the -Princess Joan, that she would deign to receive him." - -"Tell Louis that the Princess will receive him at her own time. He ought -to have better manners than to trouble a lady yet weary from a long -journey. And as for you, Prince Ivan, you have our leave to go!" - -Whilst Margaret was speaking the Prince had fixed his piercing eyes upon -the Sparhawk, as if already he had penetrated his secret. But because -he was a man Maurice sustained the searching gaze with haughty -indifference. The Prince of Muscovy turned upon the Princess Margaret -with a bright smile. - -"All this makes an ill lesson for you, my fair betrothed," he said, -bowing to her; "but--there will be no riding home once we have you in -Moscow!" - -"True, I shall not need to return, for I shall never ride thither!" -retorted the Princess. "Moreover, I would have you remember that I am -not your betrothed. The Prince Louis is your betrothed, if you have any -in Courtland. You can carry him to Moscow an you will, and comfort each -other there." - -"That also I may do some day, madam!" flashed Prince Wasp, stirred to -quick irritation. "But in the meantime, Princess Joan, does it please -you to signify when you will receive your husband?" - -"No! no! no!" whispered the Sparhawk in great perturbation. - -The Princess Margaret pointed to the door. - -"Go!" she said. "I myself will signify to my brother when he can wait -upon the Princess." - -"My Lady Margaret," the Muscovite purred in answer, "think you it is -wise thus to encourage rebellion in the most sacred relations of life?" - -The Princess Margaret trilled into merriest laughter and reached back a -hand to take Joan's fingers in hers protectingly. - -"The homily of the most reverend churchman, Prince Ivan of Muscovy, upon -matrimony; Judas condemning treachery, Satan rebuking sin, were nothing -to this!" - -With all his faults the Prince had humour, the humour of a torture scene -in some painted monkish Inferno. - -"Agreed," he said, smiling; "and what does the Princess Margaret -protecting that pale shrinking flower, Joan of the Sword Hand, remind -you of?" - -"That the room of Prince Ivan is more welcome to ladies than his -company!" retorted Margaret of Courtland, still holding the Sparhawk's -hand between both of hers, and keeping her angry eyes and petulant -flower face indignantly upon the intruder. - -Had Prince Ivan been looking at her companion at that moment he might -have penetrated the disguise, so tender and devoted a light of love -dwelt on the Sparhawk's countenance and beaconed from his eyes. But he -only bowed deferentially and withdrew. Margaret and the Sparhawk were -left once more alone. - -The two stood thus while the brisk footsteps of Prince Wasp thinned out -down the corridor. Then Margaret turned swiftly upon her tall companion -and, still keeping her hand, she pulled Maurice over to the window. Then -in the fuller light she scanned the Sparhawk's features with a kindling -eye and paling lips. - -"God in heaven!" she palpitated, holding him at a greater distance, "you -are not the Lady Joan; you are--you are----" - -"The man who loves you!" said the Sparhawk, who was very pale. - -"The Count von Löen. Oh! Maurice, why did you risk it?" she gasped. -"They will kill you, tear you to pieces without remorse, when they find -out. And it is a thing that cannot be kept secret. Why did you do it?" - -"For your sake, beloved," said the Sparhawk, coming nearer to her; "to -look once more on your face--to behold once, if no more, the lips that -kissed me in the dark by the river brink!" - -"But--but--you may forfeit your life!" - -"And a thousand lives!" cried the Sparhawk, nervously pulling at his -woman's dress as if ashamed that he must wear it at such a time. "Life -without you is naught to Maurice von Lynar!" - -A glow of conscious happiness rose warm and pink upon the cheeks of the -Princess Margaret. - -"Besides," added Maurice, "the captains of Kernsberg considered that -thus alone could their mistress be saved." - -The glow paled a little. - -"What! by sacrificing you? But perhaps you did it for her sake, and not -wholly, as you say, for mine!" - -There was no such thought in her heart, but she wished to hear him deny -it. - -"Nay, my one lady," he answered; "I was, indeed, more than ready to come -to Courtland, but it was because of the hope that surged through my -heart, as flame leaps through tow, that I should see you and hear your -voice!" - -The Princess held out her hands impulsively and then retracted them as -suddenly. - -"Now, we must not waste time," she said; "I must save you. They would -slay you on the least suspicion. But I will match them. Would to God -that Conrad were here. To him I could speak. I could trust him. He would -help us. Let me see! Let me see!" - -She bent her head and walked slowly to the window. Like every true -Courtlander she thought best when she could watch the swirl of the green -Alla against its banks. The Sparhawk took a step as if to follow, but -instead stood still where he was, drinking in her proud and girlish -beauty. To the eye of any spy they were no more than two noble ladies -who had quarrelled, the smaller and slighter of whom had turned her back -upon the taller! - -They were in the same position still, and the white foam-fleck which -Margaret was following with her eyes had not vanished from her sight, -when the door of the summer palace was rudely thrown open and an officer -announced in a loud and strident tone, "The Prince Louis to visit his -Princess!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -THE ROYAL MINX - - -Prince Louis entered, flushed and excited. His eyes had lost their -furtive meanness and blazed with a kind of reckless fury quite foreign -to his nature, for anger affected him as wine might another man. - -He spoke first to the Princess Margaret. - -"And so, my fair sister," he said, "you would foment rebellion even in -my palace and concoct conspiracy with my own married wife. Make ready, -madam, for to-morrow you shall find your master. I will marry you to the -Prince Ivan of Muscovy. He will carry you to Moscow, where ladies of -your breed are taught to obey. And if they will not--why, their delicate -skins may chance to be caressed with instruments less tender than -lovers' fingers. Go--make you ready. You shall be wed and that -immediately. And leave me alone with my wife." - -"I will not marry the Prince of Muscovy," his sister answered calmly. "I -would rather die by the axe of your public executioner. I would wed with -the vilest scullion that squabbles with the swine for gobbets in the -gutters of Courtland, rather than sit on a throne with such a man!" - -The Prince nodded sagely. - -"A pretty spirit--a true Courtland spirit," he said mockingly. "I had -the same within my heart when I was young. Conrad hath it now--priest -though he be. Nevertheless, he is off to Rome to kiss the Pope's toe. By -my faith, Gretchen lass, you show a very pretty spirit!" - -He wheeled about and looked towards the false Joan, who was standing -gripping nails into palms by the chimney-mantel. - -"And you, my lady," he said, "you have had your turn of rebellion. But -once is enough. You are conquered now. You are a wedded wife. Your place -is with your husband. You sleep in my palace to-night!" - -"If I do," muttered the Sparhawk, "I know who will wake in hell -to-morrow!" - -"My brother Louis," cried the Princess Margaret, running up to him and -taking his arm coaxingly, "do not be so hasty with two poor women. -Neither of us desire aught but to do your will. But give us time. Spare -us, for you are strong. 'A woman's way is the wind's way'--you know our -Courtland proverb. You cannot harness the Northern Lights to your -chariot-wheels. Woo us--coax us--aye, even deceive us; but do not force -us. Louis, Louis, I thought you were wise, and yet I see that you know -not the alphabet of love. Here is your lady. Have you ever said a loving -word to her, bent the knee, kissed her hand--which, being persisted in, -is the true way to kiss the mouth?" - -("If he does either," growled the Sparhawk, "my sword will kiss his -midriff!") - -Prince Louis smiled. He was not used to women's flatteries, and in his -present state of exaltation the cajoleries of the Princess suited his -mood. He swelled with self-importance, puffing his cheeks and twirling -his grey moustache upwards with the finger and thumb of his left hand. - -"I know more of women than you think, sister," he made answer. "I have -had experiences--in my youth, that is; I am no puppet princeling. By -Saint Mark! once on a day I strutted it with the boldest; and -to-day--well, now that I have humbled this proud madam and brought her -to my own city, why, I will show you that I am no Wendish boor. I can -sue a lady's favour as courteously as any man--and, Margaret, if you -will promise me to be a good girl and get you ready to be married -to-morrow, I promise you that Louis of Courtland will solicit his lady's -favour with all grace and observance." - -"Gladly will I be married to-morrow," said the Princess, caressing her -brother's sleeve--"that is, if I cannot be married to-day!" she added -under her breath. - -But she paused a few moments as if embarrassed. - -Then she went on. - -"Brother Louis, I have spoken with my sister here--your wife, the Lady -Joan. She hath a scruple concerning matrimony. She would have it -resolved before she hath speech with you again. Permit our good Father -Clement to advise with her." - -"Father Clement--our Conrad's tutor, why he more than another?" - -"Well, do you not understand? He is old," pleaded Margaret, "and there -are things one can say easiest to an old man. You understand, brother -Louis." - -The Prince nodded, well pleased. This was pleasant. His mentor, Prince -Wasp, did not usually flatter him. Rather he made him chafe on a tight -rein. - -"And if I send Father Clement to you, chit," he said patting his -sister's softly rounded cheek, "will he both persuade you and ease the -scruples of my Lady Joan? I am as delicate and understanding as any man. -I will not drive a woman when she desires to be led. But led or driven -she must be. For to my will she must come at last." - -"I knew it, I knew it!" she cried joyously. "Again you are mine own -Louis, my dear sweet brother! When will Father Clement come?" - -"As soon as he can be sent for," the Prince answered. "He will come -directly here to the Summer Palace. And till then you two fair maids can -abide together. Princess, my wife, I kiss your noble hand. Margaret, -your cheek. Till to-morrow--till to-morrow!" - -He went out with an awkward attempt at airy grace curiously grafted on -his usually saturnine manners. The door closed behind him. Margaret of -Courtland listened a moment with bated breath and finger on lip. A -shouted order reached her ear from beneath. Then came the tramp of -disciplined feet, and again they heard only the swirl of the Alla -fretting about the piles of the Summer Palace. - -Then, quickly dropping her lover's fingers, Margaret took hold of her -own dress at either side daintily and circled about the Sparhawk in a -light-tripping dance. - -"Ah, Louis--we will be so good and bidable--to-morrow. To-morrow you -will see me a loving and obedient wife. To-morrow I will wed Prince -Wasp. Meantime--to-day you and I, Maurice, will consult Father Clement, -mine ancient confessor, who will do anything I ask him. To-day we will -dance--put your arm about my waist--firmly--so! There, we will dance at -a wedding to-day, you and I. For in that brave velvet robe you shall be -married!" - -"What?" cried the Sparhawk, stopping suddenly. His impulsive sweetheart -caught him again into the dance as she swept by in her impetuous career. - -"Yes," she nodded, minueting before him. "It is as I say--you are to be -married all over again. And when you ride off I will ride with you--no -slipping your marriage engagements this time, good sir. I know your -Kernsberg manners now. You will not find me so slack as my brother!" - -"Margaret!" cried the Sparhawk. And with one bound he had her against -his breast. - -"Oh!" she cried, with a shrug of her pretty shoulders, as she submitted -to his embrace, "I don't love you half as much in that dress. Why, it is -like kissing another girl at the convent. Ugh, the cats!" - -She was not permitted to say any more. The Alla was heard very clearly -in the Summer Palace as it swept the too swift moments with it away -towards the sea which is oblivion. Then after a time, and a time and -half a time, the Princess Margaret slowly emerged. - -"No," she said retrospectively, "it is not like the convent, after -all--not a bit." - - * * * * * - -"Affection is ever seemly, especially between great ladies--also -unusual!" said a bass voice, speaking grave and kindly behind them. - -The Sparhawk turned quickly round, the crimson rushing instant to his -cheek. - -"Father--dear Father Clement!" cried Margaret, running to the noble old -man who stood by the door and kneeling down for his blessing. He gave it -simply and benignantly, and laid his hand a moment on the rippling -masses of her fair hair. Then he turned his eyes upon the Sparhawk. - -The confusion of his beautiful penitent, the flush which mounted to her -neck even as she kneeled, added to a certain level defiance in the -glance of her taller companion, told him almost at a glance that which -had been so carefully concealed. For the Father was a man of much -experience. A man who hears a dozen confessions every day of his life -through a wicket in a box grows accustomed to distinguishing the finer -differences of sex. His glance travelled back and forth, from the -Sparhawk to Margaret, and from Margaret to the Sparhawk. - -"Ah!" he said at last, for all comment. - -The Princess rose to her feet and approached the priest. - -"My Father," she said swiftly, "this is not the Lady Joan, my brother's -wife, but a youth marvellously like her, who hath offered himself in her -place that she might escape----" - -"Nay," said the Sparhawk, "it was to see you once again, Lady Margaret, -that I came to Courtland!" - -"Hush! you must not interrupt," she went on, putting him aside with her -hand. "He is the Count von Löen, a lord of Kernsberg. And I love him. We -want you to marry us now, dear Father--now, without a moment's delay; -for if you do not, they will kill him, and I shall have to marry Prince -Wasp!" - -She clasped her hands about his arm. - -"Will you?" she said, looking up beseechingly at him. - -The Princess Margaret was a lady who knew her mind and so bent other -minds to her own. - -The Father stood smiling a little down upon her, more with his eyes than -with his lips. - -"They will kill him and marry you, if I do. And, moreover, pray tell me, -little one, what will they do to me?" he said. - -"Father, they would not dare to meddle with you. Your office--your -sanctity--Holy Mother Church herself would protect you. If Conrad were -here, he would do it for me. I am sure he would marry us. I could tell -him everything. But he is far, far away, on his knees at the shrine of -Holy Saint Peter, most like." - -"And you, young masquerader," said Father Clement, turning to the -Sparhawk, "what say you to all this? Is this your wish, as well as that -of the Princess Margaret? I must know all before I consent to put my old -neck into the halter!" - -"I will do whatever the Princess wishes. Her will is mine." - -"Do not make a virtue of that, young man," said the priest smiling; "the -will of the Princess is also that of most people with whom she comes in -contact. Submission is no distinction where our Lady Margaret is -concerned. Why, ever since she was so high" (he indicated with his -hand), "I declare the minx hath set her own penances and dictated her -own absolutions." - -"You have indeed been a sweet confessor," murmured Margaret of -Courtland, still clasping the Father's arm and looking up fondly into -his face. "And you will do as I ask you this once. I will not ask for -such a long time again." - -The priest laughed a short laugh. - -"Nay, if I do marry you to this gentleman, I hope it will serve for a -while. I cannot marry Princesses of the Empire to carnival mummers more -than once a week!" - -A quick frown formed on the brow of Maurice von Lynar. He took a step -nearer. The priest put up his hand, with the palm outspread in a sort of -counterfeit alarm. - -"Nay, I know not if it will last even a week if bride and groom are both -so much of the same temper. Gently, good sir, gently and softly. I must -go carefully myself. I am bringing my grey hairs unpleasantly near the -gallows. I must consider my duty, and you must respect my office." - -The Sparhawk dropped on one knee and bent his head. - -"Ah, that is better," said the priest, making the sign of benediction -above the clustered raven locks. "Rise, sir, I would speak with you a -moment apart. My Lady Margaret, will you please to walk on the terrace -there while I confer with--the Lady Joan upon obedience, according to -the commandment of the Prince." - -As he spoke the last words he made a little movement towards the -corridor with his hand, at the same moment elevating his voice. The -Princess caught his meaning and, before either of her companions could -stop her, she tiptoed to the door, set her hand softly to the latch, and -suddenly flung it open. Prince Louis stood without, with head bowed to -listen. - -The Princess shrilled into a little peal of laughter. - -"Brother Louis!" she cried, clapping her hands, "we have caught you. You -must restrain your youthful, your too ardent affections. Your bride is -about to confess. This is no time for mandolins and serenades. You -should have tried those beneath her windows in Kernsberg. They might -have wooed her better than arbalist and mangonel." - -The Prince glared at his _débonnaire_ sister as if he could have slain -her on the spot. - -"I returned," he said formally, speaking to the disguised Maurice, "to -inform the Princess that her rooms in the main palace were ready for her -whenever she deigns to occupy them." - -"I thank you, Prince Louis," returned the false Princess, bowing. In his -character of a woman betrayed and led prisoner the Sparhawk was sparing -of his words--and for other reasons as well. - -"Come, brother, your arm," said the Princess. "You and I must not -intrude. We will leave the good Father and his fair penitent. Will you -walk with me on the terrace? I, on my part, will listen to your lover's -confessions and give you plenary absolution--even for listening at -keyholes. Come, dear brother, come!" - -And with one gay glance shot backward at the Sparhawk, half over her -shoulder, the Lady Margaret took the unwilling arm of her brother and -swept out. Verily, as Father Clement had said, she was a royal minx. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -THE PRINCESS MARGARET IS IN A HURRY - - -The priest waited till their footsteps died away down the corridor -before going to the door to shut it. Then he turned and faced the -Sparhawk with a very different countenance to that which he had bent -upon the Princess Margaret. - -Generally, when women leave a room the thermometer drops suddenly many -degrees nearer the zero of verity. There is all the difference between -velvet sheath and bare blade, between the courtesies of seconds and the -first clash of the steel in the hands of principals. There are, let us -say, two men and one woman. The woman is in the midst. Smile answers -smile. Masks are up. The sun shines in. She goes--and before the smile -of parting has fluttered from her lips, lo! iron answers iron on the -faces of the men. Off, ye lendings! Salute! Engage! To the death! - -There was nothing, however, very deadly in the encounter of the Sparhawk -and Father Clement. It was only as if a couple of carnival maskers had -stepped aside out of the whirl of a dance to talk a little business in -some quiet alcove. The Father foresaw the difficulty of his task. The -Sparhawk was conscious of the awkwardness of maintaining a manly dignity -in a woman's gown. He felt, as it were, choked about the legs in another -man's presence. - -"And now, sir," said the priest abruptly, "who may you be?" - -"Father, I am a servant to the Duchess Joan of Hohenstein and -Kernsberg. Maurice von Lynar is my name." - -"And pray, how came you so like the Duchess that you can pass muster for -her?" - -"That I know not. It is an affair upon which I was not consulted. But, -indeed, I do it but poorly, and succeed only with those who know her -little, and who are in addition men without observation. Both the -Princess and yourself saw through me easily enough, and I am in fear -every moment I am near Prince Ivan." - -"How came the Princess to love you?" - -"Well, for one thing, I loved her. For another, I told her so!" - -"The points are well taken, but of themselves insufficient," smiled the -priest. "So also have others better equipped by fortune to win her -favour than you. What else?" - -Then, with a certain shamefaced and sulky pride, the Sparhawk told -Father Clement all the tale of the mission of the Duchess Joan of -Courtland, of the liking the Princess had taken to that lady in her -secretary's attire, of the kiss exchanged upon the dark river's bank, -the fragrant memory of which had drawn him back to Courtland against his -will. And the priest listened like a man of many counsels who knows that -the strangest things are the truest, and that the naked truth is always -incredible. - -"It is a pretty tangle you have made between you," said Father Clement -when Maurice finished. "I know not how you could more completely have -twisted the skein. Every one is somebody else, and the devil is hard -upon the hindmost--or Prince Ivan, which is apparently the same thing." - -The priest now withdrew in his turn to where he could watch the Alla -curving its back a little in mid-stream as the summer floods rushed -seaward from the hills. To true Courtland folk its very bubbles brought -counsel as they floated down towards the Baltic. - -"Let me see! Let me see!" he murmured, stroking his chin. - -Then after a long pause he turned again to the Sparhawk. - -"You are of sufficient fortune to maintain the Princess as becomes her -rank?" - -"I am not a rich man," answered Von Lynar, "but by the grace of the -Duchess Joan neither am I a poor one. She hath bestowed on me one of her -father's titles, with lands to match." - -"So," said the priest; "but will Prince Louis and the Muscovites give -you leave to enjoy them?" - -"The estates are on the borders of Plassenburg," said Maurice, "and I -think the Prince of Plassenburg for his own security will provide -against any Muscovite invasion." - -"Princes are but princes, though I grant you the Executioner's Son is a -good one," answered the priest. "Well, better to marry than to burn, -sayeth Holy Writ. It is touch and go, in any event. I will marry you and -thereafter betake me to the Abbey of Wolgast, where dwells my very good -friend the Abbot Tobias. For old sake's sake he will keep me safe there -till this thing blows over." - -"With my heart I thank you, my Father," said the Sparhawk, kneeling. - -"Nay, do not thank me. Rather thank the pretty insistency of your -mistress. Yet it is only bringing you both one step nearer destruction. -Walking upon egg-shells is child's play to this. But I never could -refuse your sweetheart either a comfit or an absolution all my days. To -my shame as a servant of God I say it. I will go and call her in." - -He went to the door with a curious smile on his face. He opened it, and -there, close by the threshold, was the Princess Margaret, her eyes full -of a bright mischief. - -"Yes, I was listening," she cried, shaking her head defiantly. "I do not -care. So would you, Father, if you had been a woman and in love----" - -"God forbid!" said Father Clement, crossing himself. - -"You may well make sure of heavenly happiness, my Father, for you will -never know what the happiness of earth is!" cried Margaret. "I would -rather be a woman and in love, than--than the Pope himself and sit in -the chair of St. Peter." - -"My daughter, do not be irreverent." - -"Father Clement, were you ever in love? No, of course you cannot tell -me; but I think you must have been. Your eyes are kind when you look at -us. You are going to do what we wish--I know you are. I heard you say so -to Maurice. Now begin." - -"You speak as if the Holy Sacrament of matrimony were no more than -saying 'Abracadabra' over a toadstool to cure warts," said the priest, -smiling. "Consider your danger, the evil case in which you will put me -when the thing is discovered----" - -"I will consider anything, dear Father, if you will only make haste," -said the Princess, with a smiling natural vivacity that killed any -verbal disrespect. - -"Nay, madcap, be patient. We must have a witness whose head sits on his -shoulders beyond the risk of Prince Louis's halter or Prince Ivan's -Muscovite dagger. What say you to the High Councillor of Plassenburg, -Von Dessauer? He is here on an embassy." - -The Princess clapped her hands. - -"Yes, yes. He will do it. He will keep our secret. He also likes pretty -girls." - -"Also?" queried Father Clement, with a grave and demure countenance. - -"Yes, Father, you know you do----" - -"It is a thing most strictly forbidden by Holy Church that in fulfilling -the duties of sacred office one should be swayed by any merely human -considerations," began the priest, the wrinkles puckering about his -eyes, though his lips continued grave. - -"Oh, please, save the homily till after sacrament, dear Father!" cried -the Princess. "You know you like me, and that you cannot help it." - -The priest lifted up his hand and glanced upward, as if deprecating the -anger of Heaven. - -"Alas, it is too true!" he said, and dropped his hand again swiftly to -his side. - -"I will go and summon Dessauer myself," she went on. "I will run so -quick. I cannot bear to wait." - -"Abide ye--abide ye, my daughter," said Father Clement; "let us do even -this folly decently and in order. The day is far spent. Let us wait till -darkness comes. Then when you are rested--and" (he looked towards the -Sparhawk) "the Lady Joan also--I will return with High Councillor -Dessauer, who, without observance or suspicion, may pay his respects to -the Princesses upon their arrival." - -"But, Father, I cannot wait," cried the impetuous bride. "Something -might happen long before then. My brother might come. Prince Wasp might -find out. The Palace itself might fall--and then I should never be -married at all!" - -And the very impulsive and high-strung daughter of the reigning house of -Courtland put a kerchief to her eyes and tapped the floor with the -silken point of her slipper. - -The holy Father looked at her a moment and turned his eyes to Maurice -von Lynar. Then he shook his head gravely at that proximate bridegroom -as one who would say, "If you be neither hanged nor yet burnt here in -Courtland--if you get safely out of this with your bride--why, then, -Heaven have mercy on your soul!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - -A WEDDING WITHOUT A BRIDEGROOM - - -It was very quiet in the river parlour of the Summer Palace. A shaded -lamp burned in its niche over the desk of Prince Conrad. Another swung -from the ceiling and filled the whole room with dim, rich light. The -window was a little open, and the Alla murmured beneath with a soothing -sound, like a mother hushing a child to sleep. There was no one in the -great chamber save the youth whose masquerading was now well nigh over. -The Sparhawk listened intently. Footsteps were approaching. Quick as -thought he threw himself upon a couch, and drew about him a light cloak -or woollen cloth lined with silk. The footsteps stopped at his door. A -hand knocked lightly. The Sparhawk did not answer. There was a long -pause, and then footsteps retreated as they had come. The Sparhawk -remained motionless. Again the Alla, outside in the mild autumnal -gloaming, said, "Hush!" - -Tired with anxiety and the strain of the day, the youth passed from -musing to real sleep and the stream of unconsciousness, with a long -soothing swirl like that of the green water outside among the piles of -the Summer Palace, bore him away. He took longer breaths, sighing in his -slumbers like a happy tired child. - -Again there came footsteps, quicker and lighter this time; then the -crisp rustle of silken skirts, a warm breath of scented air, and the -door was closed again. No knocking this time. It was some one who -entered as of right. - -Then the Princess Margaret, with clasped hands and parted lips, stood -still and watched the slumber of the man she loved. Though she knew it -not, it was one of the crucial moments in the chronicle of love. If a -woman's heart melts from tolerant friendship to a kind of motherhood at -the sight of a man asleep; if something draws tight about her heart like -the strings of an old-fashioned purse; if there is a pulse beating where -no pulse should be, a pleasurable lump in the throat, then it is -come--the not-to-be-denied, the long-expected, the inevitable. It is a -simple test, and one not always to be applied (as it were) without a -doctor's prescription; but, when fairly tried, it is infallible. If a -woman is happier listening to a man's quiet breathing than she has ever -been hearkening to any other's flattery, it is no longer an affair--it -is a passion. - -The Princess Margaret sat down by the couch of Maurice von Lynar, and, -after this manner of which I have told, her heart was moved within her. -As she bent a little over the youth and looked into his sleeping face, -the likeness to Joan the Duchess came out more strongly than ever, -emerging almost startlingly, as a race stamp stands out on the features -of the dead. She bent her head still nearer the slightly parted lips. -Then she drew back. - -"No," she murmured, smiling at her intent, "I will not--at least, not -now. I will wait till I hear them coming." - -She stole her hand under the cloak which covered the sleeper till her -cool fingers rested on Maurice's hand. He stirred a little, and his lips -moved. Then his eyelids quivered to the lifting. But they did not rise. -The ear of the Princess was very near them now. - -"Margaret!" she heard him say, and as the low whisper reached her she -sat erect in her chair with a happy sigh. So wonderful is love and so -utterly indifferent to time or place, to circumstance or reason. - -[Illustration: "Maurice stood ... holding Margaret's hand." -[_Page 219_]] - -The Alla also sighed a sigh to think that their hour would pass so -swiftly. So Margaret of Courtland, princess and lover, sat contentedly -by the pillow of him who had once been a prisoner in the dungeon of -Castle Kernsberg. - -But in the palace of the Prince of Courtland time ran even more swiftly -than the Alla beneath its walls. - -Margaret caught a faint sound far away--footsteps, firm footfalls of men -who paced slowly together. And as these came nearer, she could -distinguish, mixed with them, the sharp tapping of one who leans upon a -staff. She did not hesitate a moment now. She bent down upon the -sleeper. Her arm glided under his neck. Her lips met his. - -"Maurice," she whispered, "wake, dearest. They are coming." - -"Margaret!" he would have answered--but could not. - - * * * * * - -The greetings were soon over. The tale had already been told to Von -Dessauer by Father Clement. The pair stood up under the golden glow of -the swinging silver lamps. It was a strange scene. For surely never was -marriage more wonderfully celebrated on earth than this of two fair -maidens (for so they still appeared) taking hands at the bidding of -God's priest and vowing the solemn vows, in the presence of a prince's -chancellor, to live only for each other in all the world. - -Maurice, tall and dark, a red mantle thrown back from his shoulders, -confined at the waist and falling again to the feet, stood holding -Margaret's hand, while she, younger and slighter, her skin creamily -white, her cheek rose-flushed, her eyes brilliant as with fever, watched -Father Clement as if she feared he would omit some essential of the -service. - -Von Dessauer, High Councillor of Plassenburg, stood leaning on the head -of his staff and watching with a certain gravity of sympathy, mixed with -apprehension, the simple ceremonial. - -Presently the solemn "Let no man put asunder" was said, the blessing -pronounced, and Leopold von Dessauer came forward with his usual courtly -grace to salute the newly made Countess von Löen. - -He would have kissed her hand, but with a swift gesture she offered her -cheek. - -"Not hands to-day, good friend," she said. "I am no more a princess, but -my husband's wife. They cannot part us now, can they, High Councillor? I -have gotten my wish!" - -"Dear lady," the Chancellor of Plassenburg answered gently. "I am an old -man, and I have observed that Hymen is the most tricksome of the -divinities. His omens go mostly by contraries. Where much is expected, -little is obtained. When all men speak well of a wedding, and all the -prophets prophesy smooth things--my fear is great. Therefore be of good -cheer. Though you have chosen the rough road, the perilous venture, the -dark night, the deep and untried ford, you will yet come out upon a -plain of gladness, into a day of sunshine, and at the eventide reach a -home of content." - -"So good a fortune from so wise a soothsayer deserves--this!" - -And she kissed the Chancellor frankly on the mouth. - -"Father Clement," she said, turning about to the priest with a -provocative look on her face, "have you a prophecy for us worthy a like -guerdon?" - -"Avaunt, witch! Get thee behind me, pretty impling! Tempt not an old man -to forget his office, or I will set thee such a penance as will take -months to perform." - -Nevertheless his face softened as he spoke. He saw too plainly the -perils which encompassed Maurice von Lynar and his wife. Yet he held out -his hand benignantly and they sank on their knees. - -"God bring you well through, beloveds!" he said. "May He send His angels -to succour the faithful and punish the guilty!" - -"I bid you fair good-night!" said Leopold von Dessauer at the -threshold. But he added in his heart, "But alas for the to-morrow that -must come to you twain!" - -"I care for nothing now--I have gotten my will!" said the Princess -Margaret, nodding her head to the Father as he went out. - -She was standing on the threshold with her husband's hand in hers, and -her eyes were full of that which no words can express. - -"May that which is so sweet in the mouth now, never prove bitter in the -belly!" - -That was the Father's last prayer for them. - -But neither Margaret nor Maurice von Lynar so much as heard him, for -they had turned to one another. - -For the golden lamp was burning itself out, and without in the dark the -Alla still said, "Hush!" like a mother who soothes her children to -sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - -LITTLE JOHANNES RODE - - -"But this one day, beloved," the Sparhawk was saying. "What is one day -among our enemies? Be brave, and then we will ride away together under -cloud of night. Von Dessauer will help us. For love and pity Prince Hugo -of Plassenburg will give us an asylum. Or if he will not, by my faith! -Helene the Princess will--or her kind heart is sore belied! Fear not!" - -"I am not afraid--I have never feared anything in my life," answered the -Princess Margaret. "But now I fear for you, Maurice. I would give all I -possess a hundred times over--nay, ten years of my life--if only you -were safe out of this Courtland!" - -"It will not be long," said the Sparhawk soothingly. "To-morrow Von -Dessauer goes with all his train. He cannot, indeed, openly give us his -protection till we are past the boundaries of the State. But at the -Fords of the Alla we must await him. Then, after that, it is but a short -and safe journey. A few days will bring us to the borderlands of -Plassenburg and the Mark, where we are safe alike from prince brother -and prince wooer." - -"Maurice--I would it were so, indeed. Do you know I think being married -makes one's soul frightened. The one you love grows so terrifyingly -precious. It seems such a long time since I was a wild and reckless -girl, flouting those who spoke of love, and boasting (oh, so vainly!) -that love would never touch me. I used to, not so long ago--though you -would not think it now, knowing how weak and foolish I am." - -The Sparhawk laughed a little and glanced fondly at his wife. It was a -strange look, full of the peculiar joy of man--and that, where the -essence of love dwells in him, is his sense of unique possession. - -"Do keep still," said the Princess suddenly, stamping her foot. "How can -I finish the arraying of your locks, if you twist about thus in your -seat? It is fortunate for you, sir, that the Duchess Joan wears her hair -short, like a Northman or a bantling troubadour. Otherwise you could not -have gone masquerading till yours had grown to be something of this -length." - -And, with the innocent vanity of a woman preferred, she shook her own -head backward till the rich golden tresses, each hair distinct and crisp -as a golden wire of infinite thinness, fell over her back and hung down -as low as the hollows of her knees. - -"Joan could not do that!" she cried triumphantly. - -"You are the most beautiful woman in the world," said the Sparhawk, with -appreciative reverence, trying to rise from the low stool in front of -the Venice mirror upon which he was submitting to having his toilet -superintended--for the first time by a thoroughly competent person. - -The Princess Margaret bit her lip vixenishly in a pretty way she had -when making a pretext of being angry, at the same time sticking the -little curved golden comb she was using upon his raven locks viciously -into his head. - -"Oh, you hurt!" he cried, making a grimace and pretending in his turn. - -"And so I will, and much worse," she retorted, "if you do not be still -and do as I bid you. How can a self-respecting tire-woman attend to her -business under such circumstances? I warn you that you may engage a new -maid." - -"Wickedest one!" he murmured, gazing fondly up at Margaret, "there is no -one like you!" - -"Well," she drolled, "I am glad of your opinion, though sorry for your -taste. For me, I prefer the Lady Joan." - -"And why?" - -"Because she is like you, of course!" - - * * * * * - -So, on the verge perilous, lightly and foolishly they jested as all -those who love each other do (which folly is the only wisdom), while the -green Alla sped swiftly on to the sea, and the city in which Death -waited for Maurice von Lynar began to hum about them. - -As yet, however, there fell no suspicion. For Margaret had warned her -bowermaidens that the Princess Joan would need no assistance from them. -Her own waiting-women were on their way from Castle Kernsberg. In any -case she, Margaret of Courtland, would help her sister in person, as -well for love as because such service was the guest's right. - -And the Courtland maidens, accustomed to the whims and sudden likings of -their impetuous mistress, glad also to escape extra duty, hastened their -task of arraying Margaret. Never had she been so restless and exacting. -Her toilet was not half finished when she rose from her ebony stool, -told her favourite Thora of Bornholm that she was too ignorant to be -trusted to array so much as the tow-head of a Swedish puppet, endued -herself without assistance with a long loose gown of velvet lined with -pale blue silk, and flashed out again to revisit her sister-in-law. - -"And do you, Thora, and the others, wait my pleasure in the anteroom," -she commanded her handmaidens as she swept through the doorway. "Go -barter love-compliments with the men-at-arms. It is all such fumblers -are good for!" - -Behind her back the tiring maids shrugged shoulders and glanced at each -other secretly with lifted eyebrow, as they put gowns and broidered -slippers back in their places, to signify that if it began thus they -were in for a day of it. Nevertheless they obeyed, and, finding certain -young gentlemen of Prince Louis's guard waiting for just such an -opportunity without, Thora and the others proceeded to carry out to the -letter the second part of the instructions of their mistress. - -"How now, sweet Thora of the Flaxen Locks?" cried Justus of Grätz, a -slender young man who carried the Prince's bannerstaff on saints' days, -and practised fencing and the art of love professionally at other times; -"has the Princess boxed all your ears this morning, that you come -trembling forth, pell-mell, like a flock of geese out of a barn when the -farmer's dog is after them?" - -There were three under-officers of the guard in the little courtyard. -Slim Justus of Grätz, his friend and boon companion Seydelmann, a man of -fine presence and empty head, who on wet days could curl the wings of -his moustaches round his ears, and, sitting a little apart from these, -little Johannes Rode, the only very brave man of the three, a swordsman -and a poet, yet one who passed for a ninny and a greenhorn because he -chose mostly to be silent. Nevertheless, Thora of Bornholm preferred him -to all others in the palace. For the eyes of a woman are quick to -discern manhood--so long, that is, as she is not in love. After that, -God wot, there is no eyeless fish so blind in all the caverns of the -Hartz. - -With the Northwoman Thora in her tendance of the Princess there were -joined Anna and Martha Pappenheim, two maids quicker of speech and more -restless in demeanour--Franconians, like all their name, of their -persons little and lithe and gay. The Princess had brought them back -with her when at the last Diet she visited Ratisbon with her brother. - -"Ah, Thora, fairest of maids! Hath an east wind made you sulky this -morning, that you will not answer?" languished Justus. "Then I warrant -so are not Anna and Martha. My service to you, noble dames!" - -"Noble 'dames' indeed--and to us!" they answered in alternate jets of -speech. "As if we were apple-women or the fat house-frows of -Courtlandish burghers. Get away--you have no manners! You sop your wits -in sour beer. You eat frogs-meat out of your Baltic marshes. A dozen -dozen of you were not worth one lively lad out of sweet Franconia!" - -"Swe-e-et Franconia!" mocked Justus; "why, then, did you not stop there? -Of a verity no lover carried you off to Courtland across his saddle-bow, -that I warrant! He had repented his pains and killed his horse long ere -he smelt the Baltic brine." - -"The most that such louts as you Courtlanders could carry off would be a -screeching pullet from a farmyard, when the goodman is from home. There -is no spirit in the North--save, I grant, among the women. There is our -Princess and her new sister the Lady Joan of the Sword Hand. Where will -you see their match? Small wonder they will have nothing to say to such -men as they can find hereabouts! But how they love each other! 'Tis as -good as a love tale to see them----" - -"Aye, and a very miracle to boot!" interjected Thora of Bornholm. - -The Pappenheims, as before, went on antiphonally, each answering and -anticipating the other. - -"The Princesses need not any man to make them happy! Their affection for -each other is past telling," said Martha. - -"How their eyes shine when they look at each other!" sighed Anna, while -Thora said nothing for a little, but watched Johannes Rode keenly. She -saw he had something on his mind. The Northwoman was not of the opinion -which Anna Pappenheim attributed to the Princesses. For the fair-skinned -daughters of the Goth, being wise, hold that there is but one kind of -love, as there is but one kind of gold. Also they believe that they -carry with them the philosopher's stone wherewith to procure that fine -ore. After a while Thora spoke. - -"This morning it was 'The Princess needs not your help--I myself will be -her tire-woman!' I wot Margaret is as jealous of any other serving the -Lady Joan----" - -"As you would be if we made love to Johannes Rode there!" laughed Martha -Pappenheim, getting behind a pillar and peeping roguishly round in order -that the poet might have an opportunity of seeing the pretty turn of her -ankle. - -But little Johannes, who with a nail was scratching a line or two of a -catch on a smooth stone, hardly even smiled. He minded maids of honour, -their gabble and their ankles, no more than jackdaws crying in the -crevices of the gable--that is, all except Thora, who was so large and -fair and white that he could not get her quite out of his mind. But even -with Thora of Bornholm he did his best. - -"That is all very well _now_," put in vain Fritz Seydelmann, stroking -his handsome beard and smiling vacantly; "but wait till these same -Princesses have had husbands of their own for a year. Then they will -spit at each other and scratch--like cats. All women are cats, and maids -of honour the worst of all!" - -"How so, Sir Wiseman--because they do not like puppies? You have found -out that?" Anna Pappenheim struck back demurely. - -"You ask me why maids of honour are like cats," returned Seydelmann -complacently (he had been making up this speech all night). "Do they not -arch their backs when they are stroked? Do they not purr? Have you not -seen them lie about the house all day, doing nothing and looking as -saintly as so many abbots at High Mass? But at night and on the -tiles--phew! 'tis another matter then." - -And having thus said vain moustached Seydelmann, who plumed himself upon -his wit, dragged at his moustache horns and simpered bovinely down upon -the girls. - -Anna Pappenheim turned to Thora, who was looking steadily through the -self-satisfied Fritz, much as if she could see a spider crawling on the -wall behind him. - -"Do they let things like that run about loose here in Courtland?" she -asked, with some anxiety on her face. "We have sties built for them at -home in Franconia!" - -But Thora was in no mood for the rough jesting of officers-in-waiting -and princesses' tirewomen. She continued to watch the spider. - -Then little Johannes Rode spoke for the first time. - -"I wager," he said slowly, "that the Princesses will be less inseparable -by this time to-morrow." - -"What do you mean, Johannes Rode?" said Thora, with instant challenge in -her voice, turning the wide-eyed directness of her gaze full upon him. - -The young man did not look at her. He merely continued the carving of -his couplet upon the lower stone of the sundial, whistling the air as he -did so. - -"Well," he answered slowly, "the Muscovite guard of Prince Ivan have -packed their own baggage (together with a good deal that is not their -own), and the minster priests are warned to hold themselves at the -Prince's bidding all day. That means a wedding, and I warrant you our -noble Louis does not mean to marry his Princess all over again in the -Dom-Kirch of Courtland. They are going to marry the Russ to our Princess -Margaret!" - -Blonde Fritz laughed loud and long and tugged at his moustache. - -"Out, you fool!" he cried; "this is a saint's day! I saw it in the -chaplain's Breviary. The Prince goes to shrive himself, and right wisely -he judges. I would not only confess, but receive extreme unction as -well, before I attempted to come nigh Joan of the Sword Hand in the way -of love! What say you, Justus?" - -But before his companion could reply, Thora of Bornholm had risen and -stolen quietly within. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -A PERILOUS HONEYMOON - - -Never was day so largely and gloriously blue since Courtland was a city -as the first morning of the married life of Maurice and Margaret von -Lynar, Count and Countess von Löen. The summer floods had subsided, and -the tawny dye had gone clean out of the Alla, which was now as clear as -aquamarine, and laved rather than fretted the dark green piles of the -Summer Palace. - -The Princesses (so they said without) were more than ever inseparable. -They were constantly talking confidentially together, for all the world -like schoolgirls with a secret. Doubtless Prince Louis's fair sister was -persuading the unruly wife to return to her duty. Doubtless it was -so--ah, yes, doubtless! - -"Better that Prince Louis should do his own embassage in such a matter -in his proper person," said the good-wives of Thorn. "For me, I would -not listen to any sister if my man came not to my feet himself. The Lady -Joan is in the right of it--a feckless lover, no true man!" - -"Aye," said the men, agreeing for once, "a paper-backed princeling! God -wot, were it our Conrad we should soon hear other of it! There would be -none of this shilly-shallying back-and-forth work then! We would give -half a year's income in golden gulden for a good lusty heir to the -Principalities--with that foul Muscovite Ivan yearning to lay the knout -across our backs!" - -"There is something toward to-day," said a decent widow woman who lived -in the Königstrasse to her neighbour. "My son, who as you know is a -chorister, is gone to practise the Wedding Hymn in the cathedral. I am -going thither to get a good place. I will not miss it, whatever it is. -Perhaps they are going to make the Princess Joan do penance for her -fault, in a white sheet with a candle in her hand a yard long! That -would be rare sport. I would not miss it for so much as four farthings!" - -And with that the chorister's mother hobbled off, telling everybody she -met the same story. And so in half an hour the news had spread all over -the city, and there began to be the makings of quite a respectable crowd -in the Dom Platz of Courtland. - -It was half-past eleven when the archers of the guard appeared at the -entrance of the square which leads from the palace. Behind them, rank -upon rank, could be seen the lances of the wild Cossacks of Prince -Ivan's escort who had remained behind when the Muscovite army went back -to the Russian plains. Their dusky goat-hair tents, which had long -covered the banks of the Alla, had now been struck and were laded upon -baggage-horses and sumpter mules. - -"The Prince of Muscovy delays only for the ceremony, whatever it may -be!" the people said, admiring at their own prevision. - -And the better sort added privately, "We shall be well rid of him!" But -the baser grieved for the loss of the largesse which he scattered abroad -in good Muscovite silver, unclipped and unalloyed, with the -mint-master's hammer-stroke clean and clear to the margin. For with such -Prince Ivan knew how to make himself beloved, holding man's honour and -woman's love at the price of so few and so many gold pieces, and -thinking well or ill of them according to their own valuation. The -rabble of Courtland, whose price was only silver, he counted as no -better than the trodden dirt of the highway. - -Meanwhile, in the river parlour of the Summer Palace, the two Princesses -were talking together even as the people had said. The Princess -Margaret sat on a low stool, leaning her elbow on her companion's knee -and gazing up at him. And though she sometimes looked away, it was not -for long, and Maurice, meeting her ever-recurrent regard, found that a -new thing had come into her eyes. - -Presently a low tapping was heard at the inner door, from which a -passage communicated with the rooms of the Princess Margaret. The -Sparhawk would have risen, for the moment forgetful of his disguise, but -with a slight pressure of her arm upon his knee the Princess restrained -him. - -"Enter!" she called aloud in her clear imperious voice. - -Thora entered hurriedly, and, closing the door behind her, she stood -with the latch in her hand. "My Princess," she said in a voice that was -little more than a whisper, "I have heard ill news. They are making the -cathedral ready for a wedding. The Cossacks have struck their tents. I -think a plot is on foot to marry you this day to Prince Ivan, and to -carry you off with him to Moscow." - -The Sparhawk sprang to his feet and laid his hand on the place where his -sword-hilt should have been. - -"Never," he cried; "it is impossible! The Princess is----" - -He was about to add, "She is married already," but with a quick gesture -of warning Margaret stopped him. - -"Who told you this?" she queried, turning again to Thora of Bornholm. - -"Johannes Rode of the Prince's guard told me a moment ago," she -answered. "He has just returned from the Muscovite camp." - -"I thank you, Thora--I shall not forget this faithfulness," said -Margaret. "Now you have my leave to go!" The Princess spoke calmly, and -to the ear even a little coldly. - -The door closed upon the Swedish maiden. Margaret and Maurice turned to -each other with one pregnant instinct and took hands. - -"Already!" said Margaret faintly, going back into the woman; "they might -have left us alone a little longer. How shall we meet this? What shall -we do? I had counted on this one day." - -"Margaret," answered the Sparhawk impulsively, "this shall not daunt us. -We would have told your brother Louis one day. We will tell him now. -Duchess Joan is safe out of his reach, Kernsberg is revictualled, the -Muscovite army returned. There is no need to keep up the masquerade any -longer. Whatever may come of it, let us go to your brother. That will -end it swiftly, at all events." - -The Princess put away his restraining clasp and came closer to him. - -"No--no," she cried: "you must not. You do not know my brother. He is -wholly under the influence of Ivan of Muscovy. Louis would slay you for -having cheated him of his bride--Ivan for having forestalled him with -me." - -"But you cannot marry Ivan. That were an outrage against the laws of God -and man!" - -"Marry Ivan!" she cried, to the full as impulsively as her lover; "not -though they set ravens to pick the live flesh off my bones! But it is -the thought of torture and death for you--that I cannot abide. We must -continue to deceive them. Let me think!--let me think!" - -Hastily she barred the door which led out upon the corridor. Then taking -Maurice's hand once more she led him over to the window, from which she -could see the green Alla cutting its way through the city bounds and -presently escaping into the yet greener corn lands on its way to the -sea. - -"It is for this one day's delay that we must plan. To-night we will -certainly escape. I can trust certain of those of my household. I have -tried them before.... I have it. Maurice, you must be taken ill--lie -down on this couch away from the light. There is a rumour of the Black -Death in the city--we must build on that. They say an Astrakhan trader -is dead of it already. For one day we may stave it off with this. It is -the poor best we can do. Lie down, I will call Thora. She is staunch and -fully to be trusted." - -The Princess Margaret went to the inner door and clapped her hands -sharply. - -The fair-haired Swedish maiden came running to her. She had been waiting -for such a signal. - -"Thora," said her mistress in a quick whisper, "we must put off this -marriage. I would sooner die than marry Ivan. You have that drug you -spoke of--that which gives the appearance of sickness unto death without -the reality. The Lady Joan must be ill, very ill. You understand, we -must deceive even the Prince's physicians." - -The girl nodded with quick understanding, and, turning, she sped away up -the inner stair to her own sleeping-chamber, the key of which (as was -the custom in Courtland) she carried in her pocket. - -"This will keep you from being suspected--as in public places you would -have been," whispered Margaret to her young husband. "What Thora thinks -or knows does not matter. I can trust Thora with my life--nay, what is -far more, with yours." - -A light tap and the girl re-entered, a tall phial in her hand. With a -swift look at her mistress to obtain permission, she went up to the -couch upon which the Sparhawk had lain down. Then with a deft hand she -opened the bottle, and pouring a little of a colourless liquid into a -cup she gave it him to drink. In a few minutes a sickly pallor slowly -overspread Maurice von Lynar's brow. His eyes appeared injected, the -lips paled to a grey white, beads of perspiration stood on the forehead, -and his whole countenance took on the hue and expression of mortal -sickness. - -"Now," said Thora, when she had finished, "will the noble lady deign to -swallow one of these pellicles, and in ten minutes not a leech in the -country will be able to pronounce that she is not suffering from a -dangerous disease." - -"You are sure, Thora," said the Princess Margaret almost fiercely, -laying her hand on her tirewoman's wrist, "that there is no harm in all -this? Remember, on your life be it!" - -The placid, flaxen-haired woman turned with the little silver box in her -hand. - -"Danger there is, dear mistress," she said softly, "but not, I think, so -great danger as we are already in. But I will prove my honesty----" - -She took first a little of the liquid, and immediately after swallowed -one of the white pellicles she had given Maurice. - -"It will be as well," she said, "when the Prince's wiseacre physicians -come, that they should find another sickening of the same disease." - -Thora of Bornholm passed about the couch and took up a waiting-maid's -station some way behind. - -"All is ready," she said softly. - -"We will forestall them," answered the Princess. "Thora, send and bid -Prince Louis come hither quickly." - -"And shall I also ask him to send hither his most skilled doctors of -healing?" added the girl. "I will despatch Johannes Rode. He will go -quickly and answer as I bid him with discretion--and without asking -questions." - -And with the noiseless tread peculiar to most blonde women of large -physique, Thora disappeared through the private door by which she had -entered. - -The Princess Margaret kneeled down by the couch and looked into the face -of the Sparhawk. Even she who had seen the wonder was amazed and almost -frightened by the ghastly effect the drug had wrought in such short -space. - -"You are sure that you do not feel any ill effects--you are perfectly -well?" she said, with tremulous anxiety in her voice. - -The Sparhawk smiled and nodded reassuringly up at her. - -"Never better," he said. "My nerves are iron, my muscles steel. I feel -as if, for my Margaret's sake, I could vanquish an army of Prince -Ivan's single-handed!" - -The Princess rose from her place and unlocked the main door. - -"We will be ready for them," she said. "All must appear as though we had -no motive for concealment." - -And, having drawn the curtains somewhat closer, she kneeled down again -by the couch. There was no sound in the room as the youthful husband and -wife thus waited their fate hand in hand, save only the soft continuous -sibilance of their whispered converse, and from without the deeper note -of the Alla sapping the Palace walls. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI - -THE BLACK DEATH - - -The Princes of Courtland and Muscovy, inseparable as the Princesses, -were on the pleasant creeper-shaded terrace which looks over the rose -garden of the palace of Courtland down upon the sea plain of the Baltic, -now stretching blue black from verge to verge under the imminent sun of -noon. - -Prince Louis moved restlessly to and fro, now biting his lip, now -frowning and fumbling with his sword-hilt, and anon half drawing his -jewelled dagger from its sheath and allowing it to slip back again with -the faintly musical click of perfectly fitting steel. Ivan of Muscovy, -on the other hand, lounged listlessly in the angle of an embrasure, -alternately contemplating his red-pointed toes shod in Cordovan leather, -and glancing keenly from under his eyelids at his nervous companion as -often as his back was turned in the course of his ceaseless -perambulations. - -"You would desert me, Ivan," Prince Louis was saying in a tone at once -appealing and childishly aggressive: "you would leave me in the hour of -my need. You would take away from me my sister Margaret, who alone has -influence with the Princess, my wife!" - -"But you do not try to court the lady with any proper fervour," objected -Ivan, half humouring and half irritating his companion; "you observe -none of the rules. Speak her soft, praise her eyelashes--surely they are -worthy of all praise; give her a pet lamb for a playmate. Feed her with -conserves of honey and spice. Surely such comfits would mollify even -Joan of the Sword Hand!" - -"Tush!--you flout me, Ivan--even you. Every one despises me since--since -she flouted me. The woman is a tigress, I tell you. Every time she looks -at me her eyes flick across me like a whip-lash!" - -"That is but her maiden modesty. How often is it assumed to cover love!" -murmured Ivan, demurely smiling at his shoe point, which nodded -automatically before him. "So doth the glance of my sweet bride of -to-day, your own sister Margaret. To all seeming she loves me as little -as the Lady Joan does you. Yet I am not afraid. I know women. Before I -have her a month in Moscow she will run that she may be allowed to pull -my shoes off and on. She will be out of breath with hasting to fetch my -slippers--together with other little domestic offices of that sort, all -very profitable for women's souls to perform. Take pattern by me, Louis, -and teach the tigress to bring your shoes and tie your hose points. In a -little while she will like it and hold up her cheek to be kissed for a -sufficient reward." - -At this point an officer came swiftly across the parterre and stood with -uncovered head by the steps of the terrace, waiting permission to -ascend. The Prince summoned him with a movement of his hand. - -"What news?" he said; "have the ladies yet left the Summer Palace?" - -"No, my lord," answered the officer earnestly; "but Johannes Rode of the -Princess Margaret's household has come with a message that the plague -has broken out there, and that the Lady Princess is the first stricken!" - -"Which Princess?" demanded Ivan, with an instant incision of tone. - -"The Lady Joan, Princess of Courtland, your Highness," replied the man, -without, however, looking at the Prince of Muscovy. - -"The Lady Joan?" cried the Prince Louis. "She is ill? She has brought -the Black Death with her from Kernsberg! She is stricken with the -plague? How fortunate that, so far, I----" - -He clapped his hand upon his brow and shut his eyes as if giving thanks. - -"I see it all now!" he cried. "This is the reason the Kernsberg traitors -were so willing to give her up. It is all a plot against my life. I will -not go near. Let the court physicians be sent! Cause the doors of the -Summer Palace to be sealed! Set double guards! Permit none to pass -either way, save the doctors only! And let them change their clothes and -perfume themselves with the smoke of sulphur before they come out!" - -His voice mounted higher and higher as he spoke, and Ivan of Muscovy -watched him without speaking, as with hands thrust out and distended -nostrils he screamed and gesticulated. - -Prince Ivan had never seen a thorough coward before, and the breed -interested him. But when he had let the Prince run on far enough to -shame him before his own officer, he rose quietly and stood in front of -him. - -"Louis," he said, in a low voice, "listen to me--this is but a report. -It is like enough to be false; it is certain to be exaggerated. Let us -go at once and find out." - -Prince Louis threw out his hands with a gesture of despair. - -"Not I--not I!" he cried. "You may go if you like, if you do not value -your life. But I--I do not feel well even now. Yesterday I kissed her -hand. Ah, would to God that I had not! That is it. I wondered what ailed -me this morning. Go--stop the court physicians! Do not let them go to -the Summer Palace; bring them here to me first. Your arm, officer; I -think I will go to my room--I am not well." - -Prince Ivan's countenance grew mottled and greyish, and his teeth showed -in the sun like a thin line of dazzling white. He grasped the poltroon -by the wrist with a hand of steel. - -"Listen," he said--"no more of this; I will not have it! I will not -waste my own time and the blood of my father's soldiers for naught. This -is but some woman's trick to delay the marriage--I know it. Hearken! I -fear neither Black Death nor black devil; I will have the Lady Margaret -to-day if I have to wed her on her death-bed! Now, I cannot enter your -wife's chamber alone. Yet go I must, if only to see what all this means, -and you shall accompany me. Do you hear, Prince Louis? I swear you shall -go with me to the Summer Palace if I have to drag you there step by -step!" - -His grasp lay like a tightening circle of iron about the wrist of Prince -Louis; his steady glance dominated the weaker man. Louis drew in his -breath with a choking noise. - -"I will," he gasped; "if it must--I will go. But the Death--the Black -Death! I am sick--truly, Ivan, I am very sick!" - -"So am I!" said Prince Ivan, smiling grimly. "But bring his Highness a -cup of wine, and send hither Alexis the Deacon, my own physician." - -The officer went out cursing the Muscovite ears that had listened to -such things, and also high Heaven for giving such a Prince to his true -German fatherland. - - * * * * * - -Prince Ivan and Prince Louis stood at the door of the river parlour. The -peculiar moving hush and tepidly stagnant air of a sick-room penetrated -even through the panels. Ivan still kept hold of his friend, but now by -the hand, not compulsively, but rather like one who in time of trouble -comforts another's sorrow. - -At either end of the corridor could be seen a guard of Cossacks keeping -it against all intrusion from without or exodus from within. So Prince -Ivan had ordered it. His fellows were used to the plague, he said. - -At the Princess's door Prince Ivan tapped gently and inclined his ear to -listen. Louis fumbled with his golden crucifix, and as the Muscovite -turned away his head he pressed it furtively to his lips. Ever since he -set foot in the Summer Palace he had been muttering the prayers of the -Church in a rapid undertone. - -"The Prince Louis to see the Princess Joan!" Ivan answered the -low-voiced challenge from within. The door opened slightly and then more -widely. Ivan pushed his friend forward and they entered, Louis dragging -one foot after the other towards the shaded couch by which knelt the -Princess Margaret. Thora of Bornholm, pallid and blue-lipped, stood -beside her, swaying a little, but still holding, half unconsciously, as -it seemed, a silver basin, into which Margaret dipped a fine linen -cloth, before touching with it the foam-flecked lips of the sufferer. -Prince Ivan remained a little back, near to where the court physicians -were conferring together in stage whispers. As he passed, a tall -grey-skirted long-bearded man, girt about the middle with a silver -chain, detached himself from the official group and approached Prince -Ivan. After an instinctive cringing movement of homage and salutation, -he bent to the young man's ear and whispered half a dozen words. Prince -Ivan nodded very slightly and the man stole away as he had come. No one -in the room had noticed the incident. - -Meanwhile Louis of Courtland, almost as pale as Thora herself, his lips -blue, his teeth chattering, his fingers clammy with perspiration, stood -by the bedside clutching the crucifix. Presently a hand was laid upon -his arm. He started violently at the touch. - -"It is true--a bad case," said Ivan in his ear. "Let us get away; I must -speak with you at once. The physicians have given their verdict. They -can do nothing!" - -With a gasp of relief Prince Louis faced about, and as he turned he -tottered. - -"Steady, friend Louis!" said Prince Ivan in his ear, and passed his arm -about his waist. - -He began to fear lest he should have frightened his dupe too thoroughly. - -"See how he loves her!" murmured the doctors of healing, still -conferring with their heads together. "Who would have believed it -possible?" - -"Nay, he is only much afraid," said Alexis the Deacon, the Muscovite -doctor; "and small blame to him, now that the Black Death has come to -Courtland. In half an hour we shall hear the death-rattle!" - -"Then there is no need of us staying," said more than one learned -doctor, and they moved softly towards the door. But Ivan had possessed -himself of the key, and even as the hand of the first was on the latchet -bar the bolt was shot in his face. And the eyes of Alexis the Deacon -glowed between his narrow red lids like sparks in tinder as he glanced -at the whitening faces of the learned men of Courtland. - -Without the door Ivan fixed Prince Louis with his will. - -"Now," he said, speaking in low trenchant tones, "if this be indeed the -Black Death (and it is like it), there is no safety for us here. We must -get without the walls. In an hour there will be such a panic in the city -as has not been for centuries. I offer you a way of escape. My Cossacks -stand horsed and ready without. Let us go with them. But the Princess -Margaret must come also!" - -"She cannot--she cannot. I will not permit it. She may already be -infected!" gasped Prince Louis. - -"There is no infection till the crisis of the disease is passed," said -Prince Ivan firmly. "We have had many plagues in Holy Russia, and know -the symptoms." - -("Indeed," he added to himself, "my physician, Alexis the Deacon, can -produce them!") - -"But--but--but----" Louis still objected, "the Princess Joan--she may -die. It will reflect upon my honour if we all desert her. My sister must -continue to attend her. They are friends. I will go with you.... -Margaret can remain and nurse her!" - -A light like a spear point glittered momentarily under the dark brows of -the Muscovite. - -"Listen, Prince Louis," he said. "Your honour is your honour. Joan of -the Sword Hand and her Black Plagues are your own affair. She is your -wife, not mine. I have helped you to get her back--no more. But the -Princess Margaret is my business. I have bought her with a price. And -look you, sir, I will not ride back to Russia empty-handed, that every -petty boyar and starveling serf may scoff at me, saying, 'He helped the -Prince of Courtland to win his wife, but he could not bring back one -himself.' The whole city, the whole country from here to Moscow know for -what cause I have so long sojourned in your capital. No, Prince Louis, -will you have me go as your friend or as your enemy?" - -"Ivan--Ivan, you are my friend. Do not speak to me so! Who else is my -friend if you desert me?" - -"Then give me your sister!" - -The Prince cast up his hand with a little gesture of despair. - -"Ah," he sighed, "you do not know Margaret! She is not in my gift, or -you should have had her long ago! Oh, these troubles, these troubles! -When will they be at an end?" - -"They are at an end now," said Prince Ivan consolingly. "Call your -sister out of the chamber on a pretext. In ten minutes we shall be at -the cathedral gates. In another ten she and I can be wedded according to -your Roman custom. In half an hour we shall all be outside the walls. If -you fear the infection you need not once come near her. I will do all -that is necessary. And what more natural? We will be gone before the -panic breaks--you to one of your hill castles--if you do not wish to -come with us to Moscow." - -"And the Princess Joan----?" faltered the coward. - -"She is in good hands," said the Prince, truthfully for once. "I pledge -you my word of honour she is in no danger. Call your sister!" - -Even as he spoke he tapped lightly, turned the key in the lock and -whispered, "Now!" to the Prince of Courtland. - -"Tell the Princess Margaret I would speak with her!" said Prince Louis. -"For a moment only!" he added, fearing that otherwise she might not -come. - -There was a stir in the sick chamber and then quick steps were heard -coming lightly across the floor. The face of the Princess appeared at -the door. - -"Well?" she said haughtily to her brother. Prince Ivan she did not see, -for he had stepped back into the dusk of the corridor. Louis beckoned -his sister without. - -"I must speak a word with you," he said. "I would not have these fellows -hear us!" She stepped out unsuspectingly. Instantly the door was closed -behind her. A dark figure slid between. Prince Ivan turned the key and -laid his hand upon her arm. - -"Help!" she cried, struggling; "help me! For God's grace, let me go!" - -But from behind came four Cossacks of the Prince's retinue who -half-carried, half-forced her along towards the gates at which the -Muscovite horses stood ready saddled. And as Margaret was carried down -the passage the alarmed servitors stood aloof from her cries, seeing -that Prince Louis himself was with her. Yet she cried out unceasingly in -her anger and fear, "To me, men of Courtland! The Cossacks carry me -off--I will not go! O God, that Conrad were here! I will not be silent! -Maurice, save me!" - -But the people only shrugged their shoulders even when they heard--as -did also the guards and the gentlemen-in-waiting, the underlings and the -very porters at the Palace gates. For they said, "They are strange folk, -these Courtland princes and princesses of ours, with their marriages and -givings in marriage. They can neither wed nor bed like other people, but -must make all this fuss about it. Well--happily it is no business of -ours!" - -Then at the stair foot she sank suddenly down by the sundial, almost -fainting with the sudden alarm and fear, crying for the last time and -yet more piercingly, "Maurice! Maurice! Come to me, Maurice!" Then above -them in the Palace there began a mighty clamour, the noise of blows -stricken and the roar of many voices. But Ivan of Muscovy was neither to -be hurried nor flurried. Impassive and determined, he swung himself -into the saddle. His black charger changed his feet to take his weight -and looked about to welcome him--for he, too, knew his master. - -"Give the Princess to me," he commanded. "Now assist Prince Louis into -his saddle. To the cathedral, all of you!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII - -THE DROPPING OF A CLOAK - - -And so, with the mounted guard of his own Cossacks before him and -behind, Prince Ivan carried his bride to church through the streets of -her native city. And the folk thronged and marvelled at this new custom -of marrying. But none interfered by word or sign, and the obsequious -rabble shouted, "Long live Prince Ivan!" - -Even some of the better disposed, who had no liking for the Muscovite -alliance, said within their hearts, looking at the calm set face of the -Prince, "He is a man! Would to God that our own Prince were more like -him!" - -Also many women nodded their heads and ran to find their dearest -gossips. "You will see," they said, "this one will have no ridings away. -He takes his wife before him upon his saddle-bow as a man should. And -she will pretend that she does not like it. But secretly--ah, we know!" - -And they smiled at each other. For there is that in most women which -will never be civilised. They love not men who walk softly, and still in -their heart of hearts they prefer to be wooed by the primitive method of -capture. For if a woman be not afraid of a man she will never love him -truly. And that is a true word among all peoples. - -So they came at last to the Dom and the groups of wondering folks, -thinly scattered here and there--women mostly. For there had been such -long delay at the Summer Palace that the men had gone back to their -shavings and cooperage tubs or were quaffing tankards in the city -ale-cellars. - -The great doors of the cathedral had been thrown wide open and the -leathern curtains withdrawn. The sun was checkering the vast tesselated -pavement with blurs of purple and red and glorious blue shot through the -western window of the nave. In gloomy chapel and recessed nook marble -princes and battered Crusaders of the line of Courtland seemed to blink -and turn their faces to the wall away from the unaccustomed glare. The -altar candles and the lamps a-swing in the choir winked no brighter than -yellow willow leaves seen through an autumnal fog. But as the _cortège_ -dismounted the organ began to roll, and the people within rose with a -hush like that which follows the opening of a window at night above the -Alla. - -The sonorous diapason of the great instrument disgorged itself through -the doorway in wave upon wave of sound. The Princess Margaret found -herself again on her feet, upheld on either side by brother and lover. -She was at first somewhat dazed with the rush of accumulate disasters. -Slowly her mind came back. The Dom Platz whirled more slowly about her. -With a fresh-dawning surprise she heard the choir sing within. She began -to understand the speech of men. The great black square of the open -doorway slowed and finally stopped before her. She was on the steps of -the cathedral. What had come to her? Was it the Duchess Joan's wedding -day? Surely no! Then what was the matter? Had she fainted? - -Maurice--where was Maurice? She turned about. The small glittering eyes -of Prince Ivan, black as sloes, were looking into hers. She remembered -now. It was her own wedding. These two, her brother and her enemy, were -carrying out their threat. They had brought her to the cathedral to wed -her, against her will, to the man she hated. But they could not. She -would tell them. Already she was a--but then, if she told them that, -they would ride back and kill him. Better that she should perjure -herself, condemn herself to hell, than that. Better anything than that. -But what was she to do? Was ever a poor girl so driven? - -And there, in the hour of her extremity, her eye fell upon a young man -in the crowd beneath, a youth in a 'prentice's blue jerkin. He was -passing his arm softly about a girl's waist--slily also, lest her mother -should see. And the maid, first starting with a pretence of not knowing -whence came the pressure, presently looked up and smiled at him, -nestling a moment closer to his shoulder before removing his hand, only -to hold it covertly under her apron till her mother showed signs of -turning round. - -"Ah! why was I born a princess?" moaned the poor driven girl. - -"Margaret, you must come with us into the cathedral." It was the voice -of her brother. "It is necessary that the Prince should wed you now. It -has too long been promised, and now he can delay no longer. Besides, the -Black Death is in the city, and this is the only hope of escape. Come!" - -It was on the tip of Margaret's tongue to cry out with wild words even -as she had done at the door at the river parlour. But the thought of -Maurice, of the torture and the death, silenced her. She lifted her -eyes, and there, at the top of the steps, were the dignitaries of the -cathedral waiting to lead the solemn procession. - -"I will go!" she said. - -And at her words the Prince Ivan smiled under his thin moustache. - -She laid her hand on her brother's arm and began the ascent of the long -flight of stairs. But even as she did so, behind her there broke a wave -of sound--the crying of many people, confused and multitudinous like the -warning which runs along a crowded thoroughfare when a wild charger -escaped from bonds threshes along with frantic flying harness. Then came -the clatter of horses' hoofs, the clang of doors shut in haste as decent -burghers got them in out of harm's way! And lo! at the foot of the -steps, clad from head to foot in a cloak, the sick Princess Joan, she -whom the Black Death had stricken, leaped from her foaming steed, and -drawing sword followed fiercely up the stairway after the marriage -procession. The Cossacks of the Muscovite guard looked at each other, -not knowing whether to stand in her way or no. - -"The Princess Joan!" they said from one to the other. - -"Joan of the Sword Hand!" whispered the burghers of Courtland. "The -disease has gone to her brain. Look at the madness in her eye!" - -And their lips parted a little as is the wont of those who, having come -to view a comedy, find themselves unexpectedly in the midst of high -tragedy. - -"Hold, there!" the pursuer shouted, as she set foot on the lowest step. - -"Lord! Surely that is no woman's voice!" whispered the people who stood -nearest, and their lower jaws dropped a little further in sheer -wonderment. - -The Princes turned on the threshold of the cathedral, with Margaret -still between them, the belly of the church black behind them, and the -processional priests first halting and then peering over each other's -shoulders in their eagerness to see. - -Up the wide steps of the Dom flew the tall woman in the flowing cloak. -Her face was pallid as death, but her eyes were brilliant and her lips -red. At the sight of the naked sword Prince Ivan plucked the blade from -his side and Louis shrank a little behind his sister. - -"Treason!" he faltered. "What is this? Is it sudden madness or the -frenzy of the Black Death?" - -"The Princess Margaret cannot be married!" cried the seeming Princess. -"To me, Margaret! I will slay the man who lays a hand on you!" - -Obedient to that word, Margaret of Courtland broke from between her -brother and Prince Ivan and ran to the tall woman, laying her brow on -her breast. The Prince of Muscovy continued calm and immovable. - -"And why?" he asked in a tone full of contempt. "Why cannot the Princess -Margaret be married?" - -"Because," said the woman in the long cloak, fingering a string at her -neck, "she is married already. _I am her husband!_" - -The long blue cloak fell to the ground, and the Sparhawk, clad in -close-fitting squire's dress, stood before their astonished eyes. - -A long low murmur, gathering and sinking, surged about the square. -Prince Louis gasped. Margaret clung to her lover's arm, and for the -space of a score of seconds the whole world stopped breathing. - -Prince Ivan twisted his moustache as if he would pull it out by the -roots. - -"So," he said, "the Princess is married, is she? And you are her -husband? 'Whom God hath joined'--and the rest of it. Well, we shall see, -we shall see!" - -He spoke gently, meditatively, almost caressingly. - -"Yes," cried the Sparhawk defiantly, "we were married yesterday by -Father Clement, the Prince's chaplain, in the presence of the most noble -Leopold von Dessauer, High Councillor of Plassenburg!" - -"And my wife--the Princess Joan, where is she?" gasped Prince Louis, so -greatly bewildered that he had not yet begun to be angry. - -Ivan of Muscovy put out his hand. - -"Gently, friend," he said; "I will unmask this play-acting springald. -This is not your wife, not the woman you wedded and fought for, not the -Lady Joan of Hohenstein, but some baseborn brother, who, having her -face, hath played her part, in order to mock and cheat and deceive us -both!" - -He turned again to Maurice von Lynar. - -"I think we have met before, Sir Masquer," he said with his usual suave -courtesy; "I have, therefore, a double debt to pay. Hither!" He beckoned -to the guards who lined the approaches. "I presume, sir, so true a -courtier will not brawl before ladies. You recognise that you are in our -power. Your sword, sir!" - -The Sparhawk looked all about the crowded square. Then he snapped his -sword over his knee and threw the pieces down on the stone steps. - -"You are right; I will not fight vainly here," he said. "I know well it -is useless. But"--he raised his voice--"be it known to all men that my -name is Maurice, Count von Löen, and that the Princess Margaret is my -lawfully wedded wife. She cannot then marry Ivan of Muscovy!" - -The Prince laughed easily and spread his hand with gentle deprecation, -as the guards seized the Sparhawk and forced him a little space away -from the clinging hands of the Princess. - -"I am an easy man," he said gently, as he clicked his dagger to and fro -in its sheath. "When I like a woman, I would as lief marry her widow as -maid!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII - -THE RETURN OF THE BRIDE - - -"Prince Louis," continued Ivan, turning to the Prince, "we are keeping -these holy men needlessly, as well as disappointing the good folk of -Courtland of their spectacle. There is no need that we should stand here -any longer. We have matters to discuss with this gentleman and--his -wife. Have I your leave to bring them together in the Palace? We may -have something to say to them more at leisure." - -But the Prince of Courtland made no answer. His late fears of the Black -Death, the astonishing turn affairs had taken, the discovery that his -wife was not his wife, the slowly percolating thought that his invasion -of Kernsberg, his victories there, and his triumphal re-entry into his -capital, had all been in vain, united with his absorbing fear of -ridicule to deprive him of speech. He moved his hand angrily and began -to descend the stairs towards the waiting horses. - -Prince Ivan turned towards Maurice von Lynar. - -"You will come with me to the Palace under escort of these gentlemen of -my staff," he said, with smiling equality of courtesy; "there is no need -to discuss intimate family affairs before half the rabble of Courtland." - -He bowed to Maurice as if he had been inviting him to a feast. Maurice -looked about the crowded square, and over the pennons of the Cossacks. -He knew there was no hope either in flight or in resistance. All the -approaches to the square had been filled up with armed men. - -"I will follow!" he answered briefly. - -The Prince swept his plumed hat to the ground. - -"Nay," he said; "lead, not follow. You must go with your wife. The -Prince of Muscovy does not precede a lady, a princess,--and a bride!" - -So it came about that Margaret, after all, descended the cathedral steps -on her husband's arm. - -And as the cavalcade rode back to the Palace the Princess was in the -midst between the Sparhawk and Prince Wasp, Louis of Courtland pacing -moodily ahead, his bridle reins loose upon his horse's neck, his chin -sunk on his breast, while the rabble cried ever, "Largesse! largesse!" -and ran before them casting brightly coloured silken scarves in the way. - -Then Prince Ivan, summoning his almoner to his side, took from him a bag -of coin. He dipped his fingers deeply in and scattered the coins with a -free hand, crying loudly, "To the health and long life of the Princess -Margaret and her husband! Health and riches and offspring!" - -And the mob taking the word from him shouted all along the narrow -streets, "To the Princess and her husband!" - -But from the hooded dormers of the city, from the lofty gable spy-holes, -from the narrow windows of Baltic staircase-towers the good wives of -Courtland looked down to see the great folk pass. And their comment was -not that of the rabble. "Married, is she?" they said among themselves. -"Well, God bless her comely face! It minds me of my own wedding. But, by -my faith, I looked more at my Fritz than she doth at the Muscovite. I -declare all her eyes are for that handsome lad who rides at her left -elbow----" - -"Nay, he is not handsome--look at his face. It is as white as a -new-washen clout hung on a drying line. Who can he be?" - -"Minds me o' the Prince's wife, the proud lady that flouted him, -mightily he doth--I should not wonder if he were her brother." - -"Yes, by my faith, dame--hast hit it! So he doth. And here was I racking -my brains to think where I had seen him before, and then, after all, I -never _had_ seen him before!" - -"A miracle it is, gossip, and right pale he looks! Yet I should not -wonder if our Margaret loves him the most. Her eyes seek to him. Women -among the great are not like us. They say they never like their own -husbands the best. What wouldst thou do, good neighbour Bette, if I -loved your Hans better than mine own stupid old Fritz! Pull the strings -off my cap, dame, sayst thou? That shows thee no great lady. For if thou -wast of the great, thou wouldst no more than wave thy hand and say, 'A -good riddance and a heartsome change!'--and with that begin to make love -to the next young lad that came by with his thumbs in his armholes and a -feather in his cap!" - -"And what o' the childer--the house-bairns--what o' them? With all this -mixing about, what comes o' them--answer me that, good dame!" - -"What, Gossip Bette--have you never heard? The childer of the great, -they suck not their own mothers' milk--they are not dandled in their own -mothers' arms. They learn not their Duty from their mothers' lips. When -they are fractious, a stranger beats them till they be good----" - -"Ah," cried the court of matrons all in unison, "I would like to catch -one of the fremit lay a hand on my Karl--my Kirsten--that I would! I -would comb their hair for them, tear the pinner off their backs--that I -would!" "And I!" "And I!" - -"Nay, good gossips all," out of the chorus the voice of the dame learned -in the ways of the great asserted itself; "that, again, proves you all -no better than burgherish town-folk--not truly of the noble of the land. -For a right great lady, when she meets a foster-nurse with a baby at the -breast, will go near and say--I have heard 'em--'La! the pretty thing--a -poppet! Well-a-well, 'tis pretty, for sure! And whose baby may this -be?' - -"'Thine own, lady, thine own!'" - -At this long and loud echoed the derision of the good wives of -Courtland. Their gossip laughed and reasserted. But no, they would not -hear a word more. She had overstepped the limit of their belief. - -"What, not to know her child--her own flesh and blood? Out on her!" -cried every mother who had felt about her neck the clasp of tiny hands, -or upon her breast the easing pressure of little blind lips. "Good dame, -no; you shall not hoodwink us. Were she deaf and dumb and doting, a -mother would yet know her child. 'Tis not in nature else! Well, thanks -be to Mary Mother--she who knew both wife-pain and mother-joy, we, at -least, are not of the great. We may hush our own bairns to sleep, dance -with them when they frolic, and correct them when they be -naughty-minded. Nevertheless, a good luck go with our noble lady this -day! May she have many fair children and a husband to love her even as -if she were a common woman and no princess!" - -So in little jerks of blessing and with much head-shaking the good wives -of Courtland continued their congress, long after the last Cossack lance -with its fluttering pennon had been lost to view down the winding -street. - -For, indeed, well might the gossips thank the Virgin and their patron -saints that they were not as the poor Princess Margaret, and that their -worst troubles concerned only whether Hans or Fritz tarried a little -over-long in the town wine-cellars, or wagered the fraction of a penny -too much on a neighbour's cock-fight, and so returned home somewhat -crusty because the wrong bird had won the main. - - * * * * * - -But in the Prince's palace other things were going forward. Hitherto we -have had to do with the Summer Palace by the river, a building of no -strength, and built more as a pleasure house for the princely family -than as a place of permanent habitation. But the Castle of Courtland was -a structure of another sort. - -Set on a low rock in the centre of the town, its walls rose continuous -with its foundations, equally massive and impregnable, to the height of -over seventy feet. For the first twenty-five neither window nor grating -broke the grim uniformity of those mighty walls of mortared rock. Above -that line only a few small openings half-closed with iron bars evidenced -the fact that a great prince had his dwelling within. The main entrance -to the Castle was through a gateway closed by a grim iron-toothed -portcullis. Then a short tunnel led to another and yet stronger -defence--a deep natural fosse which surrounded the rock on all sides, -and over which a drawbridge conducted into the courtyard of the -fortress. - -The Sparhawk knew very well that he was going to his death as he rode -through the streets of the city of Courtland, but none would have -discovered from his bearing that there was aught upon his mind of graver -concern than the fit of a doublet or, perhaps, the favour of a pretty -maid-of-honour. But with the Princess Margaret it was different. In -these last crowded hours she had quite lost her old gay defiance. Her -whole heart was fixed on Maurice, and the tears would not be bitten back -when she thought of the fate to which he was going with so manly a -courage and so fine an air. - -They dismounted in the gloomy courtyard, and Maurice, slipping quickly -from his saddle, caught Margaret in his arms before the Muscovite could -interfere. She clung to him closely, knowing that it might be for the -last time. - -"Maurice, Maurice," she murmured, "can you forgive me? I have brought -you to this!" - -"Hush, sweetheart," he answered in her ear; "be my own dear princess. Do -not let them see. Be my brave girl. They cannot divide our love!" - -"Come, I beg of you," came the dulcet voice of Prince Ivan behind them; -"I would not for all Courtland break in upon the billing and cooing of -such turtle-doves, were it not that their affection blinds them to the -fact that the men-at-arms and scullions are witnesses to these pretty -demonstrations. Tarry a little, sweet valentines--time and place wait -for all things." - -The Princess commanded herself quickly. In another moment she was once -more Margaret of Courtland. - -"Even the Prince of Muscovy might spare a lady his insults at such a -time!" she said. - -The Prince bared his head and bowed low. - -"Nay," he said very courteously; "you mistake, Princess Margaret. I -insult you not. I may regret your taste--but that is a different matter. -Yet even that may in time amend. My quarrel is with this gentleman, and -it is one of some standing, I believe." - -"My sword is at your service, sir!" said Maurice von Lynar firmly. - -"Again you mistake," returned the Prince more suavely than ever; "you -have no sword. A prisoner, and (if I may say so without offence) a spy -taken red-hand, cannot fight duels. The Prince of Courtland must settle -this matter. When his Justiciar is satisfied, I shall most willingly -take up my quarrel with--whatever is left of the most noble Count -Maurice von Lynar." - -To this Maurice did not reply, but with Margaret still beside him he -followed Prince Louis up the narrow ancient stairway called from its -shape the couch, into the gloomy audience chamber of the Castle of -Courtland. - -They reached the hall, and then at last, as though restored to power by -his surroundings, Prince Louis found his tongue. - -"A guard!" he cried; "hither Berghoff, Kampenfeldt! Conduct the Princess -to her privy chamber and do not permit her to leave it without my -permission. I would speak with this fellow alone." - -Ivan hastily crossed over to Prince Louis and whispered in his ear. - -In the meantime, ere the soldiers of the guard could approach, Margaret -cried out in a loud clear voice, "I take you all to witness that I, -Margaret of Courtland, am the wife of this man, Maurice von Lynar, Count -von Löen. He is my wedded husband, and I love him with all my heart! -According to God's holy ordinance he is mine!" - -"You have forgotten the rest, fair Princess," suggested Prince Ivan -subtly--"_till death you do part!_" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX - -PRINCE WASP STINGS - - -Margaret did not answer her tormentor's taunt. Her arms went about -Maurice's neck, and her lips, salt with the overflowing of tears, sought -his in a last kiss. The officer of the Prince's guard touched her on the -shoulder. She shook him haughtily off, and then, having completed her -farewells, she loosened her hands and went slowly backward towards the -further end of the hall with her eyes still upon the man she loved. - -"Stay, Berghoff," said Prince Louis suddenly; "let the Princess remain -where she is. Cross your swords in front of her. I desire that she shall -hear what I have to say to this young gentleman." - -"And also," added Prince Ivan, "I desire the noble Princess to remember -that this has been granted by the Prince upon my intercession. In the -future, it may gain me more of her favour than I have had the good -fortune to enjoy in the past!" - -Maurice stood alone, his tall slender figure supple and erect. One hand -rested easily upon his swordless thigh, while the other still held the -plumed hat he snatched up as in frantic haste he had followed Margaret -from the Summer Palace. - -There ensued a long silence in which the Sparhawk eyed his captors -haughtily, while Prince Louis watched him from under the grey penthouse -of his eyebrows. - -Then three several times the Prince essayed to speak, and as often -utterance was choked within him. His feelings could only find vent in -muttered imprecations, half smothered by a consuming rage. Then Prince -Ivan crossed over and laid his hand restrainingly on his arm. The touch -seemed to calm his friend, and, after swallowing several times as there -had been a knot in his throat, at last he spoke. - -For the second time in his life Maurice von Lynar stood alone among his -enemies; but this time in peril far deadlier than among the roisterous -pleasantries of Castle Kernsberg. Yet he was as little daunted now as -then. Once on a time a duchess had saved him. Now a princess loved him. -And even if she could not save him, still that was better. - -"So," cried Prince Louis, in the curiously uneven voice of a coward -lashing himself into a fury, "you have played out your treachery upon a -reigning Prince of Courtland. You cheated me at Castle Kernsberg. Now -you have made me a laughing-stock throughout the Empire. You have shamed -a maiden of my house, my sister, the daughter of my father. What have -you to say ere I order you to be flung out from the battlements of the -western tower?" - -"Ere it comes to that I shall have something to say, Prince Louis," -interrupted Prince Wasp, smiling. "We must not waste such dainty powers -of masquerade on anything so vulgar as the hangman's rope." - -"Gentlemen and princes," Maurice von Lynar answered, "that which I have -done I have done for the sake of my mistress, the Lady Joan, and I am -not afraid. Prince Louis, it was her will and intent never to come to -Courtland as your wife. She would not have been taken alive. It was -therefore the duty of her servants to preserve her life, and I offered -myself in her stead. My life was hers already, for she had preserved it. -She had given. It was hers to take. With the chief captains of Kernsberg -I plotted that she should be seized and carried to a place of refuge -wherein no foe could even find her. There she abides with chosen men to -guard her. I took her place and was delivered up that Kernsberg might -be cleared of its enemies. Gladly I came that I might pay a little of my -debt to my sovran lady and liege mistress, Joan Duchess of Kernsberg and -Hohenstein." - -"Nobly perorated!" cried Prince Ivan, clapping his hands. "Right -sonorously ended. Faith, a paladin, a deliverer of oppressed damsels, a -very carnival masquerader! He will play you the dragon, this fellow, or -he will act Saint George with a sword of lath! He will amble you the -hobby-horse, or be the Holy Virgin in a miracle play. Well, he shall -play in one more good scene ere I have done with him. But, listen, Sir -Mummer, in all this there is no word of the Princess Margaret. How comes -it that you so loudly proclaim having given yourself a noble sacrifice -for one fair lady, when at the same time you are secretly married to -another? Are you a deliverer of ladies by wholesale? Speak to this -point. Let us have another noble period--its subject my affianced bride. -Already we have heard of your high devotion to Prince Louis's wife. -Well--next!" - -But it was the Princess who spoke from where she stood behind the -crossed swords of her guards. - -"That _I_ will answer. I am a woman, and weak in your hands, princes -both. You have set the grasp of rude men-at-arms upon the wrist of a -Princess of Courtland. But you can never compel her soul. Brother Louis, -my father committed me to you as a little child--have I not been a -loving and a faithful sister to you? And till this Muscovite came -between, were you not good to me? Wherefore have you changed? Why has he -made you cruel to your little Margaret?" - -Prince Louis turned towards his sister, moving his hands uncertainly and -even deprecatingly. - -Ivan moved quickly to his side and whispered something which instantly -rekindled the light of anger in the weakling's eyes. - -"You are no sister of mine," he said; "you have disgraced your family -and yourself. Whether it be true or no that you are married to this man -matters little!" - -"It is true; I do not lie!" said Margaret recovering herself. - -"So much the worse, then, and he shall suffer for it. At least I can -hide, if I cannot prevent, your shame!" - -"I will never give him up; nothing on earth shall part our love!" - -Prince Ivan smiled delicately, turning to where she stood at the end of -the hall. - -"Sweet Princess," he said, "divorce is, I understand, contrary to your -holy Roman faith. But in my land we have discovered a readier way than -any papal bull. Be good enough to observe this"--he held a dagger in his -hand. "It is a little blade of steel, but a span long, and narrow as one -of your dainty fingers, yet it will divorce the best married pair in the -world." - -"But neither dagger nor the hate of enemies can sever love," Margaret -answered proudly. "You may slay my husband, but he is mine still. You -cannot twain our souls." - -The Prince shrugged his shoulder and opened his palms deprecatingly. - -"Madam," he said, "I shall be satisfied with twaining your bodies. In -holy Russia we are plain men. We have a saying, 'No one hath ever seen a -soul. Let the body content you!' When this gentleman is--what I shall -make him, he is welcome to any communion of souls with you to which he -can attain. I promise you that, so far as he is concerned, you shall -find me neither exigent lover nor jealous husband!" - -The Princess looked at Maurice. Her eyes had dwelt defiantly on the -Prince of Muscovy whilst he was speaking, but now a softer light, gentle -yet brave, crept into them. - -"Fear not, my husband," she said. "If the steel divide us, the steel can -also unite. They cannot watch so close, or bind so tight, but that I can -find a way. Or, if iron will not pierce, fire burn, or water drown, I -have a drug that will open the door which leads to you. Fear not, -dearest, I shall yet meet you unashamed, and as your loyal wife, without -soil or stain, look into your true eyes." - -"I declare you have taught your mistress the trick of words!" cried the -Prince delightedly. "Count von Löen, the Lady Margaret has quite your -manner. She speaks to slow music." - -But even the sneers of Prince Ivan could not filch the greatness out of -their loves, and Prince Louis was obviously wavering. Ivan's quick eye -noted this and he instantly administered a fillip. - -"Are you not moved, Louis?" he said. "How shamelessly hard is your -heart! This handsome youth, whom any part sets like a wedding favour and -fits like his own delicate skin, condescends to become your relative. -Where is your welcome, your kinsmanlike manners? Go, fall upon his neck! -Kiss him on either cheek. Is he not your heir? He hath only sequestrated -your wife, married your sister. Your only brother is a childless priest. -There needs only your decease to set him on the throne of the Princedom. -Give him time. How easily he has compassed all this! He will manage the -rest as easily. And then--listen to the shouting in the streets. I can -hear it already. 'Long live Maurice the Bastard, Prince of Courtland!'" - -And the Prince of Muscovy laughed loud and long. But Prince Louis did -not laugh. His eyes glared upon the prisoner like those of a wild beast -caught in a corner whence it wishes to flee but cannot. - -"He shall die--this day shall be his last. I swear it!" he cried. "He -hath mocked me, and I will slay him with my hand." - -He drew the dagger from his belt. But in the centre of the hall the -Sparhawk stood so still and quiet that Prince Louis hesitated. Ivan laid -a soft hand upon his wrist and as gently drew the dagger out of his -grasp. - -"Nay, my Prince, we will give him a worthier passing than that. So noble -a knight-errant must die no common death. What say you to the Ukraine -Cross, the Cross of Steeds? I have here four horses, all wild from the -steppes. This squire of dames, this woman-mummer, hath, as now we know, -four several limbs. By a strange coincidence I have a wild horse for -each of these. Let limbs and steeds be severally attached, my Cossacks -know how. Upon each flank let the lash be laid--and--well, the Princess -Margaret is welcome to her liege lord's soul. I warrant she will not -desire his fair body any more." - -At this Margaret tottered, her knees giving way beneath her, so that her -guards stood nearer to catch her if she should fall. - -"Louis--my brother," she cried, "do not listen to the monster. Kill my -husband if you must--because I love him. But do not torture him. By the -last words of our mother, by the memory of our father, by your faith in -the Most Pitiful Son of God, I charge you--do not this devilry." - -Prince Ivan did not give Louis of Courtland time to reply to his -sister's appeal. - -"The most noble Princess mistakes," he murmured suavely. "Death by the -Cross of Steeds is no torture. It is the easiest and swiftest of deaths. -I have witnessed it often. In my country it is reserved for the greatest -and the most distinguished. No common felon dies by the Cross of Steeds, -but men whose pride it is to die greatly. Ere long we will show you on -the plain across the river that I speak the truth. It is a noble sight, -and all Courtland shall be there. What say you, Louis? Shall this -springald seat himself in your princely chair, or--shall we try the -Cross of the Ukraine?" - -"Have it your own way, Prince Ivan!" said Louis, and went out without -another word. The Muscovite stood a moment looking from Maurice to -Margaret and back again. He was smiling his inscrutable Oriental smile. - -"The Prince has given me discretion," he said at last. "I might order -you both to separate dungeons, but I am an easy man and delight in the -domestic affections. I would see the parting of two such faithful -lovers. I may learn somewhat that shall stand me in good stead in the -future. It is my ill-fortune that till now I have had little experience -of the gentler emotions." - -He raised his hand. - -"Let the Princess pass," he cried. - -The guards dropped their swords to their sides. They had been -restraining her with as much gentleness as their duty would permit. - -Instantly the Princess Margaret ran forward with eager appeal on her -face. She dropped on her knees before the Prince of Muscovy and clasped -her hands in supplication. - -"Prince Ivan," she said, "I pray you for the love of God to spare him, -to let him go. I promise never to see him more. I will go to a nunnery. -I will look no more upon the face of day." - -"That, above all things, I cannot allow," said the Prince. "So fair a -face must see many suns--soon, I trust, in Moscow city, and by my side." - -"Margaret," said the Sparhawk, "it is useless to plead. Do not abase -yourself in the presence of our enemy. You cannot touch a man's heart -when his breast covers a stone. Bid me goodbye and be brave. The time -will not be long." - -From the place where Margaret the loving woman had kneeled Margaret the -Princess rose to her feet at the word of her husband. Without deigning -even to glance at Ivan, who had stooped to assist her, she passed him by -and went to Von Lynar. He held out both his hands and took her little -trembling ones in a strong assured clasp. - -The Prince watched the pair with a chill smile. - -"Margaret," said Maurice, "this will not be for long. What matters the -ford, so that we both pass over the river. Be brave, little wife. The -crossing will not be wide, nor the water deep. They cannot take from us -that which is ours. And He who joined us, whose priest blessed us, will -unite us anew when and where it seemeth good to Him!" - -"Maurice, I cannot let you die--and by such a terrible death!" - -"Dearest, what does it matter? I am yours. Wherever my spirit may -wander, I am yours alone. I will think of you when the Black Water -shallows to the brink. On the further side I will wait a day and then -you will meet me there. To you it may seem years. It will be but a day -to me. And I shall be there. So, little Margaret, good-night. Do not -forget that I love you. I would have made you very happy, if I had had -time--ah, if I had had time!" - -Like a child after its bedside prayer she lifted up her face to be -kissed. - -"Good-night, Maurice," she said simply. "Wait for me; I shall not be -long after!" - -She laid her brow a moment on his breast. Then she lifted her head and -walked slowly and proudly out of the hall. The guard fell in behind her, -and Maurice von Lynar was left alone with the Prince of Muscovy. - -As the door closed upon the Princess a sudden devilish grimace of fury -distorted the countenance of Prince Ivan. Hitherto he had been -studiously and even caressingly courteous. But now he strode swiftly up -to his captive and smote him across the mouth with the back of his -gauntleted hand. - -"That!" he said furiously, "that for the lips which have kissed hers! -Soon, soon I shall pay the rest of my debt. Yes, by the most high God, I -will pay it--with usury thereto!" - -A thin thread of scarlet showed upon the white of Maurice von Lynar's -chin and trickled slowly downwards. But he uttered no word. Only he -looked his enemy very straightly in the eyes, and those of the Muscovite -dropped before that defiant fierce regard. - - - - -CHAPTER XL - -THE LOVES OF PRIEST AND WIFE - - -It remains to tell briefly how certain great things came to pass. We -must return to Isle Rugen and to the lonely grange on the spit of sand -which separates the Baltic from the waters of the Freshwater Haff. - -Many things have happened there since Conrad of Courtland, Cardinal and -Archbishop, awaked to find by his bedside the sleeping girl who was his -brother's wife. - -On Isle Rugen, where the pines grew dense and green, gripping and -settling the thin sandy soil with their prehensile roots, Joan and -Conrad found themselves much alone. The lady of the grange was seldom to -be seen, save when all were gathered together at meals. Werner von -Orseln and the Plassenburg captains, Jorian and Boris, played cards and -flung harmless dice for white stones of a certain size picked from the -beach. Dumb Max Ulrich went about his work like a shadow. The ten -soldiers mounted guard and looked out to sea with their elbows on their -knees in the intervals. Three times a week the solitary boat, with Max -Ulrich at the oars, crossed to the landing-place on the mainland and -returned laden with provisions. The outer sea was empty before their -eyes, generally deep blue and restless with foam caps. Behind them the -Haff lay vacant and still as oil in a kitchen basin. - -But it was not dull on Isle Rugen. - -The osprey flashed and fell in the clear waters of the Haff, presently -to re-emerge with a fish in his beak, the drops running like a broken -string of pearls from his scales. Rough-legged buzzards screamed their -harsh and melancholy cry as on slanted wings they glided down inclines -of sunshine or lay out motionless upon the viewless glorious air. Wild -geese swept overhead out of the north in V-shaped flocks. The sea-gulls -tacked and balanced. All-graceful terns swung thwartways the blue sky, -or plunged headlong into the long green swells with the curve and speed -of falling stars. - -It was a place of forgetting, and in the autumn time it is good to -forget. For winter is nigh, when there will be time and enough to think -all manner of sad thoughts. - -So in the September weather Joan and Conrad walked much together. And as -Joan forgat Kernsberg and her revenge, Rome and his mission receded into -the background of the young man's thoughts. Soon they met undisguisedly -without fear or shame. This Isle Rugen was a place apart--a haven of -refuge not of their seeking. Mars had driven one there, Neptune the -other. - -Yet when Conrad woke in his little north-looking room in the lucid -pearl-grey dawn he had some bad moments. His vows, his priesthood, his -princedom of Holy Church were written in fire before his eyes. His heart -weighed heavy as if cinctured with lead. And, deeper yet, a rat seemed -to gnaw sharp-toothed at the springs of his life. - -Also, when the falling seas, combing the pebbly beaches with foamy -teeth, rattled the wet shingle, Joan would ofttimes wake from sleep and -lie staring wide-eyed at the casement. Black reproach of self brooded -upon her spirit, as if a foul bird of night had fluttered through the -open window and settled upon her breast. The poor folk of Kernsberg--her -fatherland invaded and desolate, the Sparhawk, the man who ought to have -been the ruler she was not worthy to be, the leader in war, the lawgiver -in peace--these reproachful shapes filled her mind so that sleep fled -and she lay pondering plans of escape and deliverance. - -But of one thing she never thought--of the cathedral of Courtland and -the husband to whose face she had but once lifted her eyes. - -The sun looked through between the red cloud bars. These he soon left -behind, turning them from fiery islands to banks of fleecy wool. The -shadows shot swiftly westward and then began slowly to shorten. In his -chamber Prince Conrad rose and went to the window. A rose-coloured light -lay along the sea horizon, darting between the dark pine stems and -transmuting the bare sand-dunes into dreamy marvels, till they touched -the heart like glimpses of a lost Eden seen in dreams. The black bird of -night flapped its way behind the belting trees. There was not such a -thing as a ghostly rat to gnaw unseen the heart of man. The blue dome of -sky overhead was better than the holy shrine of Peter across the tawny -flood of Tiber, and Isle Rugen more to be desired than the seven-hilled -city itself. Yea, better than lifted chalice and wafted incense, Joan's -hand in his---- - -And Conrad the lover turned from the window with a defiant heart. - - * * * * * - -At her casement, which opened to the east, stood at the same moment the -young Duchess of Hohenstein. Her lips were parted and the mystery of the -new day dwelt in her eyes like the memory of a benediction. Southward -lay the world, striving, warring, sinning, repenting, elevating the -Host, slaying the living, and burying the dead. But between her and that -world stretched a wide water not to be crossed, a fixed gulf not to be -passed over. It was the new day, and there beneath her was the strip of -silver sand where he and she had walked yestereven, when the moon was -full and the wavelets of that sheltered sea crisped in silver at their -feet. - -An hour afterwards these two met and gave each other a hand silently. -Then, facing the sunrise, they walked eastward along the shore, while -from the dusk of the garden gate Theresa von Lynar watched them with a -sad smile upon her face. - -"She is learning the lesson even as I learned it," she murmured, -unconsciously thinking aloud. "Well, that which the father taught it is -meet that the daughter should learn. Let her eat the fruit, the bitter -fruit of love--even as I have eaten it!" - -She watched a little longer, standing there with the pruning-knife in -her hand. She saw Conrad turn towards Joan as they descended a little -dell among the eastern sand-hills. And though she could not see, she -knew that two hands met, and that they stood still for a moment, ere -their feet climbed the opposite slope of dew-drenched sand. A swift sob -took her unexpectedly by the throat. - -"And yet," she said, "were all to do over, would not Theresa von Lynar -again learn that lesson from Alpha to Omega, eat the Dead Sea fruit to -its bitterest kernel, in order that once more the bud might open and -love's flower be hers?" - -Theresa von Lynar at her garden door spoke truth. For even then among -the sand-hills the bud was opening, though the year was on the wane and -the winter nigh. - -"Happy Isle Rugen!" said Joan, drawing a breath like a sigh. "Why were -we born to princedoms, Conrad, you and I?" - -"I at least was not," answered her companion. "Dumb Max's jerkin of blue -fits me better than any robe royal." - -They stood on the highest part of the island. Joan was leaning on the -crumbling wall of an ancient fort, which, being set on a promontory from -which the pinetrees drew back a little, formed at once a place of -observation and a point objective for their walks. She turned at his -words and looked at him. Conrad, indeed, never looked better or more -princely than in that rough jerkin of blue, together with the corded -forester's breeches and knitted hose which he had borrowed from -Theresa's dumb servitor. - -"Conrad," said Joan, suddenly standing erect and looking directly at the -young man, "if I were to tell you that I had resolved never to return to -Kernsberg, but to remain here on Isle Rugen, what would you answer?" - -"I should ask to be your companion--or, if not, your bailiff!" said the -Prince-Bishop promptly. - -"That would be to forget your holy office!" - -A certain gentle sadness passed over the features of the young man. - -"I leave many things undone for the sake of mine office," he said; "but -the canons of the Church do not forbid poverty, or yet manual labour." - -"But you have told me a hundred times," urged Joan, smiling in spite of -herself, "that necessity and not choice made you a Churchman. Does that -necessity no longer exist?" - -"Nay," answered Conrad readily as before; "but smaller necessities yield -to greater?" - -"And the greater?" - -"Why," he answered, "what say you to the tempest that drove me -hither--the thews and stout hearts of Werner von Orseln and his men, not -to speak of Captains Boris and Jorian there? Are they not sufficient -reasons for my remaining here?" - -He paused as if he had more to say. - -"Well?" said Joan, and waited for him to continue. - -"There is something else," he said. "It is--it is--that I cannot bear to -leave you! God knows I could not leave you if I would!" - -Joan of Hohenstein started. The words had been spoken in a low tone, yet -with suppressed vehemence, as though driven from the young man's lips -against his will. But there was no mistaking their purport. Yet they -were spoken so hopelessly, and withal so gently, that she could not be -angry. - -"Conrad--Conrad," she murmured reproachfully, "I thought I could have -trusted you. You promised never again to forget what we must both -remember!" - -"In so thinking you did well," he replied; "you may trust me to the end. -But the privilege of speech and testimony is not denied even to the -criminal upon the scaffold." - -A wave of pity passed over Joan. A month before she would have withdrawn -herself in hot anger. But Isle Rugen had gentled all her ways. The peace -of that ancient fortalice, the wash of its ambient waters, the very lack -of incident, the sense of the mysteries of tragic life which surrounded -her on all sides, the deep thoughts she had been thinking alone with -herself, the companionship of this man whom she loved--all these had -wrought a new spirit in Joan of the Sword Hand. Women who cannot be -pitiful are but half women. They have never yet entered upon their -inheritance. But now Joan was coming to her own again. For to pity of -Theresa von Lynar she was adding pity for Conrad of Courtland and--Joan -of Hohenstein. - -"Speak," she said very gently. "Do not be afraid; tell me all that is in -your heart." - -Joan was not disinclined to hear any words that the young man might -speak. She believed that she could listen unmoved even to his most -passionate declarations of love. Like the wise physician, she would -listen, understand, prescribe--and administer the remedy. - -But the pines of Isle Rugen stood between this woman and the girl who -had ridden away so proudly from the doors of the Kernsberg minster at -the head of her four hundred lances. Besides, she had not forgotten the -tournament and the slim secretary who had once stood before this man in -the river parlour of the Summer Palace. - -Then Conrad spoke in a low voice, very distinct and even in its -modulation. - -"Joan," he said, "once on a time I dreamed of being loved--dreamed that -among all the world of women there might be one woman for me. Such -things must come when deep sleep falleth upon a young man. Waking I put -them from me, even as I put arms and warfare aside. I believed that I -had conquered the lust of the eye. Now I know that I can never again be -true priest, never serve the altar with a clean heart. - -"Listen, my Lady Joan! I love you--there is no use in hiding it. -Doubtless you yourself have already seen it. I love you so greatly that -vows, promises, priesthoods, cardinalates are no more to me than the -crying of the seabirds out yonder. Let a worthier than I receive and -hold them. They are not for a weak and sinful man. My bishopric let -another take. I would rather be your groom, your servitor, your lacquey, -than reign on the Seven Hills and sit in Holy Peter's chair!" - -Joan leaned against the crumbling battlement, and the words of Conrad -were very sweet in her ear. They filled her with pity, while at the same -time her heart was strong within her. None had dared to speak such -things to her before in all her life, and she was a woman. The Princess -Margaret, had she loved a man as Joan did this man, would have given -back vow for vow, renunciation for renunciation, and, it might be, have -bartered kiss for kiss. - -But Joan of the Sword Hand was never stronger, never more serene, never -surer of herself than when she listened to the words she loved best to -hear, from the lips of the man whom of all others she desired to speak -them. At first she had been looking out upon the sea, but now she -permitted her eyes to rest with a great kindliness upon the young man. -Even as he spoke Conrad divined the thing that was in her heart. - -"Mark you," he said, "do me the justice to remember that I ask for -nothing. I expect nothing. I hope for nothing in return. I thought once -that I could love Divine things wholly. Now I know that my heart is too -earthly. But instead I love the noblest and most gracious woman in all -the world. And I love her, too, with a love not wholly unworthy of her." - -"You do me overmuch honour," said Joan quietly. "I, too, am weak and -sinful. Or how else would I, your brother's wife, listen to such words -from any man--least of all from you?" - -"Nay," said Conrad; "you only listen out of your great pitifulness. But -I am no worthy priest. I will not take upon me the yet greater things -for which I am so manifestly unfitted. I will not sully the holy -garments with my earthliness. Conrad of Courtland, Bishop and Cardinal, -died out there among the breakers. - -"He will never go to Rome, never kneel at the tombs of the Apostles. -From this day forth he is a servitor, a servant of servants in the train -of the Duchess Joan. Save those with us here, our hostess and the three -captains (who for your sake will hold their peace), none know that -Conrad of Courtland escaped the waters that swallowed up his companions. -They and you will keep the secret. This shaven crown will speedily -thatch itself again, a beard grow upon these shaveling cheeks. A dash of -walnut juice, and who will guess that under the tan of Conrad the serf -there is concealed a prince of Holy Church?" - -He paused, almost smiling. The picture of his renunciation had grown -real to him even as he spoke. But Joan did not smile. She waited a space -to see if he had aught further to say. But he was silent, waiting for -her answer. - -"Conrad," she said very gently, "that I have listened to you, and that I -have not been angry, may be deadly sin for us both. Yet I cannot be -angry. God forgive me! I have tried and I cannot be angry. And why -should I? Even as I lay a babe in the cradle, I was wedded. If a woman -must suffer, she ought at least to be permitted to choose the instrument -of her torture." - -"It is verity," he replied; "you are no more true wife than I am true -priest." - -"Yet because you have dispensed holy bread, and I knelt before the altar -as a bride, we must keep faith, you and I. We are bound by our nobility. -If we sin, let it be the greater and rarer sin--the sin of the spirit -only. Conrad, I love you. Nay, stand still where you are and listen to -me--to me, Joan, your brother's wife. For I, too, once for all will -clear my soul. I loved you long ere your eyes fell on me. I came as -Dessauer's secretary to the city of Courtland. I determined to see the -man I was to wed. I saw the prince--my prince as I thought--storm -through the lists on his white horse. I saw him bare his head and -receive the crown of victory. I stood before him, ashamed yet glad, -hosed and doubleted like a boy, in the Summer Pavilion. I heard his -gracious words. I loved my prince, who so soon was to be wholly mine. -The months slipped past, and I was ever the gladder the faster they -sped. The woman stirred within the stripling girl. In half a year, in -twenty weeks--in five--in one--in a day--an hour, I would put my hand, -my life, myself into his keeping! Then came the glad tumult of the -rejoicing folk, the hush of the crowded cathedral. I said, 'Oh, not -yet--I will not lift my eyes to my prince until----' We stopped. I -lifted my eyes. And lo! the prince was not my prince!" - -There was a long and solemn pause between these two on the old -watchtower. Never was declaration of love so given and so taken. Conrad -remained still as a statue, only his eyes growing great and full of -light. Joan stood looking at him, unashamed and fearless. Yet neither -moved an inch toward either. A brave woman's will, to do right greatly, -stood between them. - -She went on. - -"Now you know all, my Conrad," she said. "Isle Rugen can never more be -the isle of peace to us. You and I have shivered the cup of our -happiness. We must part. We can never be merely friends. I must abide -because I am a prisoner. You will keep my counsel, promising me to be -silent, and together we will contrive a way of escape." - -When Conrad answered her again his voice was hoarse and broken, almost -like one rheumed with sleeping out on a winter's night. His words -whistled in his windpipe, flying from treble to bass and back again. - -"Joan, Joan!" he said, and the third time "Joan!" And for the moment he -could say no more. - -"True love," she said, and her voice was almost caressing, "you and I -are barriered from each other. Yet we belong--you to me--I to you! I -will not touch your hand, nor you mine. Not even as we have hitherto -done. Let ours be the higher, perhaps deadlier sin--the sin of soul and -soul. Do you go back to your office, your electorate, while I stay here -to do my duty." - -"And why not you to your duchy?" said Conrad, who had begun to recover -himself. - -"Because," she answered, "if I refuse to abide by one of my father's -bargains, I have no right to hold by the other. He would have made me -your brother's wife. That I have refused. He disinherited his lawful son -that I might take the dukedom with me as my dowry. Can I keep that which -was only given me in trust for another? Maurice von Lynar shall be Duke -Maurice, and Theresa von Lynar shall have her true place as the widow of -Henry the Lion!" - -And she stood up tall and straight, like a princess indeed. - -"And you?" he said very low. "What will you do, Joan?" - -"For me, I will abide on Isle Rugen. Nunneries are not for me. There are -doubtless one or two who will abide with me for the sake of old -days--Werner von Orseln for one, Peter Balta for another. I shall not be -lonely." - -She smiled upon him with a peculiar trustful sweetness and continued-- - -"And once a year, in the autumn, you will come from your high office. -You will lay aside the princely scarlet, and don the curt hose and blue -jerkin, even as now you stand. You will gather blackberries and help me -to preserve them. You will split wood and carry water. Then, when the -day is well spent, you and I shall walk hither in the high afternoon and -tell each other how we stand and all the things that have filled our -hearts in the year's interspace. Thus will we keep tryst, you and I--not -priest and wedded wife, but man and woman speaking the truth eye to eye -without fear and without stain. Do you promise?" - -And for all answer the Prince-Cardinal kneeled down, and taking the hem -of her dress he kissed it humbly and reverently. - - - - -CHAPTER XLI - -THERESA KEEPS TROTH - - -But they had reckoned without Theresa von Lynar. - -Conrad and Joan came back from the ruined fortification, silent mostly, -but thrilled with the thoughts of that which their eyes had seen, their -ears heard. Each had listened to the beating of the other's heart. Both -knew they were beloved. Nothing could alter _that_ any more for ever. As -they had gone out with Theresa watching them from the dusk of the garden -arcades, their hands had drawn together. Eyes had sought answering eyes -at each dip of the path. They had listened for the finest shades of -meaning in one another's voices, and taken courage or lost hope from the -droop of an eyelid or the quiver of a syllable. - -Now all was changed. They knew that which they knew. - -The orchard of the lonely grange on Isle Rugen was curiously out of -keeping with its barren surroundings. Enclosed within the same wall as -the dwelling-house, it was the special care of the Wordless Man, whose -many years of pruning and digging and watering, undertaken each at its -proper season, had resulted in a golden harvest of September fruit. When -Joan and Conrad came to the portal which gave entrance from without, lo! -it stood open. The sun had been shining in their eyes, and the place -looked very slumberous in the white hazy glory of a northern day. The -path which led out of the orchard was splashed with cool shade. Green -leaves shrined fair globes of fruitage fast ripening in the blowing airs -and steadfast sun. Up the path towards them as they stood together came -Theresa von Lynar. There was a smile on her face, a large and kindly -graciousness in her splendid eyes. Her hair was piled and circled about -her head, and drawn back in ruddy golden masses from the broad white -forehead. Autumn was Theresa's season, and in such surroundings she -might well have stood for Ceres or Pomona, with apron full enough of -fruit for many a horn of plenty. - -Such large-limbed simple-natured women as Theresa von Lynar appear to -greatest advantage in autumn. It is their time when the day of -apple-blossom and spring-flourish is overpast, and when that which these -foreshadowed is at length fulfilled. Then to see such an one emerge from -an orchard close, and approach softly smiling out of the shadow of fruit -trees, is to catch a glimpse of the elder gods. Spring, on the other -hand, is for merry maidens, slips of unripe grace, buds from the -schools. Summer is the season of languorous dryads at rest in the green -gloom of forests, fanning sunburnt cheeks with leafy boughs, their dark -eyes full of the height of living. Winter is the time of swift -lithe-limbed girls with heads proudly set, who through the white weather -carry them like Dian the Huntress, their dainty chins dimpling out of -softening furs. To each is her time and supremacy, though a certain -favoured few are the mistresses of all. They move like a part of the -spring when cherry blossoms are set against a sky of changeful April -blue. They rejoice when dark-eyed summer wears scarlet flowers in her -hair, shaded by green leaves and fanned by soft airs. Well-bosomed Ceres -herself, smiling luxuriant with ripe lips, is not fairer than they at -the time of apple-gathering, nor yet dainty Winter, footing it lightly -over the frozen snow. - -Joan, an it liked her, could have triumphed in all these, but her nature -was too simple to care about the impression she made, while Conrad was -too deep in love to notice any difference in her perfections. - -And now Theresa von Lynar, the woman who had given her beauty and her -life like a little Saint Valentine's gift into the hand of the man she -loved, content that he should take or throw away as pleased him -best--Theresa von Lynar met these two, who in their new glory of -renunciation thought that they had plumbed the abysses of love, when as -yet they had taken no more than a single sounding in the narrow seas. -She stood looking at them as they came towards her, with a sympathy that -was deeper far than mere tolerance. - -"Our Joan of the Sword Hand is growing into a woman," she murmured; and -something she had thought buried deep heaved in her breast, shaking her -as Enceladus the Giant shakes Etna when he turns in his sleep. For she -saw in the girl her father's likeness more strongly than she had ever -seen it in her own son. - -"You have faced the sunshine!" Thus she greeted them as they came. "Sit -awhile with me in the shade. I have here a bower where Maurice loved to -play--before he left me. None save I hath entered it since that day." - -So saying, she led the way along an alley of pleached green, at the far -end of which they could see the solitary figure of Max Ulrich, in the -full sun, bending his back to his gardening tasks, yet at the same time, -as was his custom, keeping so near his mistress that a fluttering -kerchief or a lifted hand would bring him instantly to her side. - -It was a small rustic eight-sided lodge, thatched with heather, its -latticed windows wide open and creeper-grown, to which Theresa led them. -It had been well kept; and when Joan found herself within, a sudden -access of tenderness for this lonely mother, who for love's sake had -offered herself like a sacrifice upon an altar, took possession of her. - -For about the walls was fastened a child's pitiful armoury. Home-made -swords of lath, arrows winged with the cast feathers of the woodland, -crooked bows, the broken crockery of a hundred imagined banquets--these, -and many more, were carefully kept in place with immediate and loving -care. Maurice would be back again presently, they seemed to say, and -would take up his play just where he left it. - -No cobwebs hung from the roof; the bows were duly unstrung; and though -wooden platters and rough kitchen equipage were mingled with warlike -accoutrements upon the floor, there was not a particle of dust to be -seen anywhere. As they sat down at the mother's bidding, it was hard to -persuade themselves that Maurice von Lynar was far off, enduring the -hardships of war or in deadly peril for his mistress. He might have been -even then in hiding in the brushwood, ready to cry bo-peep at them -through the open door. - -There was silence in the arbour for a space, a silence which no one of -the three was anxious to break. For Joan thought of her promise, Conrad -of Joan, and Theresa of her son. It was the last who spoke. - -"Somehow to-day it is borne in upon me that Kernsberg has fallen, and -that my son is in his enemy's hands!" - -Joan started to her feet and thrust her hands a little out in front of -her as if to ward off a blow. - -"How can you know that?" she cried. "Who----No; it cannot be. Kernsberg -was victualled for a year. It was filled with brave men. My captains are -staunch. The thing is impossible." - -Theresa von Lynar, with her eyes on the waving foliage which alternately -revealed and eclipsed the ruddy globes of the apples on the orchard -trees, slowly shook her head. - -"I cannot tell you how I know," she said; "nevertheless I know. Here is -something which tells me." She laid her hand upon her heart. "Those who -are long alone beside the sea hear voices and see visions." - -"But it is impossible," urged Joan; "or, if it be true, why am I kept -here? I will go and die with my people!" - -"It is my son's will," said Theresa--"the will of the son of Henry the -Lion. He is like his father--therefore women do his will!" - -The words were not spoken bitterly, but as a simple statement of fact. - -Joan looked at this woman and understood for the first time that she was -the strongest spirit of all--greater than her father, better than -herself. And perhaps because of this, nobility and sacrifice stirred -emulously in her own breast. - -"Madam," she said, looking directly at Theresa von Lynar, "it is time -that you and I understood each other. I hold myself no true Duchess of -Hohenstein so long as your son lives. My father's compact and condition -are of no effect. The Diet of the Empire would cancel them in a moment. -I will therefore take no rest till this thing is made clear. I swear -that your son shall be Duke Maurice and sit in his father's place, as is -right and fitting. For me, I ask nothing but the daughter's portion--a -grange such as this, as solitary and as peaceful, a garden to delve and -a beach to wander upon at eve!" - -As she spoke, Theresa's eyes suddenly brightened. A proud high look sat -on the fulness of her lips, which gradually faded as some other thought -asserted its supremacy. She rose, and going straight to Joan, for the -first time she kissed her on the brow. - -"Now do I know," she said, "that you are Henry the Lion's daughter. That -is spoken as he would have spoken it. It is greatly thought. Yet it -cannot be." - -"It shall be!" cried Joan imperiously. - -"Nay," returned Theresa von Lynar. "Once on a time I would have given my -right hand that for half a day, for one hour, men might have said of me -that I was Henry the Lion's wife, and my son his son! It would have been -right sweet. Ah God, how sweet it would have been!" She paused a moment -as if consulting some unseen presence. "No, I have vowed my vow. Here -was I bidden to stay and here will I abide. For me there was no sorrow -in any hard condition, so long as _he_ laid it upon me. For have I not -tasted with him the glory of life, and with him plucked out the heart of -the mystery? That for which I paid, I received. My lips have tasted both -of the Tree of Knowledge and of the Tree of Life--for these two grow -very close together, the one to the other, upon the banks of the River -of Death. But for my son, this thing is harder to give up. For on him -lies the stain, though the joy and the sin were mine alone." - -"Maurice of Hohenstein shall sit in his father's seat," said Joan -firmly. "I have sworn it. If I live I will see him settled there with my -captains about him. Werner von Orseln is an honest man. He will do him -justice. Von Dessauer shall get him recognised, and Hugo of Plassenburg -shall stand his sponsor before the Diet of the Empire." - -"I would it could be so," said Theresa wistfully. "If my death could -cause this thing righteously to come to pass, how gladly would I end -life! But I am bound by an oath, and my son is bound because I am bound. -The tribunal is not the Diet of Ratisbon, but the faithfulness of a -woman's heart. Have I been loyal to my prince these many years, so that -now shame itself sits on my brow as gladly as a crown of bay, that I -should fail him now? Low he lies, and I may never stand beside his -sepulchre. No son of mine shall sit in his high chair. But if in any -sphere of sinful or imperfect spirits, be it hell or purgatory, he and I -shall encounter, think you that for an empire I would meet him shamed. -And when he says, 'Woman of my love, hast thou kept thy troth?' shall I -be compelled to answer 'No?'" - -"But," urged Joan, "this thing is your son's birthright. My father, for -purposes of state, bound my happiness to a man I loathe. I have cast -that band to the winds. The fathers cannot bind the children, no more -can you disinherit your son." - -Theresa von Lynar smiled a sad wise smile, infinitely patient, -infinitely remote. - -"Ah," she said, "you think so? You are young. You have never loved. You -are his daughter, not his wife. One day you shall know, if God is good -to you!" - -At this Joan smiled in her turn. She knew what she knew. - -"You may think you know," returned Theresa, her calm eyes on the girl's -face, "but what _I_ mean by loving is another matter. The band you broke -you did not make. I keep the vow I made. With clear eye, undulled brain, -willing hand I made it--because he willed it. Let my son Maurice break -it, if he can, if he will--as you have broken yours. Only let him never -more call Theresa von Lynar mother!" - -Joan rose to depart. Her intent had not been shaken, though she was -impressed by the noble heart of the woman who had been her father's -wife. But she also had vowed a vow, and that vow she would keep. The -Sparhawk should yet be the Eagle of Kernsberg, and she, Joan, a -home-keeping housewife nested in quietness, a barn-door fowl about the -orchards of Isle Rugen. - -"Madam," she said, "your word is your word. But so is that of Joan of -Kernsberg. It may be that out of the unseen there may leap a chance -which shall bring all to pass, the things which we both desire--without -breaking of vows or loosing of the bands of obligation. For me, being no -more than a daughter, I will keep Duke Henry's will only in that which -is just!" - -"And I," said Theresa von Lynar, "will keep it, just or unjust!" - -Yet Joan smiled as she went out. For she had been countered and -checkmated in sacrifice. She had met a nature greater than her own, and -that with the truly noble is the pleasure of pleasures. In such things -only the small are small, only the worms of the earth delight to crawl -upon the earth. The great and the wise look up and worship the sun above -them. And if by chance their special sun prove after all to be but a -star, they say, "Ah, if we had only been near enough it would have been -a sun!" - -All the while Conrad sat very still, listening with full heart to that -which it did not concern him to interrupt. But within his heart he said, -"Woman, when she is true woman, is greater, worthier, fuller than any -man--aye, were it the Holy Father himself. Perhaps because they draw -near Christ the Son through Mary the Mother!" - -But Theresa von Lynar sat silent, and watched the girl as she went down -the long path, the leafy branches spattering alternate light and shadow -upon her slender figure. Then she turned sharply upon Conrad. - -"And now, my Lord Cardinal," she said, "what have you been saying to my -husband's daughter?" - -"I have been telling her that I love her!" answered Conrad simply. He -felt that what he had listened to gave this woman a right to be -answered. - -"And what, I pray you, have princes of Holy Church to do with love? They -seek after heavenly things, do they not? Like the angels, they neither -marry nor are given in marriage." - -"I know," said Conrad humbly, and without taking the least offence. "I -know it well. But I have put off the armour I had not proven. The burden -is too great for me. I am a soldier--I was trained a soldier--yet -because I was born after my brother Louis, I must perforce become both -priest and cardinal. Rather a thousand times would I be a man-at-arms -and carry a pike!" - -"Then am I to understand that as a soldier you told the Duchess Joan -that you loved her, and that as a priest you forbade the banns? Or did -you wholly forget the little circumstance that once on a time you -yourself married her to your brother?" - -"I did indeed forget," said Conrad, with sincere penitence; "yet you -must not blame me too sorely. I was carried out of myself----" - -"The Duchess, then, rejected your suit with contumely?" - -Conrad was silent. - -"How should a great lady listen to her husband's brother--and he a -priest?" Theresa went on remorseless. "What said the Lady Joan when you -told her that you loved her?" - -"The words she spoke I cannot repeat, but when she ended I set my lips -to her garment's hem as reverently as ever to holy bread." - -The slow smile came again over the face of Theresa von Lynar, the smile -of a warworn veteran who watches the children at their drill. - -"You do not need to tell me what she answered, my lord," she said, for -the first time leaving out the ecclesiastic title. "I know!" - -Conrad stared at the woman. - -"She told you that she loved you from the first." - -"How know you that?" he faltered. "None must hear that secret--none must -guess it!" - -Theresa von Lynar laughed a little mellow laugh, in which a keen ear -might have detected how richly and pleasantly her laugh must once have -sounded to her lover when all her pulses beat to the tune of gladness -and the unbound heart. - -"Do you think to deceive me, Theresa, whom Henry the Lion loved? Have I -been these many weeks with you two in the house and not seen this? -Prince Conrad, I knew it that night of the storm when she bent her over -the couch on which you lay. 'I love,' you say boldly, and you think -great things of your love. But she loved first as she will love most, -and your boasted love will never overtake hers--no, not though you love -her all your life.... Well, what do you propose to do?" - -Conrad stood a moment mutely wrestling with himself. He had never felt -Joan's first instinctive aversion to this woman, a dislike even yet -scarcely overcome--for women distrust women till they have proven -themselves innocent, and often even then. - -"My lady," he said, "the Duchess Joan has showed me the better way. Like -a man, I knew not what I asked, nor dared to express all that I desired. -But I have learned how souls can be united, though bodies are -separated. I will not touch her hand; I will not kiss her lips. Once a -year only will I see her in the flesh. I shall carry out my duty, made -at least less unworthy by her example----" - -"And think you," said Theresa, "that in the night watches you will keep -this charge? Will not her face come between you and the altar? Will not -her image float before you as you kneel at the shrine? Will it not blot -out the lines as you read your daily office?" - -"I know it--I know it too well!" said Conrad, sinking his head on his -breast. "I am not worthy." - -"What, then, will you do? Can you serve two masters?" persisted the -inquisitor. "Your Scripture says not." - -A larger self seemed to flame and dilate within the young man. - -"One thing I can do," he said--"like you, I can obey. She bade me go -back and do my duty. I cannot bind my thought; I cannot change my heart; -I cannot cast my love out. I have heard that which I have heard, and I -cannot forget; but at least with the body I can obey. I will perform my -vow; I will keep my charge to the letter, every jot and tittle. And if -God condemn me for a hypocrite--well, let Him! He, and not I, put this -love into my heart. My body may be my priesthood's--I will strive to -keep it clean--but my soul is my lady's. For that let Him cast both soul -and body into hell-fire if He will!" - -Theresa von Lynar did not smile any more. She held out her hand to -Conrad of Courtland, priest and prince. - -"Yes," she said, "you do know what love is. In so far as I can I will -help you to your heart's desire." - -And in her turn she rose and passed down through the leafy avenues of -the orchard, over which the westering sun was already casting rood-long -shadows. - - - - -CHAPTER XLII - -THE WORDLESS MAN TAKES A PRISONER - - -It was the hour of the evening meal at Isle Rugen. The September day -piped on to its melancholy close, and the wild geese overhead called -down unseen from the upper air a warning that the storm followed hard -upon their backs. At the table-head sat Theresa von Lynar, her largely -moulded and beautiful face showing no sign of emotion. Only great quiet -dwelt upon it, with knowledge and the sympathy of the proven for the -untried. On either side of her were Joan and Prince Conrad--not sad, -neither avoiding nor seeking the contingence of eye and eye, but yet, in -spite of all, so strange a thing is love once declared, consciously -happy within their heart of hearts. - -Then, after a space dutifully left unoccupied, came Captains Boris and -Jorian; while at the table-foot, opposite to their hostess, towered -Werner von Orseln, whose grey beard had wagged at the more riotous board -of Henry the Lion of Hohenstein. - -Werner was telling an interminable story of the old wars, with many a -"Thus said I" and "So did he," ending thus: "There lay I on my back, -with thirty pagan Wends ready to slit my hals as soon as they could get -their knives between my gorget and headpiece. Gott! but I said every -prayer that I knew--they were not many in those days--all in two -minutes' space, as I lay looking at the sky through my visor bars and -waiting for the first prick of the Wendish knife-points. - -"But even as I looked up, lo! some one bestrode me, and the voice I -loved best in all the world--no, not a woman's, God send him rest" -("Amen!" interjected the Lady Joan)--"cried, 'To me, Hohenstein! To me, -Kernsberg!' And though my head was ringing with the shock of falling, -and my body weak from many wounds, I strove to answer that call, as I -saw my master's sword flicker this way and that over my head. I rose -half from the ground, my hilt still in my hand--I had no more left after -the fight I had fought. But Henry the Lion gave me a stamp down with his -foot. 'Lie still, man,' he said; 'do not interfere in a little business -of this kind!' And with his one point he kept a score at bay, crying all -the time, 'To me, Hohenstein! To me, Kernsbergers all!' - -"And when the enemy fled, did he wait till the bearers came? Well I wot, -hardly! Instead, he caught me over his shoulder like an empty sack when -one goes a-foraging--me, Werner von Orseln, that am built like a donjon -tower. And with his sword still red in his right hand he bore me in, -only turning aside a little to threaten a Wendish archer who would have -sent an arrow through me on the way. By the knights who sit round Karl's -table, he was a man!" - -And then to their feet sprang Boris and Jorian, who were judges of men. - -"To Prince Henry the Lion--_hoch!_" they cried. "Drink it deep to his -memory!" - -And with tankard and wreathed wine-cup they quaffed to the great dead. -Standing up, they drank--his daughter also--all save Theresa von Lynar. -She sat unmoved, as if the toast had been her own and in a moment more -she must rise to give them thanks. For the look on her face said, "After -all, what is there so strange in that? Was he not Henry the Lion--and -mine?" - -For there is no joy like that which you may see on a woman's face when a -great deed is told of the man she loves. - -The Kernsberg soldiers who had been trained to serve at table, had -stopped and stood fixed, their duties in complete oblivion during the -tale, but now they resumed them and the simple feast continued. -Meanwhile it had been growing wilder and wilder without, and the shrill -lament of the wind was distinctly heard in the wide chimney-top. Now and -then in a lull, broad splashes of rain fell solidly into the red embers -with a sound like musket balls "spatting" on a wall. - -Then Theresa von Lynar looked up. - -"Where is Max Ulrich?" she said; "why does he delay?" - -"My lady," one of the men of Kernsberg answered, saluting; "he is gone -across the Haff in the boat, and has not yet returned." - -"I will go and look for him--nay, do not rise, my lord. I would go forth -alone!" - -So, snatching a cloak from the prong of an antler in the hall, Theresa -went out into the irregular hooting of the storm. It was not yet the -deepest gloaming, but dull grey clouds like hunted cattle scoured across -the sky, and the rising thunder of the waves on the shingle prophesied a -night of storm. Theresa stood a long time bare-headed, enjoying the -thresh of the broad drops as they struck against her face and cooled her -throbbing eyes. Then she pulled the hood of the cloak over her head. - -The dead was conquering the quick within her. - -"I have known a _man_!" she said; "what need I more with life now? The -man I loved is dead. I thank God that I served him--aye, as his dog -served him. And shall I grow disobedient now? No, not that my son might -sit on the throne of the Kaiser!" - -Theresa stood upon the inner curve of the Haff at the place where Max -Ulrich was wont to pull his boat ashore. The wind was behind her, and -though the waves increased as the distance widened from the pebbly bank -on which she stood, the water at her feet was only ruffled and pitted -with little dimples under the shocks of the wind. Theresa looked long -southward under her hand, but for the moment could see nothing. - -Then she settled herself to keep watch, with the storm riding slack-rein -overhead. Towards the mainland the whoop and roar with which it -assaulted the pine forests deafened her ears. But her face was younger -than we have ever seen it, for Werner's story had moved her strongly. -Once more she was by a great man's side. She moved her hand swiftly, -first out of the shelter of the cloak as if seeking furtively to nestle -it in another's, and then, as the raindrops plashed cold upon it, she -drew it slowly back to her again. - -And though Theresa von Lynar was yet in the prime of her glorious -beauty, one could see what she must have been in the days of her -girlhood. And as memory caused her eyes to grow misty, and the smile of -love and trust eternal came upon her lips, twenty years were shorn away; -and the woman's face which had looked anxiously across the darkening -Haff changed to that of the girl who from the gate of Castle Lynar had -watched for the coming of Duke Henry. - -She was gazing steadfastly southward, but it was not for Max the -Wordless that she waited. Towards Kernsberg, where he whose sleep she -had so often watched, rested all alone, she looked and kissed a hand. - -"Dear," she murmured, "you have not forgotten Theresa! You know she -keeps troth! Aye, and will keep it till God grows kind, and your true -wife can follow--to tell you how well she hath kept her charge!" - -Awhile she was silent, and then she went on in the low even voice of -self-communing. - -"What to me is it to become a princess? Did not he, for whose words -alone I cared, call me his queen? And I was his queen. In the black -blank day of my uttermost need he made me his wife. And I am his wife. -What want I more with dignities?" - -Theresa von Lynar was silent awhile and then she added-- - -"Yet the young Duchess, his daughter, means well. She has her father's -spirit. And my son--why should my vow bind him? Let him be Duke, if so -the Fates direct and Providence allow. But for me, I will not stir -finger or utter word to help him. There shall be neither anger nor -sadness in my husband's eyes when I tell him how I have observed the -bond!" - -Again she kissed a hand towards the dead man who lay so deep under the -ponderous marble at Kernsberg. Then with a gracious gesture, lingeringly -and with the misty eyes of loving womanhood, she said her lonely -farewells. - -"To you, beloved," she murmured, and her voice was low and very rich, -"to you, beloved, where far off you lie! Sleep sound, nor think the time -long till Theresa comes to you!" - -She turned and walked back facing the storm. Her hood had long ago been -blown from her head by the furious gusts of wind. But she heeded not. -She had forgotten poor Max Ulrich and Joan, and even herself. She had -forgotten her son. Her hand was out in the storm now. She did not draw -it back, though the water ran from her fingertips. For it was clasped in -an unseen grasp and in an ear that surely heard she was whispering her -heart's troth. "God give it to me to do one deed--one only before I -die--that, worthy and unashamed, I may meet my King." - -When Theresa re-entered the hall of the grange the company still sat as -she had left them. Only at the lower end of the board the three captains -conferred together in low voices, while at the upper Joan and Prince -Conrad sat gazing full at each other as if souls could be drunk in -through the eyes. - -With a certain reluctance which yet had no shame in it, they plucked -glance from glance as she entered, as it were with difficulty detaching -spirits which had been joined. At which Theresa, recalled to herself, -smiled. - -"In all that touches not my vow I will help you two!" she thought, as -she looked at them. For true love came closer to her than anything else -in the world. - -"There is no sign of Max," she said aloud, to break the first silence of -constraint; "perhaps he has waited at the landing-place on the mainland -till the storm should abate--though that were scarce like him, either." - -She sat down, with one large movement of her arm casting her wet cloak -over the back of a wooden settle, which fronted a fireplace where green -pine knots crackled and explosive jets of steam rushed spitefully -outwards into the hall with a hissing sound. - -"You have been down at the landing-place--on such a night?" said Joan, -with some remains of that curious awkwardness which marks the -interruption of a more interesting conversation. - -"Yes," said Theresa, smiling indulgently (for she had been in like -case--such a great while ago, when her brothers used to intrude). "Yes, -I have been at the landing-place. But as yet the storm is nothing, -though the waves will be fierce enough if Max Ulrich is coming home with -a laden boat to pull in the wind's eye." - -It mattered little what she said. She had helped them to pass the bar, -and the conversation could now proceed over smooth waters. - -Yet there is no need to report it. Joan and Conrad remained and spoke -they scarce knew what, all for the pleasure of eye answering eye, and -the subtle flattery of voices that altered by the millionth of a tone -each time they answered each other. Theresa spoke vaguely but -sufficiently, and allowed herself to dream, till to her yearning gaze -honest, sturdy Werner grew misty and his bluff figure resolved itself -into that one nobler and more kingly which for years had fronted her at -the table's end where now the chief captain sat. - -Meanwhile Jorian and Boris exchanged meaning and covert glances, asking -each other when this dull dinner parade would be over, so that they -might loosen leathern points, undo buttons, and stretch legs on benches -with a tankard of ale at each right elbow, according to the wont of -stout war-captains not quite so young as they once were. - -Thus they were sitting when there came a clamour at the outer door, the -noise of voices, then a soldier's challenge, and, on the back of that, -Max Ulrich's weird answer--a sound almost like the howl of a wolf cut -off short in his throat by the hand that strangles him. - -"There he is at last!" cried all in the dining-hall of the grange. - -"Thank God!" murmured Theresa. For the man wanting words had known Henry -the Lion. - -They waited a long moment of suspense till the door behind Werner was -thrust open and the dumb man came in, drenched and dripping. He was -holding one by the arm, a man as tall as himself, grey and gaunt, who -fronted the company with eyes bandaged and hands tied behind his back. -Max Ulrich had a sharp knife in his hand with a thin and slightly curved -blade, and as he thrust the pinioned man before him into the full light -of the candles, he made signs that, if his lady wished it, he was -prepared to despatch his prisoner on the spot. His lips moved rapidly -and he seemed to be forming words and sentences. His mistress followed -these movements with the closest attention. - -"He says," she began to translate, "that he met this man on the further -side. He said that he had a message for Isle Rugen, and refused to turn -back on any condition. So Max blindfolded, bound, and gagged him, he -being willing to be bound. And now he waits our pleasure." - -"Let him be unloosed," said Joan, gazing eagerly at the prisoner, and -Theresa made the sign. - -Stolidly Ulrich unbound the broad bandage from the man's eyes, and a -grey badger's brush of upright stubble rose slowly erect above a high -narrow brow, like laid corn that dries in the sun. - -"Alt Pikker!" said Joan of the Sword Hand, starting to her feet. - -"Alt Pikker!" cried in varied tones of wonderment Werner von Orseln and -the two captains of Plassenburg, Jorian and Boris. - -And Alt Pikker it surely was. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIII - -TO THE RESCUE - - -But the late prisoner did not speak at once, though his captor stood -back as though to permit him to explain himself. He was still bound and -gagged. Discovering which, Max in a very philosophical and leisurely -manner assisted him to relieve himself of a rolled kerchief which had -been placed in his mouth. - -Even then his throat refused its office till Werner von Orseln handed -him a great cup of wine from which he drank deeply. - -"Speak!" said Joan. "What disaster has brought you here? Is Kernsberg -taken?" - -"The Eagle's Nest is harried, my lady, but that is not what hath brought -me hither!" - -"Have they found out this my--prison? Are they coming to capture me?" - -"Neither," returned Alt Pikker. "Maurice von Lynar is in the hands of -his cruel enemies, and on the day after to-morrow, at sunrise, he is to -be torn to pieces by wild horses." - -"Why?" "Wherefore?" "In what place?" "Who would dare?" came from all -about the table; but the mother of the young man sat silent as if she -had not heard. - -"To save Kernsberg from sack by the Muscovites, Maurice von Lynar went -to Courtland in the guise of the Lady Joan. At the fords of the Alla we -delivered him up!" - -"You delivered him up?" cried Theresa suddenly. "Then you shall die! Max -Ulrich, your knife!" - -The dumb man gave the knife in a moment, but Theresa had not time to -approach. - -"I went with him," said Alt Pikker calmly. - -"You went with him," repeated his mother after a moment, not -understanding. - -"Could I let the young man go alone into the midst of his enemies?" - -"He went for my sake!" moaned Joan. "He is to die for me!" - -"Nay," corrected Alt Pikker, "he is to die for wedding the Princess -Margaret of Courtland!" - -Again they cried out upon him in utmost astonishment--that is, all the -men. - -"Maurice von Lynar has married the Princess Margaret of Courtland? -Impossible!" - -"And why should he not?" his mother cried out. - -"I expected it from the first!" quoth Joan of the Sword Hand, disdainful -of their masculine ignorance. - -"Well," put in Alt Pikker, "at all events, he hath married the Princess. -Or she has married him, which is the same thing!" - -"But why? We knew nothing of this! He told us nothing. We thought he -went for our lady's sake to Courtland! Why did he marry her?" cried -severally Von Orseln and the Plassenburg captains. - -"Why?" said Theresa the mother, with assurance. "Because he loved her -doubtless. How? Because he was his father's son!" - -And Theresa being calm and stilling the others, Alt Pikker got time to -tell his tale. There was silence in the grange of Isle Rugen while it -was being told, and even when it was ended for a space none spoke. But -Theresa smiled well pleased and said in her heart, "I thank God! My son -also shall meet Henry the Lion face to face and not be ashamed." - -After that they made their plans. - -"I will go," said Conrad, "for I have influence with my brother--or, if -not with him, at least with the folk of Courtland. We will stop this -heathenish abomination." - -"I will go," said Theresa, "because he is my son. God will show me a way -to help him." - -"We will all go," chorussed the captains; "that is--all save Werner----" - -"All except Boris----!" - -"All except Jorian----!" - -"Who will remain here on Isle Rugen with the Duchess Joan?" They looked -at each other as they spoke. - -"You need not trouble yourselves! I will not remain on Isle Rugen--not -an hour," said Joan. "Whoever stays, I go. Think you that I will permit -this man to die in my stead? We will all go to Courtland. We will tell -Prince Louis that I am no duchess, but only the sister of a duke. We -will prove to him that my father's bond of heritage-brotherhood is null -and void. And then we will see whether he is willing to turn the -princedom upside down for such a dowerless wife as I!" - -"For such a wife," thought Conrad, "I would turn the universe upside -down, though she stood in a beggar's kirtle!" - -But being loyally bound by his promise he said nothing. - -It was Theresa von Lynar who put the matter practically. - -"At a farm on the mainland, hidden among the salt marshes, there are -horses--those you brought with you and others. They are in waiting for -such an emergency. Max will bring them to the landing-place. Three or -four of your guard must accompany him. The rest will make ready, and at -the first hint of dawn we will set out. There is yet time to save my -son!" - -She added in her heart, "Or, if not, then to avenge him." - -Strangely enough, Theresa was the least downcast of the party. Death -seemed a thing so little to her, even so desirable, that though the -matter concerned her son's life, she commanded herself and laid her -plans as coolly as if she had been preparing a dinner in the grange of -Isle Rugen. - -But her heart was proud within her with a great pride. - -"He is Henry the Lion's son. He was born a duke. He has married a -princess. He has tasted love and known sacrifice. If he dies it will be -for the sake of his sister's honour. 'Tis no bad record for twenty -years. These things _he_ will count high above fame and length of days!" - - * * * * * - -The little company which set out from Isle Rugen to ride to Courtland -had no thought or intention of rescuing Maurice von Lynar by force of -arms. They knew their own impotence far too exactly. Yet each of the -leaders had a plan of action thought out, to be pursued when the city -was reached. - -If her renunciation of her dignities were laughed at, as she feared, -there was nothing for Joan but to deliver herself to Prince Louis. She -had resolved to promise to be his wife and princess in all that it -concerned the outer world to see. Their provinces would be united, -Kernsberg and Hohenstein delivered unconditionally into his hand. - -On his part, Werner von Orseln was prepared to point out to the Prince -of Courtland that with Joan as his wife and the armies and levies of -Hohenstein added to his own under the Sparhawk's leadership, he would be -in a position to do without the aid of the Prince of Muscovy altogether. -Further, that in case of attack from the north, not only Plassenburg and -the Mark, but all the Teutonic Bond must rally to his side. - -Boris and Jorian, being stout-hearted captains of men-at-arms, were -ready for anything. But though their swords were loosened in their -sheaths to be prepared for any assault, they were resolved also to give -what official dignity they could to their mission by a free use of the -names of their master and mistress, the Prince Hugo and Princess Helene -of Plassenburg. They were sorry now that they had left their -credentials behind them, at Kernsberg, but they meant to make confidence -and assured countenances go as far as they would. - -Conrad, who was intimately acquainted with the character of his brother, -and who knew how entirely he was under the dominion of Prince Ivan, had -resolved to use all powers, ecclesiastical and secular, which his -position as titular Prince of the Church put within his reach. To save -the Sparhawk from a bloody and disgraceful death he would invoke upon -Courtland even the dread curse of the Greater Excommunication. With his -faithful priests around him he would seek his brother, and, if -necessary, on the very execution place itself, or from the high altar of -the cathedral, pronounce the dread "Anathema sit." He knew his brother -well enough to be sure that this threat would shake his soul with -terror, and that such a curse laid on a city like Courtland, not too -subservient at any time, would provoke a rebellion which would shake the -power of princes far more securely seated than Prince Louis. - -The only one of the party wholly without a settled plan was the woman -most deeply interested. Theresa von Lynar simply rode to Courtland to -save her son or to die with him. She alone had no influence with Prince -Ivan, no weapon to use against him except her woman's wit. - -As the cavalcade rode on, though few, they made a not ungallant show. -For Theresa had clad Prince Conrad in a coat of mail which had once -belonged to Henry the Lion. Joan glittered by his side in a corselet of -steel rings, while Werner von Orseln and the two captains of Plassenburg -followed fully armed, their accoutrements shining with the burnishing of -many idle weeks. These, with the men-at-arms behind them, made up such -an equipage as few princes could ride abroad with. But to all of them -the journey was naught, a mere race against time--so neither horse nor -man was spared. And the two women held out best of all. - -But when in the morning light of the second day they came in sight of -Courtland, and saw on the green plain of the Alla a great concourse, it -did not need Alt Pikker's shout to urge them forward at a gallop, lest -after all they should arrive too late. - -"They have brought him out to die," cried Joan. "Ride, for the young -man's life!" - - - - -CHAPTER XLIV - -THE UKRAINE CROSS - - -Upon the green plain beside the Alla a great multitude was assembled. -They had come together to witness a sight never seen in Courtland -before--the dread punishment of the Ukraine Cross. It was to be done, -they said, upon the body of the handsome youth with whom the Princess -Margaret was secretly in love--some even whispered married to him. - -The townsfolk murmured among themselves. This was certainly the -beginning of the end. Who knew what would come next? If the barbarous -Muscovite punishments began in Courtland, it would end in all of them -being made slaves, liable at any moment to knout and plet. Ivan had -bewitched the Prince. That was clear, and for a certainty the Princess -Margaret wept night and day. In this fashion ran the bruit of that which -was to be. - -"Torn to pieces by wild horses!" It was a thing often talked about, but -one which none had seen in a civilised country for a thousand years. -Where was it to be done? It was shocking, terrible; but--it would be -worth seeing. So all the city went out, the men with weapons under their -cloaks pressing as near as the soldiers would allow them, while the -women, being more pitiful, stood afar off and wept into their -aprons--only putting aside the corners that they might see clearly and -miss nothing. - -At ten a great green square of riverside grass was held by the archers -of Courtland. The people extended as far back as the shrine of the -Virgin, where at the city entrance travellers are wont to give thanks -for a favourable journey. At eleven the lances of Prince Ivan's Cossacks -were seen topping the city wall. On the high bank of the Alla the people -were craning their necks and looking over each other's shoulders. - -The wild music of the Cossacks came nearer, each man with the butt of -his lance set upon his thigh, and the pennon of blue and white waving -above. Then a long pitying "A--a--h!" went up from the people. For now -the Sparhawk was in sight, and at the first glimpse of him they swayed -from the Riga Gate to the shrine of John Evangelist, like a willow copse -stricken by a squall from off the Baltic, so that it shows the -under-grey of its leaves. - -"The poor lad! So handsome, so young!" - -The first soft universal hush of pity broke presently into a myriad -exclamations of anger and deprecation. "How high he holds his head! See! -They have opened his shirt at the neck. Poor Princess, how she must love -him! His hands are tied behind his back. He rides in that jolting cart -as if he were a conqueror in a triumphal procession, instead of a victim -going to his doom." - -"Pity, pity that one so young should die such a death! They say she is -to be carried up to the top of the Castle wall that she may see. Ah, -here he comes! He is smiling! God forgive the butchers, who by strength -of brute beasts would tear asunder those comely limbs that are fitted to -be a woman's joy! Down with all false and cruel princes, say I! Nay, -mistress, I will not be silent. And there are many here who will back -me, if I be called in question. Who is the Muscovite, that he should -bring his abominations into Courtland? If I had my way, Prince -Conrad----" - -"Hush, hush! Here they come! Side by side, as usual, the devil and his -dupe. Aha! there is no sound of cheering! Let but a man shout, 'Long -live the Prince!' and I will slit his wizzand. I, Henry the -coppersmith, will do it! He shall sleep with pennies on his eyes this -night!" - -So through the lane by which the city gate communicated with the -tapestried stand set apart for the greater spectators, the Princes Louis -and Ivan, fool and knave, servant and master, took their way. And they -had scarce passed when the people, mutinous and muttering, surged black -behind the archers' guard. - -"Back there--stand back! Way for their Excellencies--way!" - -"Stand back yourselves," came the growling answer. "We be free men of -Courtland. You will find we are no Muscovite serfs, and that or the day -be done. Karl Wendelin, think shame--thou that art my sister's son--to -be aiding and abetting such heathen cruelty to a Christen man, all that -you may eat a great man's meat and wear a jerkin purfled with gold." - -Such cries and others worse pursued the Princes' train as it went. - -"Cossack--Cossack! You are no Courtlanders, you archers! Not a girl in -the city will look at you after this! Butchers' slaughtermen every one? -Whipped hounds that are afraid of ten score Muscovites! Down, dogs, -knock your foreheads on the ground! Here comes a Muscovite!" - - * * * * * - -Thus angrily ran taunt and jeer, till the Courtland guard, mostly young -fellows with relatives and sweethearts among the crowd, grew well-nigh -frantic with rage and shame. The rabble, which had hung on the Prince of -Muscovy so long as he scattered his largesse, had now wheeled about with -characteristic fickleness. - -"See yonder! What are they doing? Peter Altmaar, what are they doing? -Tell us, thou long man! Of what use is your great fathom of pump-water? -Can you do nothing for your meat but reach down black puddings from the -rafters?" - -At this all eyes turned to Peter, a lanky overgrown lad with a keen eye, -a weak mouth, and the gift of words. - -"Speak up, Peter! Aye, listen to Peter--a good lad, Peter, as ever was!" - -"Strong Jan the smith, take him up on your back so that he may see the -better!" - -"Hush, there! Stop that woman weeping. We cannot hear for her noise. She -says he is like her son, does she? Well then, there will be time enough -to weep for him afterwards." - -"They are bringing up four horses from the Muscovite camp. The folk are -getting as far off as they can from their heels," began Peter Altmaar, -looking under his hand over the people's heads. "Half a score of men are -at each brute's head. How they plunge! They will never stand still a -moment. Ah, they are tethering them to the great posts of stone in the -middle of the green square. Between, there is a table--no, a kind of -square wooden stand like a priest's platform in Lent when he tells us -our sins outside the church." - - * * * * * - -"The Princes are sitting their horses, watching. Bravo, that was well -done. We came near to seeing the colour of the Muscovite brains that -time. One of the wild horses spread his hoofs on either side of Prince -Ivan's head!" - -"God send him a better aim next time! Tell on, Peter! Aye, get on, good -Peter!" - -"The Princes have gone up into their balcony. They are laughing and -talking as if it were a raree-show!" - -"What of him, good Peter? How takes he all this?" - -"What of whom?" queried Peter, who, like all great talkers, was rapidly -growing testy under questioning. - -"There is but one 'he' to-day, man. The young lad, the Princess -Margaret's sweetheart." - -"They have brought him down from the cart. The Cossacks are close about -him. They have put all the Courtland men far back." - -[Illustration: "Maurice was set on high." [_Page 305_]] - -"Aye, aye; they dare not trust them. Oh, for an hour of Prince Conrad! -If we of the city trades had but a leader, this shame should not blot -our name throughout all Christendom! What now, Peter?" - -"The Muscovites are binding the lad to a wooden frame like the empty -lintels of a door. He stands erect, his hands in the corners above, and -his feet in the corners below. They have stripped him to the waist." - -"Hold me higher up, Jan the smith! I would see this out, that you may -tell your children and your children's children. Aye--ah, so it is. It -is true. Sainted Virgin! I can see his body white in the sunshine. It -shines slender as a peeled willow wand." - -Then the woman who had wept began again. Her wailing angered the people. - -"He is like my son--save him! He is the very make and image of my -Kaspar. Slender as a young willow, supple as an ash, eyes like the -berries of the sloe-thorn. Give me a sword! Give an old woman a sword, -and I will deliver him myself, for my Kaspar's sake. God's grace--Is -there never a man amongst you?" - -And as her voice rose into a shriek there ran through all the multitude -the strange shiver of fear with which a great crowd expects a horror. A -hush fell broad and equal as dew out of a clear sky. A mighty silence -lay on all the folk. Peter Altmaar's lips moved, but no sound came from -them. For now Maurice was set on high, so that all could see for -themselves. White against the sky of noon, making the cross of Saint -Andrew within the oblong framework to which he was lashed, they could -discern the slim body of the young man who was about to be torn in -sunder. The executioners held him up thus a minute or two for a -spectacle, and then, their arrangements completed, they lowered that -living crucifix till it lay flat upon its little platform, with the -limbs extended stark and tense towards the heels of the wild plunging -horses of the Ukraine. - -Then again the voice of Peter Altmaar was heard, now ringing false like -an untuned fiddle. "They are welding the manacles upon his ankles and -wrists. Listen to the strokes of the hammer." - -And in the hush which followed, faintly and musically they could hear -iron ring on iron, like anvil strokes in some village smithy heard in -the hush of a summer's afternoon. - -"Blessed Virgin! they are casting loose the horses! A Cossack with a -cruel whip stands by each to lash him to fury! They are slipping the -platform from under him. God in heaven! What is this?" - - * * * * * - -Hitherto the eyes of the great multitude, which on three sides -surrounded the place of execution, had been turned inward. But now with -one accord they were gazing, not on the terrible preparations which were -coming so near their bloody consummation, but over the green -tree-studded Alla meads towards a group of horsemen who were approaching -at a swift hand-gallop. - -Whereupon immediately Peter, the lank giant, was in greater request than -ever. - -"What do they look at, good Peter--tell us quickly? Will the horses not -pull? Will the irons not hold? Have the ropes broken? Is it a miracle? -Is it a rescue? Thunder-weather, man! Do not stand and gape. Speak--tell -us what you see, or we will prod you behind with our daggers!" - -"Half a dozen riding fast towards the Princes' stand, and holding up -their hands--nay, there are a dozen. The Princes are standing up to -look. The men have stopped casting loose the wild horses. The man on the -frame is lying very still, but the chains from his ankles and arms are -not yet fastened to the traces." - -"Go on, Peter! How slow you are, Peter! Stupid Peter!" - -"There is a woman among those who ride--no, two of them! They are -getting near the skirts of the crowd. Men are shouting and throwing up -their hands in the air. I cannot tell what for. The soldiers have their -hats on the tops of their pikes. They, too, are shouting!" - -As Peter paused the confused noise of a multitude crying out, every man -for himself, was borne across the crowd on the wind. As when a great -stone is cast into a little hill-set tarn, and the wavelet runs round, -swamping the margin's pebbles and swaying the reeds, so there ran a -shiver, and then a mighty tidal wave of excitement through all that ring -which surrounded the crucified man, the deadly platform, and the -tethered horses. - -Men shouted sympathetically without knowing why, and the noise they made -was half a suppressed groan, so eager were they to take part in that -which should be done next. They thrust their womenkind behind them, -shouldering their way into the thick of the press that they might see -the more clearly. Instinctively every weaponed man fingered that which -he chanced to carry. Yet none in all that mighty assembly had the least -conception of what was really about to happen. - -By this time there was no more need of Peter Altmaar. The ring was -rapidly closing now all about, save upon the meadow side, where a lane -was kept open. Through this living alley came a knight and a lady--the -latter in riding habit and broad velvet cap, the knight with his visor -up, but armed from head to foot, a dozen squires and men-at-arms -following in a compact little cloud; and as they came they were greeted -with the enthusiastic acclaim of all that mighty concourse. - -About them eddied the people, overflowing and sweeping away the -Cossacks, carrying the Courtland archers with them in a mad frenzy of -fraternisation. In the stand above Prince Louis could be seen shrilling -commands, yet dumb show was all he could achieve, so universal the -clamour beneath him. But the Princess Margaret heard the shouting and -her heart leaped. - -"Prince Conrad--our own Prince Conrad, he has come back, our true -Prince? We knew he was no priest! Courtland for ever! Down with Louis -of the craven heart! Down with the Muscovite! The young man shall not -die! The Princess shall have her sweetheart!" - -And as soon as the cavalcade had come within the square the living wave -broke black over all. The riders could not dismount, so thick the press. -The halters of the wild horses were cut, and right speedily they made a -way for themselves, the people falling back and closing again so soon as -they had passed out across the plain with necks arched to their knees -and a wild flourish of unanimous hoofs. - -Then the cries began again. Swords and bare fists were shaken at the -grand stand, where, white as death, Prince Louis still kept his place. - -"Prince Conrad and the Lady Joan!" - -"Kill the Muscovite, the torturer!" - -"Death to Prince Louis, the traitor and coward!" - -"We will save the lad alive!" - -About the centre platform whereon the living cross was extended the -crush grew first oppressive and then dangerous. - -"Back there--you are killing him! Back, I say!" - -Then strong men took staves and halberts out of the hands of dazed -soldiermen, and by force of brawny arms and sharp pricking steel pressed -the people back breast high. The smiths who had riveted the wristlets -and ankle-rings were already busy with their files. The lashings were -cast loose from the frames. A hundred palms chafed the white swollen -limbs. A burgher back in the crowd slipped his cloak. It was passed -overhead on a thousand eager hands and thrown across the young man's -body. - -At last all was done, and dazed and blinded, but unshaken in his soul, -Maurice von Lynar stood totteringly upon his feet. - -"Lift him up! Lift him up! Let us see him! If he be dead, we will slay -Prince Louis and crucify the Muscovite in his place!" - -"Bah!" another would cry, "Louis is no longer ruler! Conrad is the true -Prince!" - -"Down with the Russ, the Cossack! Where are they? Pursue them! Kill -them!" - - * * * * * - -So ran the fierce shouts, and as the rescuers raised the Sparhawk high -on their plaited hands that all men might see, on the far skirts of the -crowd Ivan of Muscovy, with a bitter smile on his face, gathered -together his scattered horsemen. One by one they had struggled out of -the press while all men's eyes were fixed upon the vivid centrepiece of -that mighty whirlpool. - -"Set Prince Louis in your midst and ride for your lives!" he cried. "To -the frontier, where bides the army of the Czar!" - -With a flash of pennons and a tossing of horses' heads they obeyed, but -Prince Ivan himself paused upon the top of a little swelling rise and -looked back towards the Alla bank. - -The delivered prisoner was being held high upon men's arms. The -burgher's cloak was wrapped about him like a royal robe. - -Prince Ivan gnashed his teeth in impotent anger. - -"It is your day. Make the most of it," he muttered. "In three weeks I -will come back! And then, by Michael the Archangel, I will crucify one -of you at every street corner and cross-road through all the land of -Courtland! And that which I would have done to my lady's lover shall not -be named beside that which I shall yet do to those who rescued him!" - -And he turned and rode after his men, in the midst of whom was Prince -Louis, his head twisted in fear and apprehension over his shoulder, and -his slack hands scarce able to hold the reins. - -After this manner was the Sparhawk brought out from the jaws of death, -and thus came Joan of the Sword Hand the second time to Courtland. - -But the end was not yet. - - - - -CHAPTER XLV - -THE TRUTH-SPEAKING OF BORIS AND JORIAN - - -This is the report verbal of Captains Boris and Jorian, which they gave -in face of their sovereigns in the garden pleasaunce of the palace of -Plassenburg. Hugo and Helene sat at opposite ends of a seat of twisted -branches. Hugo crossed his legs and whistled low with his thumbs in the -slashing of his doublet, a habit of which Helene had long striven in -vain to cure him. The Princess was busy broidering the coronated double -eagle of a new banner, but occasionally she raised her eyes to where on -the green slope beneath, under the wing of a sage woman of experience, -the youthful hope of Plassenburg led his mimic armies to battle against -the lilies by the orchard wall, or laid lance in rest to storm the too -easy fortress of his nurse's lap. - -"Boris," whispered Jorian, "remember! Do not lie, Boris. 'Tis too -dangerous. You remember the last time?" - -"Aye," growled Boris. "I have good cause to remember! What a liar our -Hugo must have been in his time, so readily to suspect two honest -soldiers!" - -"Speak out your minds, good lads!" said Hugo, leaning a little further -back. - -"Aye, tell us all," assented Helene, pausing to shake her head at the -antics of the young Prince Karl; "tell us how you delivered the -Sparhawk, as you call him, the officer of the Duchess Joan!" - -So Boris saluted and began. - -"The tale is a long one, Prince and Princess," he said. "Of our many -and difficult endeavours to keep the peace and prevent quarrelling I -will say nothing----" - -"Better so!" interjected Hugo, with a gleam in his eye. Jorian coughed -and growled to himself, "That long fool will make a mess of it!" - -"I will pass on to our entry into Courtland. It was like the home-coming -of a long-lost true prince. There was no fighting--alack, not so much as -a stroke after all that pother of shouting!" - -"Boris!" said the Princess warningly. - -"Give him rope!" muttered Prince Hugo. "He will tangle himself rarely or -all be done!" - -"I mean by the blessing of Heaven there was no bloodshed," Boris -corrected himself. "There was, as I say, no fighting. There was none to -fight with. Prince Louis had not a friend in his own capital city, -saving the Muscovite. And at that moment Prince Ivan the Wasp was glad -enough to win clear off to the frontier with his Cossacks at his tail. -It was a God's pity we could not ride them down. But though Jorian and I -did all that men could----" - -"Ahem!" said Jorian, as if a fly had flown into his mouth and tickled -his throat. - -"I mean, your Highnesses, we did whatever men could to keep the populace -within bounds. But they broke through and leaped upon us, throwing their -arms about our horses' necks, crying out, 'Our saviours!' 'Our -deliverers!' God wot, we might as well have tried to charge through the -billows of the Baltic when it blows a norther right from the Gulf of -Bothnia! But it almost broke my heart to see them ride off with never so -much as a spear thrust through one single Muscovite belly-band!" - -Here Jorian had a fit of coughing which caused the Princess to look -severely upon him. Boris, recalled to himself, proceeded more carefully. - -"It was all we could do to open up a way to where the young man Maurice -lay stretched on the Cross of Death. They had loosed the wild horses -before we arrived, and these had galloped off after their companions. A -pity! Oh, a great pity! - -"Then came the young man's mother near, she who was our hostess at Isle -Rugen----" - -"Why did you not abide at Kernsberg as you were instructed?" put in Hugo -at this point. - -"Never mind--go on--tell the tale!" cried Helene, who was listening -breathlessly. - -"We thought it our duty to accompany the Duchess Joan," said Boris, -deftly enough; "where the king is, there is the court!" - -And at this point the two captains saluted very dutifully and -respectfully, like machines moved by one spring. - -"Well said for once, thou overly long one," growled Jorian under his -breath. - -"Go on!" commanded Helene. - -"The young man's mother came near and threw a cloak across his naked -body. Then Jorian and I unbound him and chafed his limbs, first removing -the gag from his mouth; but so tightly had the cords been bound about -him that for long he could not stand upright. Then, from the royal -pavilion, where she had been brought for cruel sport to see the death, -the Princess Margaret came running----" - -"Oh, wickedness!" cried Helene, "to make her look on at her lover's -death!" - -"She came furiously, though a dainty princess, thrusting strong men -aside. 'Way there!' she cried, 'on your lives make way! I will go to -him. I am the Princess Margaret. Give me a dagger and I will prick me a -way.'" - -"And, by Saint Stephen the holy martyr--if she did not snatch a bodkin -from the belt of a tailor in the High Street and with it open up her way -as featly as though she were handling a Cossack lance." - -"And what happened when she got to him--when she found her husband?" -cried Helene, her eyes sparkling. And she put out a hand to touch her -own, just to be sure that he was there. - -"Truth, a very wondrous thing happened!" said Jorian, whose fingers also -had been twitching, "a mightily wondrous thing. Thus it was----" - -"Hold your tongue, sausage-bag!" growled Boris, very low; "who tells -this tale, you or I?" - -"Get on, then," answered in like fashion Captain Jorian, "you are as -long-winded and wheezy as a smith's bellows!" - -"Yes, a strange thing it was. I was standing by Maurice von Lynar, -undoing the cord from his neck. His mother was chafing an arm. The Lady -Joan was bending to speak softly to him, for she had dismounted from her -horse, when, all in the snapping of a twig, the Princess Margaret came -bursting through the ring which Jorian and the Kernsbergers were keeping -with their lance-butts. She thrust us all aside. By my faith, me she -sent spinning like the young Prince's top there!" - -"God save his Excellency!" quoth Jorian, not to be left out entirely. - -"Silence!" cried Helene, with an imperious stamp of her little foot; -"and do you, Boris, tell the tale without comparisons. What happened -then?" - -"Only the boy's mother kept her ground! She went on chafing his arm -without so much as raising her eyes." - -"Did the Princess serve Joan of the Sword Hand as she served you?" -interposed Hugo. - -"Marry, worse!" cried Boris, growing excited for the first time. "She -thrust her aside like a kitchen wench, and our lady took it as meekly -as--as----" - -"Go on! Did I not tell you to spare us your comparatives?" cried Helene -the Princess, letting her broidery slip to the ground in her consuming -interest. - -"Well," said Boris, quickly sobered, "it was in truth a mighty quaint -thing to see. The Princess Margaret took the young man in her arms and -caught him to her. The Lady Theresa kept hold of his wrist. They looked -at each other a moment without speech, eye countering eye like knights -at a----" - -"Go on!" the Princess thundered, if indeed a silvern voice can be said -to thunder. - -"'Give him up to me! He is mine!' cried the Princess. - -"'He is mine!' answered very haughtily the lady of the Isle Rugen--'Who -are you?' 'And you?' cried both at once, flinging their heads back, but -never for a moment letting go with their hands. The youth, being dazed, -said nothing, nor so much as moved. - -"'I am his mother!' said the Lady Theresa, speaking first. - -"'I am his wife!' said the Princess. - -"Then the woman who had borne the young man gave him into his wife's -arms without a word, and the Princess gathered him to her bosom and -crooned over him, that being her right. But his mother stepped back -among the crowd and drew the hood of her cloak over her head that no man -might look upon her face." - -"Bravo!" cried Helene, clapping her hands, "it was her right!" - -"Little one," said her husband, pointing to the boy on the terrace -beneath, who was lashing a toy horse of wood with all his baby might, "I -wonder if you will think so when another woman takes _him_ from you!" - -The Princess Helene caught her breath sharply. - -"That would be different!" she said, "yes, very different!" - -"Ah!" said Hugo the Prince, her husband. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVI - -THE FEAR THAT IS IN LOVE - - -Thus the climax came about in the twinkling of an eye, but the universal -turmoil and wild jubilation in which Prince Louis's power and government -were swept away had really been preparing for years, though the end fell -sharp as the thunderclap that breaks the weather after a season of -parching heat. - -For all that the trouble was only deferred, not removed. The cruel death -of Maurice von Lynar had been rendered impossible by the opportune -arrival of Prince Conrad and the sudden revolution which the sight of -his noble and beloved form, clad in armour, produced among the disgusted -and impulsive Courtlanders. - -Yet the arch-foe had only recoiled in order that he might the further -leap. The great army of the White Czar was encamped just across the -frontier, nominally on the march to Poland, but capable of being in a -moment diverted upon the Princedom of Courtland. Here was a pretext of -invasion ripe to Prince Ivan's hand. So he kept Louis, the dethroned and -extruded prince, close beside him. He urged his father, by every tie of -friendship and interest, to replace that prince upon his throne. And the -Czar Paul, well knowing that the restoration of Louis meant nothing less -than the incorporation of Courtland with his empire, hastened to carry -out his son's advice. - -In Courtland itself there was no confusion. A certain grim determination -took possession of the people. They had made their choice, and they -would abide by it. They had chosen Conrad to be their ruler, as he had -long been their only hope; and they knew that now Louis was for ever -impossible, save as a cloak for a Muscovite dominion. - -It had been the first act of Conrad to summon to him all the archpriests -and heads of chapels and monasteries by virtue of his office as -Cardinal-Archbishop. He represented to them the imminent danger to Holy -Church of yielding to the domination of the Greek heretic. Whoever might -be spared, the Muscovite would assuredly make an end of them. He -promised absolution from the Holy Father to all who would assist in -bulwarking religion and the Church of Peter against invasion and -destruction. He himself would for the time being lay aside his office -and fight as a soldier in the sacred war which was before them. Every -consideration must give way to that. Then he would lay the whole matter -at the feet of the Holy Father in Rome. - -So throughout every town and village in Courtland the war of the Faith -was preached. No presbytery but became a recruiting office. Every pulpit -was a trumpet proclaiming a righteous war. There was to be no salvation -for any Courtlander save in defending his faith and country. It was -agreed by all that there was no hope save in the blessed rule of Prince -Conrad, at once worthy Prince of the Blood, Prince of Holy Church, and -defender of our blessed religion. Prince Louis was a deserter and a -heretic. The Pope would depose him, even as (most likely) he had cursed -him already. - -So, thus encouraged, the country rose behind the retiring Muscovite, and -Prince Louis was conducted across the boundary of his princedom under -the bitter thunder of cannon and the hiss of Courtland arrows. And the -craven trembled as he listened to the shouted maledictions of his own -people, and begged for a common coat, lest his archer guard should -distinguish their late Prince and wing their clothyard shafts at him as -he cowered a little behind Prince Ivan's shoulder. - -Meanwhile Joan, casting aside with an exultant leap of the heart her -intent to make of herself an obedient wife, rode back to Kernsberg in -order to organise all the forces there to meet the common foe. It was to -be the last fight of the Teuton Northland for freedom and faith. - -The Muscovite does not go back, and if Courtland were conquered -Kernsberg could not long stand. To Plassenburg (as we have seen) rode -Boris and Jorian to plead for help from their Prince and Princess. -Dessauer had already preceded them, and the armies, disciplined and -equipped by Prince Karl, were already on the march to defend their -frontiers--it might be to go farther and fight shoulder to shoulder with -Courtland and Kernsberg against the common foe. - -And if all this did not happen, it would not be the fault of those -honest soldiers and admirable diplomatists, Captains Boris and Jorian, -captains of the Palace Guard of Plassenburg. - - * * * * * - -The presence of Prince Conrad in the city of Courtland seemed to change -entirely the character of the people. From being somewhat frivolous they -became at once devoted to the severest military discipline. Nothing was -heard but words of command and the ordered tramp of marching feet. The -country barons and knights brought in their forces, and their tents, all -gay with banners and fluttering pennons, stretched white along the Alla -for a mile or more. - -The word was on every lip, "When will they come?" - -For already the Muscovite allies of Prince Louis had crossed the -frontier and were moving towards Courtland, destroying everything in -their track. - -The day after the deliverance of the Sparhawk, Joan had announced her -intention of riding on the morrow to Kernsberg. Maurice von Lynar and -Von Orseln would accompany her. - -"Then," cried Margaret instantly, "I will go, too!" - -"The ride would be over toilsome for you," said Joan, pausing to touch -her friend's hair as she looked forth from the window of the Castle of -Courtland at the Sparhawk ordering about a company of stout countrymen -in the courtyard beneath. - -"I _will_ go!" said Margaret wilfully. "I shall never let him out of my -sight again!" - -"We shall be back within the week! You will be both safer and more -comfortable here!" - -The Princess Margaret withdrew her head from the open window, -momentarily losing sight of her husband and, in so doing, making vain -her last words. - -"Ah, Joan," she said reproachfully, "you are wise and strong--there is -no one like you. But you do not know what it is to be married. You never -were in love. How, then, can you understand the feelings of a wife?" - -She looked out of the window again and waved a kerchief. - -"Oh, Joan," she looked back again with a mournful countenance, "I do -believe that Maurice does not love me as I love him. He never took the -least notice of me when I waved to him!" - -"How could he," demanded Joan, the soldier's daughter, sharply, "he was -on duty?" - -"Well," answered Margaret, still resentful and unconsoled, "he would not -have done that _before_ we were married! And it is only the first day we -have been together, too, since--since----" - -And she buried her head in her kerchief. - -Joan looked at the Princess a moment with a tender smile. Then she gave -a little sigh and went over to her friend. She laid her hand on her -shoulder and knelt down beside her. - -"Margaret," she whispered, "you used to be so brave. When I was here, -and had to fight the Sparhawk's battles with Prince Wasp, you were as -headstrong as any young squire desiring to win his spurs. You wished to -see us fight, do you remember?" - -The Princess took one corner of her white and dainty kerchief away from -her eyes in order to look yet more reproachfully at her friend. - -"Ah," she said, "that shows! Of course, I knew. You were not _he_, you -see; I knew that in a moment." - -Joan restrained a smile. She did not remind her friend that then she had -never seen "him." The Princess Margaret went on. - -"Joan," she cried suddenly, "I wish to ask you something!" - -She clasped her hands with a sweet petitionary grace. - -"Say on, little one!" said Joan smiling. - -"There will be a battle, Joan, will there not?" - -Joan of the Sword Hand nodded. She took a long breath and drew her head -further back. Margaret noted the action. - -"It is very well for you, Joan," she said; "I know you are more than -half a man. Every one says so. And then you do not love any one, and you -like fighting. But--you may laugh if you will--I am not going to let my -husband fight. I want you to let him go to Plassenburg till it is over!" - -Joan laughed aloud. - -"And you?" she said, still smiling good-naturedly. - -It was now Margaret's turn to draw herself up. - -"You are not kind!" she said. "I am asking you a favour for my husband, -not for myself. Of course I should accompany him! _I_ at least am free -to come and go!" - -"My dear, my dear," said Joan gently, "you are at liberty to propose -this to your husband! If he comes and asks me, he shall not lack -permission." - -"You mean he would not go to Plassenburg even if I asked him?" - -"I know he would not--he, the bravest soldier, the best knight----" - -There came a knocking at the door. - -"Enter!" cried Joan imperiously, yet not a little glad of the -interruption. - -Werner von Orseln stood in the portal. Joan waited for him to speak. - -"My lady," he said, "will you bid the Count von Löen leave his work and -take some rest and sustenance. He thinks of nothing but his drill." - -"Oh, yes, he does," cried the Princess Margaret; "how dare you say it, -fellow! He thinks of me! Why, even now----" - -She looked once more out of the window, a smile upon her face. Instantly -she drew in her head again and sprang to her feet. - -"Oh, he is gone! I cannot see him anywhere!" she cried, "and I never so -much as heard them go! Joan, I am going to find him. He should not have -gone away without bidding me goodbye! It was cruel!" - -She flashed out of the room, and without waiting for tiring maid or -coverture, she ran downstairs, dressed as she was in her light summer -attire. - -Joan stood a moment silent, looking after her with eyes in which flashed -a tender light. Werner von Orseln smiled broadly--the dry smile of an -ancient war-captain who puts no bounds to the vagaries of women. It was -an experienced smile. - -"'Tis well for Kernsberg, my lady," said Werner grimly, "that you are -not the Princess Margaret." - -"And why!" said Joan a little haughtily. For she did not like Conrad's -sister to be treated lightly even by her chief captain. - -"Ah, love--love," said Werner, nodding his head sententiously. "It is -well, my lady, that I ever trained you up to care for none of these -things. Teach a maid to fence, and her honour needs no champion. Give -her sword-cunning and you keep her from making a fool of herself about -the first man who crosses her path. Strengthen her wrist, teach her to -lunge and parry, and you strengthen her head. But you do credit to -_your_ instructor. You have never troubled about the follies of love. -Therefore are you our own Joan of the Sword Hand!" - -Joan sighed another sigh, very softly this time, and her eyes, being -turned away from Von Orseln, were soft and indefinitely hazy. - -"Yes," she answered, "I am Joan of the Sword Hand, and I never think of -these things!" - -"Of course not," he cried cheerfully; "why should you? Ah, if only the -Princess Margaret had had an ancient Werner von Orseln to teach her how -to drill a hole in a fluttering jackanapes! Then we would have had less -of this meauling apron-string business!" - -"Silence," said Joan quickly. "She is here." - -And the Princess came running in with joy in her face. Instinctively -Werner drew back into the shadow of the window curtain, and the smile on -his face grew more grimly experienced than ever. - -"Oh, Joan," cried the Princess breathlessly, "he had not really gone off -without bidding me goodbye. You remember I said that I could not believe -it of him, and you see I was right. One cannot be mistaken about one's -husband!" - -"No?" said Joan interrogatively. - -"Never--so long as he loves you, that is!" said Margaret, breathless -with her haste; "but when you really love any one, you cannot help -getting anxious about them. And then Ivan or Louis might have sent some -one to carry him off again to tear him to pieces. Oh, Joan, you cannot -know all I suffered. You must be patient with me. I think it was seeing -him bound and about to die that has made me like this!" - -"Margaret!" - -Joan went quickly towards her friend, touched with compunction for her -lack of sympathy, and resolved to comfort her if she could. It was true, -after all, that while she and Conrad had been happy together on Isle -Rugen, this girl had been suffering. - -Margaret came towards her, smiling through her tears. - -"But I have thought of something," she said, brightening still more; -"such a splendid plan. I know Maurice would not want to go away when -there was fighting--though I believe, if I had him by himself for an -hour, I could persuade him even to that, for my sake." - -A stifled grunt came from behind the curtains, which represented the -injury done to the feelings of Werner von Orseln by such unworthy -sentiments. - -The Princess looked over in the direction of the sound, but could see -nothing. Joan moved quietly round, so that her friend's back was towards -the window, behind the curtains of which stood the war captain. - -"This is my thought," the Princess went on more calmly. "Do you, Joan, -send Maurice on an embassy to Plassenburg till this trouble is over. -Then he will be safe. I will find means of keeping him there----" - -A stifled groan of rage came from the window. Margaret turned sharply -about. - -"What is that?" she cried, taking hold of her skirts, as the habit of -women is. - -"Some one without in the courtyard," said Joan hastily; "a dog, a cat, a -rat in the wainscot--anything!" - -"It sounded like something," answered the Princess, "but surely not like -anything! Let us look." - -"Margaret," said Joan, gently taking her by the arm and walking with her -towards the door, "Maurice von Lynar is a soldier and a soldier's son. -You would break his heart if you took him away from his duty. He would -not love you the same; you would not love him the same." - -"Oh, yes, I would," said Margaret, showing signs that her sorrow might -break out afresh. "I would love him more for taking care of his life for -my sake!" - -"You know you would not, Margaret," Joan persisted. "No woman can truly -and fully love a man whom she is not proud of." - -[Illustration: "Joan indignantly drew the curtain aside." [_Page 323_]] - -"Oh, that is before they are married!" cried the Princess indignantly. -"Afterwards it is different. You find out things then--and love them all -the same. But, of course, how should I expect you to help me? You have -never loved; you do not understand!" And, without another word, Margaret -of Courtland, who had once been so heart-free and _débonnaire_, went out -sobbing like a fretted child. Hardly had the door closed upon her when -the sound of stifled laughter broke from the window-seat. Joan -indignantly drew the curtains aside and revealed Werner von Orseln -shaking all over and vainly striving to govern his mirth with his hands -pressed against his sides. - -At sight of the face of his mistress, which was very grave, and even -stern, his laughter instantly shut itself off. As it seemed, with a -single movement, he raised himself to his feet and saluted. Joan stood -looking at him a moment without speech. - -"Your mirth is exceedingly ill-timed," she said slowly. "On a future -occasion, pray remember that the Lady Margaret is a Princess and my -friend. You can go! We ride out to-morrow morning at five. See that -everything is arranged." - -Once more Von Orseln saluted, with a face expressionless as a stone. He -marched to the door, turned and saluted a third time, and with heavy -footsteps descended the stairs communing with himself as he went. - -"That was salt, Werner. Faith, but she gave you the back of the -sword-hand that time, old kerl! Yet, 'twas most wondrous humorsome. Ha! -ha! But I must not laugh--at least, not here, for if she catches me the -Kernsbergers will want a new chief captain. Ha! ha! No, I will not -laugh. Werner, you old fool, be quiet! God's grace, but she looked right -royal! It is worth a dressing down to see her in a rage. Faith, I would -rather face a regiment of Muscovites single-handed than cross our Joan -in one of her tantrums!" - -He was now at the outer door. Prince Conrad was dismounting. The two men -saluted each other. - -"Is the Duchess Joan within?" said Conrad, concealing his eagerness -under the hauteur natural to a Prince. - -"I have just left her!" answered the chief captain. - -Without a word Conrad sprang up the steps three at a time. Werner turned -about and watched the young man's firm lithe figure till it had -disappeared. - -"Faith of Saint Anthony!" he murmured, "I am right glad our lady cares -not for love. If she did, and if you had not been a priest--well, there -might have been trouble." - - - - -CHAPTER XLVII - -THE BROKEN BOND - - -Above, in the dusky light of the upper hall, Conrad and Joan stood -holding each other's hands. It was the first time they had been alone -together since the day on which they had walked along the sand-dunes of -Rugen. - -Since then they seemed to have grown inexplicably closer together. To -Joan, Conrad now seemed much more her own--the man who loved her, whom -she loved--than he had been on the Island. To watch day by day for his -passing in martial attire brought back the knight of the tournament -whose white plume she had seen storm through the lists on the day when, -a slim secretary, she had stood with beating heart and shining eyes -behind the chair of Leopold von Dessauer, Ambassador of Plassenburg. - -For almost five minutes they stood thus without speech; then Joan drew -away her hands. - -"You forget," she said smiling, "that was forbidden in the bond." - -"My lady," he said, "was not the bond for Isle Rugen alone? Here we are -comrades in the strife. We must save our fatherland. I have laid aside -my priesthood. If I live, I shall appeal to the Holy Father to loose me -wholly from my vows." - -Smilingly she put his eager argument by. - -"It was of another vow I spoke. I am not the Holy Father, and for this I -will not give you absolution. We are comrades, it is true--that and no -more! To-morrow I ride to Kernsberg, where I will muster every man, -call down the shepherds from the hills, and be back with you by the Alla -before the Muscovite can attack you. I, Joan of the Sword Hand, promise -it!" - -She stamped her foot, half in earnest and half in mockery of the -sonorous name by which she was known. - -"I would rather you were Joan of the Grange at Isle Rugen, and I your -jerkined servitor, cleaving the wood that you might bake the bread." - -"Conrad," said Joan, shaking her head wistfully, "such thoughts are not -wise for you and me to harbour. I may indeed be no duchess and you no -prince, but we must stand to our dignities now when the enemy threatens -and the people need us. Afterwards, an it like us, we may step down -together. But, indeed, I need not to argue, for I think better of you, -my comrade, than to suppose you would ever imagine anything else." - -"Joan," said Conrad very gravely, "do not fear for me. I have turned -once for all from a career I never chose. Death alone shall turn me back -this time." - -"I know it," she answered; "I never doubted it. But what shall we do -with this poor lovesick bride of ours?" - -And she told him of her interview that morning with his sister. Conrad -laughed gently, yet with sympathy; Margaret had always been his "little -girl," and her very petulances were dear to him. - -"It had been well if she would have consented to remain here," he said; -"and yet I do not know. She is not built for rough weather, our -Gretchen. We are near the enemy, and many things may happen. Our -soldiers are mostly levies in Courtland, and the land has been long at -peace. The burghers and country folk are willing enough, but--well, -perhaps she will be better with you." - -"She swears she will not go without her husband," said Joan. "Yet he -ought to remain with you. I do not need him; Werner will be enough." - -"Leave me Von Orseln, and do you take the young man," said Conrad; -"then Margaret will go with you willingly and gladly." - -"But she will want to return--that is, if Maurice comes, too." - -"Isle Rugen?" suggested Conrad, smilingly. "Send your ten men who know -the road. If they could carry off Joan of the Sword Hand, they should -have no difficulty with little Margaret of Courtland." - -Joan clapped her hands with pleasure and relief, all unconscious that -immediately behind her Margaret had entered softly and now stood -arrested by the sound of her own name. - -"Oh, they will have no trouble, will they not?" she said in her own -heart, and smiled. "Isle Rugen? Thank you, my very dear brother and -sister. You would get rid of me, separate me from Maurice while he is -fighting for your precious princedoms. What is a country in comparison -with a husband? I would not care a doit which country I belonged to, so -long as I had Maurice with me!" - -A moment or two Conrad and Joan discussed the details of the capture, -while more softly than before Margaret retired to the door. She would -have slipped out altogether but that something happened just then which -froze her to the spot. - -A trumpet blew without--once, twice, and thrice, in short and stirring -blasts. Hardly had the echoes died away when she heard her brother say, -"Adieu, best-beloved! It is the signal that tells me that Prince Ivan is -within a day's march of Courtland. I bid you goodbye, and if--if we -should never meet again, do not forget that I loved you--loved you as -none else could love!" - -He held out his hand. Joan stood rooted to the spot, her lips moving, -but no words coming forth. Then Margaret heard a hoarse cry break from -her who had contemned love. - -"I cannot let you go thus!" she cried. "I cannot keep the vow! It is too -hard for me! Conrad!--I am but a weak woman after all!" - -And in a moment the Princess Margaret saw Joan the cold, Joan of the -Sword Hand, Joan Duchess of Kernsberg and Hohenstein, in the arms of her -brother. - -Whereupon, not being of set purpose an eavesdropper, Margaret went out -and shut the door softly. The lovers had neither heard her come nor go. -And the wife of Maurice von Lynar was smiling very sweetly as she went, -but in her eyes lurked mischief. - -Conrad descended the stair from the apartments of the Duchess Joan, -divided between the certainty that his lips had tasted the unutterable -joy and the fear lest his soul had sinned the unpardonable sin. - -A moment Joan steadied herself by the window, with her hand to her -breast as if to still the flying pulses of her heart. She took a step -forward that she might look once more upon him ere he went. But, -changing her purpose in the very act, she turned about and found herself -face to face with the Princess Margaret, who was still smiling subtly. - -"You have granted my request?" she said softly. - -Joan commanded herself with difficulty. - -"What request?" she asked, for she indeed had forgotten. - -"That Maurice and I should first go with you to Kernsberg and afterwards -to Plassenburg." - -"Let me think--let me think--give me time!" said Joan, sinking into a -chair and looking straight before her. The world was suddenly filled -with whirling vapour and her brain turned with it. - -"I am in the midst of troubles. I know not what to do!" she murmured. - -"Ah, it was quieter at Isle Rugen, was it not?" suggested Margaret, who -had not forgiven the project of kidnapping her and carrying her off from -her husband. - -But Joan was thinking too deeply to answer or even to notice any taunt. - -"I cannot go," she murmured, thinking aloud. "I cannot ride to Kernsberg -and leave him in the front of danger!" - -"A woman's place is at home!" said Margaret in a low tone, maliciously -quoting Joan's words. - -"He must not fight this battle alone. Perhaps I shall never see him -again!" - -"A man must not be hampered by affection in the hour of danger!" - -At this point Joan looked down upon Margaret as she might have done at a -puppy that worried a stick to attract her attention. - -"Do you know," she said, "that Prince Ivan and his Muscovites are within -a day's march of Courtland, and that Prince Conrad has already gone -forth to meet them?" - -"What!" cried Margaret, "within a day's march of the city? I must go and -find my husband." - -"Wait!" said Joan. "I see my way. Your husband shall come hither." - -She went to the door and clapped her hands. An attendant appeared, one -of the faithful Kernsberg ten to whom so much had been committed upon -the Isle Rugen. - -"Send hither instantly Werner von Orseln, Alt Pikker, and the Count von -Löen!" - -She waited with the latch of the door in her hand till she heard their -footsteps upon the stair. They entered together and saluted. Margaret -moved instinctively nearer to her husband. Indeed, only the feeling that -the moment was a critical one kept her from running at once to him. As -for Maurice, he had not yet grown ashamed of his wife's open -manifestations of affection. - -"Gentlemen," said Joan, "the enemy is at the gate of the city. We shall -need every man. Who will ride to Kernsberg and bring back succour?" - -"Alt Pikker will go!" said Maurice instantly; "he is in charge of the -levies!" - -"The Count von Löen is young. He will ride fastest!" said the chief -captain. - -"Werner von Orseln, of course!" said Alt Pikker, "he is in chief -command." - -"What? You do not wish to go?" said Joan a little haughtily, looking -from one to the other of them. It was Werner von Orseln who answered. - -"Your Highness," he said respectfully, "if the enemy be so near, and a -battle imminent, the man is no soldier who would willingly be absent. -But we are your servants. Choose you one to go; or, if it seem good to -you, more than one. Bid us go, and on our heads it shall be to escort -you safely to Kernsberg and bring back reinforcements." - -The Princess came closer to Joan and slipped a hand into hers. The witty -wrinkle at the corner of Werner von Orseln's mouth twitched. - -"Von Lynar shall go!" said Joan. - -Whereat Maurice held down his head, Margaret clapped her hands, and the -other two stood stolidly awaiting instructions, as became their -position. - -"At what hour shall I depart, my lady?" said Maurice. - -"Now! So soon as you can get the horses ready?" - -"But your Grace must have time to make her preparations!" - -"I am not going to Kernsberg. I stay here!" said Joan, stating a fact. - -Werner von Orseln was just going out of the door, jubilantly confiding -to Alt Pikker that as soon as he saw the Princess put her hand in their -lady's he knew they were safe. At the sound of Joan's words he was -startled into crying out loudly, "What?" At the same time he faced about -with the frown on his face which he wore when he corrected an -irregularity in the ranks. - -"I am not going to Kernsberg. I bide here!" Joan repeated calmly. "Have -you anything to say to that, Chief Captain von Orseln?" - -"But, my lady----" - -"There are no buts in the matter. Go to your quarters and see that the -arms and armour are all in good case!" - -"Madam, the arms and armour are always in good case," said Werner, with -dignity; "but go to Kernsberg you must. The enemy is near to the city, -and your Highness might fall into their hands." - -"You have heard what I have said!" Joan tapped the oaken floor with her -foot. - -"But, madam, let me beseech you----" - -Joan turned from her chief captain impatiently and walked towards the -door of her private apartments. Werner followed his mistress, with his -hands a little outstretched and a look of eager entreaty on his face. - -"My lady," he said, "thirty years I was the faithful servant of your -father--ten I have served you. By the memory of those years, if ever I -have served you faithfully--" - -"My father taught you but little, if after thirty years you have not -learned to obey. Go to your post!" - -Werner von Orseln drew himself up and saluted. Then he wheeled about and -clanked out without adding a word more. - -"Faith," he confided to Alt Pikker, "the wench is her father all over -again. If I had gone a step further, I swear she would have beat me with -the flat of my own sword. I saw her eye full on the hilt of it." - -"Faith, I too, wished that I had been better helmeted!" chuckled Alt -Pikker. - -"Well," said Werner, like one who makes the best of ill fortune, "we -must keep the closer to her, you and I, that in the stress of battle she -come not to a mischief. Yet I confess that I am not deeply sorry. I -began to fear that Isle Rugen had sapped our lass's spirit. To my mind, -she seemed somewhat over content to abide there." - -"Ah," nodded Alt Pikker, "that is because, after all, our Joan is a -woman. No one can know the secret of a woman's heart." - -"And those who think they know most, know the least!" concurred the much -experienced Werner. - - * * * * * - -For a moment, after the door closed upon the men, Joan and Margaret -stood in silence regarding each other. - -"I must go and make me ready," said Margaret, speaking like one who is -thinking deeply. Joan stood still, conscious that something was about to -happen, uncertain what it might be. - -"I shall see you before I depart," Margaret was saying, with her hand on -the latch. - -Suddenly she dropped the handle of the door and ran impulsively to Joan, -clasping her about the neck. - -"_I know!_" she said, looking up into her face. - -With a great leap the blood flew to Joan's neck and brow, then as slowly -faded away, leaving her paler than before. - -"What do you know?" she faltered; and she feared, yet desired, to hear. - -"That you love him!" said Margaret very low. "I came in--I could not -help it--I did not know--when Conrad was bidding you goodbye. Joan, I am -so glad--so glad! Now you will understand; now you will not think me -foolish any more!" - -"Margaret, I am shamed for ever--it is sin!" whispered Joan, with her -arms about her friend. - -"It is love!" said the wife of Maurice von Lynar, with glowing eyes and -pride in her voice. - -"I hope I shall die in battle----" - -"Joan!" - -"I a wife, and love a priest--the brother of the man who is my husband! -I pray God that He will take my life to atone for the sin of loving him. -Yet He knows that I could neither help it nor yet hinder." - -"Joan, you will yet be happy." - -The Duchess shook her head. - -"It were best for us both that I should die--that is what I pray for." - -"May Heaven avert this thing--you know not what you say. And yet," -Margaret continued in a more meditative tone, "I am not sure. If he were -there with you, death itself would not be so hard; at all events, it -were better than living without each other." - -And the two women went into the attiring-room with arms still locked -about each other's waists. And as often as their eyes encountered they -lingered a little, as if tasting the sweet new knowledge which they had -in common. Then those of Joan of the Sword Hand were averted and she -blushed. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVIII - -JOAN GOVERNS THE CITY - - -It was night in the city of Courtland, and a time of great fear. The -watchmen went to and fro on the walls, staring into the blank dark. The -Alla, running low with the droughts, lapped gently about the piles of -the Summer Palace and lisped against the bounding walls of the city. - -But ever and anon from the east, where lay the camps of the opposed -forces, there came a sound, heavy and sonorous, like distant thunder. -Whereat the frighted wives of the burghers of Courtland said, "I wonder -what mother's son lies a-dying now. Hearken to the talking of Great Peg, -the Margraf's cannon!" - -At the western or Brandenberg gate there was yet greater fear. For the -news had spread athwart the city that a great body of horsemen had -paused in front of it, and were being held in parley by the guard on -duty, till the Lady Joan, Governor of the city, should be made aware. - -"They swear that they are friends"--so ran the report--"which is proof -that they are enemies. For how can there be friends who are not -Courtlanders. And these speak an outland speech, clacking in their -throats, hissing their s's, and laughing 'Ho! ho!' instead of 'Hoch! -hoch!' as all good Christians do!" - -The Governor of the city, roused from a rare slumber, leaped on her -horse and went clattering off with an escort through the unsleeping -streets. When first she came the folk had cheered her as she went. But -they were too jaded and saddened now. - -"Our Governor, the Princess Joan!" they used to call her with pride. But -for all that she found not the same devotion among these easy -Courtlanders as among her hardy men of Hohenstein. To these she was -indeed the Princess Joan. But to those in Castle Kernsberg she was Joan -of the Sword Hand. - -When at last she came to the Brandenburg gate she found before it a -great gathering of the townsfolk. The city guard manned the walls, -fretted with haste and falling over each other in their uncertainty. -There was yet no strictness of discipline among these raw train-bands, -and, instead of waiting for an officer to hail the horsemen in front, -every soldier, hackbutman, and halberdier was shouting his loudest, till -not a word of the reply could be heard. - -But all this turmoil vanished before the first fierce gust of Joan's -wrath like leaves blown away by the blasts of January. - -"To your posts, every man! I will have the first man spitted with arrows -who disobeys--aye, or takes more upon himself than simple obedience to -orders. Let such as are officers only abide here with me. Silence -beneath in the tower there." - -Looking out, Joan could see a dark mass of horsemen, while above them -glinted in the pale starlight a forest of spearheads. - -"Whence come you, strangers?" cried Joan, in the loud, clear voice which -carried so far. - -"From Plassenburg we are!" came back the answer. - -"Who leads you?" - -"Captains Boris and Jorian, officers of the Prince's bodyguard." - -"Let Captains Boris and Jorian approach and deliver their message." - -"With whom are we in speech?" cried the unmistakable voice of Boris, the -long man. - -"With the Princess Joan of Hohenstein, Governor of the city of -Courtland," said Joan firmly. - -"Come on, Boris; those Courtland knaves will not shoot us now. That is -the voice of Joan of the Sword Hand. There can be no treachery where she -is." - -"Ho, below there!" cried Joan. "Shine a light on them from the upper -sally port." - -The lanterns flashed out, and there, immediately below her, Joan beheld -Boris and Jorian saluting as of old, with the simultaneous gesture which -had grown so familiar to her during the days at Isle Rugen. She was -moved to smile in spite of the soberness of the circumstances. - -"What news bring you, good envoys?" - -"The best of news," they said with one accord, but stopped there as if -they had no more to say. - -"And that news is----" - -"First, we are here to fight. Pray you tell us if it is all over!" - -"It is not over; would to Heaven it were!" said Joan. - -"Thank God for that!" cried Boris and Jorian, with quite remarkable -unanimity of piety. - -"Is that all your tidings?" - -"Nay, we have brought the most part of the Palace Guard with us--five -hundred good lances and all hungry-bellied for victuals and all -monstrously thirsty in their throats. Besides which, Prince Hugo raises -Plassenburg and the Mark, and in ten days he will be on the march for -Courtland." - -"God send him speed! I fear me in ten days it will be over indeed," said -Joan, listening for the dull recurrent thunder down towards the Alla -mouth. - -"What, does the Muscovite press you so hard?" - -"He has thousands to our hundreds, so that he can hem us in on every -side." - -"Never fear," cried Boris confidently; "we will hold him in check for -you till our good Hugo comes to take him on the flank." - -Then Joan bade the gates be opened, and the horsemen of Plassenburg, -strong men on huge horses, trampled in. She held out a hand for the -captains to kiss, and sent the burgomaster to assign them billets in the -town. - -Then, without resting, she went to the wool market, which had been -turned into a soldiers' hospital. Here she found Theresa von Lynar, -going from bed to bed smoothing pillows, anointing wounded limbs, and -assisting the surgeons in the care of those who had been brought back -from the fatal battlefields of the Alla. - -Theresa von Lynar rose to meet Joan as she entered, with all the respect -due to the city's Governor. Silently the young girl beckoned her to -follow, and they went out between long lines of pallets. Here and there -a torch glimmered in a sconce against the wall, or a surgeon with a -candle in his hand paused at a bedside. The sough of moaning came from -all about, and in a distant window-bay, unseen, a man distract with -fever jabbered and fought fitfully. - -Never had Joan realised so nearly the reverse of war. Never had she so -longed for the peace of Isle Rugen. She could govern a city. She could -lead a foray. She was not afraid to ride into battle, lance in rest or -sword in hand. But she owned to herself that she could not do what this -woman was doing. - -"Remember, when all is over I shall keep my vow!" Joan began, as they -paused and looked down the long alley of stained pillows, tossing heads, -and torn limbs lying very still on palliasses of straw. Without, some of -the riotous youth of the city were playing martial airs on twanging -instruments. - -"And I also will keep mine!" responded Theresa briefly. - -"I am Duchess and city Governor only till the invader is driven out," -Joan continued. "Then Isle Rugen is to be mine, and your son shall sit -in the seat of Henry the Lion!" - -"Isle Rugen shall be yours!" answered Theresa. - -"And when you are tired of Castle Kernsberg you will cross the wastes -and take boat to visit me, even as at the first I came to you!" said -Joan, kindling at the thought of a definite sacrifice. It seemed like an -atonement for her soul's sin. - -"And what of Prince Conrad!" said Theresa quietly. - -Joan was silent for a space, then she answered with her eyes on the -ground. - -"Prince Conrad shall rule this land as is his duty--Cardinal, -Archbishop, Prince he shall be; there shall be none to deny him so soon -as the power of the Muscovite is broken. He will be in full alliance -with Hohenstein. He will form a blood bond with Plassenburg. And when he -dies, all that is his shall belong to the children of Duke Maurice and -his wife Margaret!" - -Theresa von Lynar stood a moment weighing Joan's words, and when she -spoke it was a question that she asked. - -"Where is Maurice to-night?" she asked. - -"He commands the Kernsbergers in the camp. Prince Conrad has made him -provost-marshal." - -"And the Princess Margaret?" - -"She abides in the river gate of the city, which Maurice passes often -upon his rounds!" - -A strange smile passed over the face of Theresa von Lynar. - -"There are many kinds of love," she said; "but not after this fashion -did I, that am a Dane, love Henry the Lion. Wherefore should a woman -hamper a man in his wars? Sooner would I have died by his hand!" - -"She loves him," said Joan, with a new sympathy. "She is a princess and -wilful. Moreover, not even a woman can prophesy what love will make -another woman do!" - -"Aye!" retorted Theresa, "I am with you there. But to help a man, not to -hinder. Let her strip herself naked that he may go forth clad. Let her -fall on the sharp wayside stones that he may march to victory. Let her -efface herself that no breath may sully his great name. Let her die -unknown--nay, make of herself a living death--that he may increase and -fill the mouths of men. That is love--the love of women as I have -imagined it. But this love that takes and will not give, that hampers -and sends not forth to conquer, that keeps a man within call like a dog -straining upon a leash--pah! that is not the love I know!" - -She turned sharply upon Joan, all her body quivering with excitement. - -"No, nor yet is it your way of love, my Lady Joan!" - -"I shall never be so tried, like Margaret," answered Joan, willing to -change her mood. "I shall never love any man with the love of wife!" - -"God forbid," said Theresa, looking at her, "that such a woman as you -should die without living!" - - - - -CHAPTER XLIX - -THE WOOING OF BORIS AND JORIAN - - -"Jorian," said Boris, adjusting his soft underjerkin before putting on -his body armour, "thou art the greatest fool in the world!" - -"Hold hard, Boris," answered Jorian. "Honour to whom honour--thou art -greater by at least a foot than I!" - -"Well," said the long man, "let us not quarrel about the breadth of a -finger-nail. At any rate, we two are the greatest fools in the world." - -"There are others," said Jorian, jerking his thumb over his shoulder in -the direction of the women's apartments. - -"None so rounded and tun-bellied with folly!" cried Boris, with -decision. "No two donkeys so thistle-fed as we--to have the command of -five hundred good horsemen, and the chances of as warm a fight as ever -closed----" - -"That is just it," cried Jorian; "our Hugo had no business to forbid us -to engage in the open before he should come." - -"'Hold the city.' quoth he, shaking that great head of his. 'I know not -the sort of general this priest-knight may be, and till I know I will -not have my Palace Guard flung like a can of dirty water in the face of -the Muscovites. Therefore counsel the Prince to stand on the defensive -till I come.'" - -"And rightly spoke the son of the Red Axe," assented Boris; "only our -good Hugo should have sent other men than you and me to command in such -a campaign. We never could let well alone all the days of us." - -"Save in the matter of marriage or no marriage!" smiled Boris grimly. - -"A plague on all women!" growled the little fat man, his rubicund and -shining face lined with unaccustomed discontent. "A plague on all women, -I say! What can this Theresa von Lynar want in the Muscovite camp, that -we must promise to convey her safe through the fortifications, and then -put her into Prince Wasp's hands?" - -"Think you that for some hatred of our Joan--you remember that night at -Isle Rugen--or some purpose of her own (she loves not the Princess -Margaret either), this Theresa would betray the city to the enemy?" - -"Tush!" Jorian had lost his temper and answered crossly. "In that case, -would she have called us in? It were easy enough to find some traitor -among these Courtlanders, who, to obtain the favour of Prince Louis, -would help to bring the Muscovite in. But what, if she were thrice a -traitress, would cause her to fix on the two men who of all others would -never turn knave and spoil-sport--no, not for a hundred vats of Rhenish -bottled by Noah the year after the Flood!" - -"Well," sighed his companion, "'tis well enough said, my excellent -Jorian, but all this does not advance us an inch. We have promised, and -at eleven o' the clock we must go. What hinders, though, that we have a -bottle of Rhenish now, even though the vintage be younger than you say? -Perhaps, however, the patron was more respectable!" - - * * * * * - -Thus in the hall of the men-at-arms in the Castle of Courtland spoke the -two captains of Plassenburg. All this time they were busy with their -attiring, Boris in especial making great play with a tortoiseshell comb -among his tangled locks. Somewhat more spruce was the arraying of our -twin comrades-in-arms than we have seen it. Perhaps it was the thought -of the dangerous escort duty upon which they had promised to venture -forth that night; perhaps---- - -"May we come in?" cried an arch voice from the doorway. "Ah, we have -caught you! There--we knew it! So said I to my sister not an hour agone. -Women may be vain as peacocks, but for prinking, dandifying vanity, -commend me to a pair of foreign war-captains. My lords, have you blacked -your eyelashes yet, touched up your eyebrows, scented and waxed those -_beautiful_ moustaches? Sister, can you look and live?" - -And to the two soldiers, standing stiff as at attention, with their -combs in their hands, enter the sisters Anna and Martha Pappenheim, more -full of mischief than ever, and entirely unsubdued by the presence of -the invader at their gates. - -"Russ or Turk, Courtlander or Franconian, Jew, proselyte, or dweller in -Mesopotamia, all is one to us. So be they are men, we will engage to tie -them about our little fingers!" - -"Why," cried Martha, "whence this grand toilet? We knew not that you had -friends in the city. And yet they tell me you have been in Courtland -before, Sir Boris?" - -"Marthe," cried Anna Pappenheim, with vast pretence of indignation, -"what has gotten into you, girl? Can you have forgotten that martial -carriage, those limbs incomparably knit, that readiness of retort and -delicate sparkle of Wendish wit, which set all the table in a roar, and -yet never once brought the blush to maiden's cheek? For shame, Marthe!" - -"Ha! ha!" laughed Jorian suddenly, short and sharp, as if a string had -been pulled somewhere. - -"Ho! ho!" thus more sonorously Boris. - -Anna Pappenheim caught her skirts in her hand and spun round on her heel -on pretence of looking behind her. - -"Sister, what was that?" she cried, spying beneath the settles and up -the wide throat of the chimney. "Methought a dog barked." - -"Or a grey goose cackled!" - -"Or a donkey sang!" - -"Ladies," said Jorian, who, being vastly discomposed, must perforce try -to speak with an affectation of being at his ease, "you are pleased to -be witty." - -"Heaven mend our wit or your judgment!" - -"And we are right glad to be your butts. Yet have we been accounted -fellows of some humour in our own country and among men----" - -"Why, then, did you not stay there?" inquired Martha pointedly. - -"It was not Boris and I who could not stay without," retorted Jorian, -somewhat nettled, nodding towards the door of the guard-room. - -"Well said!" cried frank Anna. "He had you there, Marthe. Pricked in the -white! Faith, Sir Jorian pinked us both, for indeed it was we who -intruded into these gentlemen's dressing-room. Our excuse is that we are -tirewomen, and would fain practise our office when and where we can. Our -Princess hath been wedded and needs us but once a week. Noble Wendish -gentlemen, will not you engage us?" - -She clasped her hands, going a step or two nearer Boris as if in appeal. - -"Do, kind sirs," she said, "have pity on two poor girls who have no work -to do. Think--we are orphans and far from home!" - -The smiles on the faces of the war-captains broadened. "Ho! ho! Good!" -burst out Boris. - -"Ha! ha! Excellent!" assented Jorian, nodding, with his eyes on Martha. - -Anna Pappenheim ran quickly on tip-toe round to Boris's back and peered -between his shoulders. Then she ran her eyes down to his heels. - -"Sister," she cried, "_they_ do it. That dreadful noise comes from -somewhere about them. I distinctly saw their jaws waggle. They must of a -surety be wound up like an arbalist. Yet I cannot find the string and -trigger! Do come and help me, good Marthe! If you find it, I will dance -at your wedding in my stocking-feet!" - -And the gay Franconian reached up and pulled a stray tag of Boris's -jerkin, which hung down his back. The knot slipped, and a circlet of red -and gold, ragged at the lower edges, came off in her hand, revealing the -fact that Boris's noble _soubreveste_ was no more than a fringe of -broidered collar. - -"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Jorian irrepressibly. For Boris looked mightily -crestfallen to have his magnificence so rudely dealt with. - -Anna von Pappenheim clapped her hands. - -"I have found it," she cried. "It goes like this. You touch off the -trigger of one, and the other explodes!" - -Boris wheeled about with fell intent on his face. He would have caught -the teasing minx in his arms, but Anna skipped round behind a chair and -threatened him with her finger. - -"Not till you engage us," she cried. "Hands off, there! We are to array -you--not you to disarray us!" - -Whereat the two gamesome Southlanders stood together in ludicrous -imitation of Boris and Jorian's military stiffness, folding their hands -meekly and casting their eyes downward like a pair of most ingenuous -novices listening to the monitions of their Lady Superior. Then Anna's -voice was heard speaking with almost incredible humility. - -"Will my lord with the hook nose so great and noble deign to express a -preference which of us shall be his handmaid?" - -But they had ventured an inch too far. The string was effectually pulled -now. - -"I will have this one--she is so merry!" cried solemn Boris, seizing -Anna Pappenheim about the waist. - -"And I this! She pretendeth melancholy, yet has tricks like a monkey!" -said Jorian, quickly following his example. The girls fended them -gallantly, yet, as mayhap they desired, their case was hopeless. - -"Hands off! I will not be called 'this one,'" cried Anna, though she did -not struggle too vehemently. - -"Nor I a monkey! Let me go, great Wend!" chimed Martha, resigning -herself as soon as she had said it. - -In this prosperous estate was the courtship of Franconia and -Plassenburg, when some instinct drew the eyes of Jorian to the door of -the officers' guard-room, which Anna had carefully left open at her -entrance, in order to secure their retreat. - -The Duchess Joan stood there silent and regardant. - -"Boris!" cried Jorian warningly. Boris lifted his eyes from the smiling -challenge upon Anna's upturned lips, which, after the manner of your -war-captains, he was stooping to kiss. - -Unwillingly Boris lifted his eyes. The next moment both the late envoys -of Plassenburg were saluting as stiffly as if they had still been -men-at-arms, while Anna and Martha, blushing divinely, were busy with -their needlework in the corner, as demure as cats caught sipping cream. - -Joan looked at the four for a while without speaking. - -"Captains Boris and Jorian," she said sternly, "a messenger has come -from Prince Conrad to say that the Muscovites press him hard. He asks -for instant reinforcements. There is not a man fit for duty within the -city saving your command. Will you take them to the Prince's assistance -immediately? Werner von Orseln fights by his side. Maurice and my -Kernsbergers are already on their way." - -The countenances of the two Plassenburg captains fell as the leathern -screen drops across a cathedral door through which the evening sunshine -has been streaming. - -"My lady, it is heartbreaking, but we cannot," said Boris dolefully. -"Our Lord Prince Hugo bade us keep the city till he should arrive!" - -"But I am Governor. I will keep the city," cried Joan; "the women will -mount halberd and carry pike. Go to the Prince! Were Hugo of Plassenburg -here he would be the first to march! Go, I order you! Go, I beseech -you!" - -She said the last words in so changed a tone that Boris looked at her in -surprise. - -But still he shook his head. - -"It is certain that if Prince Hugo were here he would be the first to -ride to the rescue. But Prince Hugo is not here, and my comrade and I -are soldiers under orders!" - -"Cowards!" flashed Joan, "I will go myself. The cripples, the halt, and -the blind shall follow me. Thora of Bornheim and these maidens there, -they shall follow me to the rescue of their Prince. Do you, brave men of -Plassenburg, cower behind the walls while the Muscovite overwhelms all -and the true Prince is slain!" - -And at this her voice broke and she sobbed out, "Cowards! cowards! -cowards! God preserve me from cowardly men!" - -For at such times and in such a cause no woman is just. For which high -Heaven be thanked! - -Boris looked at Jorian. Jorian looked at Boris. - -"No, madam," said Boris gravely; "your servants are no cowards. It is -true that we were commanded by our master to keep his Palace Guard -within the city walls, and these must stay. But we two are in some sense -still Envoys Extraordinary, and not strictly of the Prince's Palace -Guard. As Envoys, therefore, charged with a free commission in the -interests of peace, we can without wrongdoing accompany you whither you -will. Eh, Jorian?" - -"Aye," quoth Jorian; "we are at her Highness's service till ten o' the -clock." - -"And why till ten?" asked Joan, turning to go out. - -"Oh," returned Jorian, "there is guard-changing and other matters to see -to. But there is time for a wealth of fighting before ten. Lead on, -madam. We follow your Highness!" - - - - -CHAPTER L - -THE DIN OF BATTLE - - -It was a strange uncouth band that Joan had got together in a handful of -minutes in order to accompany her to the field upon which, sullenly -retiring before a vastly more numerous enemy, Conrad and his little army -stood at bay. Raw lathy lads, wide-hammed from sitting cross-legged in -tailors' workshops; prentices too wambly and knock-kneed to be taken at -the first draft; old men who had long leaned against street corners and -rubbed the doorways of the cathedral smooth with their backs; a -sprinkling of stout citizens, reluctant and much afraid, but still more -afraid of the wrath of Joan of the Sword Hand. - -Joan was still scouring the lanes and intricate passages for laggards -when Boris and Jorian entered the little square where this company were -assembled, most of them embracing their arbalists as if they had been -sweeping besoms, and the rest holding their halberds as if they feared -they would do themselves an injury. - -The nose of fat Jorian went so high into the air that, without intending -it, he found himself looking up at Boris; and at that moment Boris -chanced to be glancing at Jorian down the side of his high arched beak. - -To the herd of the uncouth soldiery it simply appeared as though the two -war-captains of Plassenburg looked at each other. An observer on the -opposite side would have noted, however, that the right eye of Jorian -and the left eye of Boris simultaneously closed. - -Yet when they turned their regard upon the last levy of the city of -Courtland their faces were grave. - -"Whence come these churchyard scourings, these skulls and crossbones set -up on end?" cried Jorian in face of them all. And this saying from so -stout a man made their legs wamble more than ever. - -"Rotboss rascals, rogues in grain," Boris took up the tale, "faith, it -makes a man scratch only to look at them! Did you ever see their -marrow?" - -The two captains turned away in disgust. They walked to and fro a little -apart, and Boris, who loved all animals, kicked a dog that came his way. -Boris was unhappy. He avoided Jorian's eye. At last he broke out. - -"We cannot let our Lady Joan set forth for field with such a compost of -mumpers and tun-barrels as these!" he said. - -Boris confided this, as it were to the housetops. Jorian apparently did -not listen. He was clicking his dagger in its sheath, but from his next -word it was evident that his mind had not been inactive. - -"What excuse could we make to Hugo, our Prince?" he said at last. -"Scarcely did he believe us the last time. And on this occasion we have -his direct orders." - -"Are we not still Envoys?" queried Boris. - -"Extraordinary!" twinkled Jorian, catching his comrade's idea as a bush -of heather catches moorburn. - -"And as Envoys of a great principality like Plassenburg--representatives -of the most noble Prince and Princess in this Empire, should we not ride -with retinue due and fitting? That is not taking the Palace Guard into -battle. It is only affording due protection to their Excellencies' -representatives." - -"That sounds well enough," answered Boris doubtfully, "but will it stand -probation, think you, when Hugo scowls at us from under his brows, and -you see the bar of the fifteen Red Axes of the Wolfmark stand red across -his forehead?" - -"Tut, man, his anger is naught to that of Karl the Miller's Son. You -and I have stood that. Why should we fear our quiet Hugo?" - -"Aye, aye; in our day we have tried one thing and then another upon Karl -and have borne up under his anger. But then Karl only cursed and used -great horned words, suchlike as in his youth he had heard the waggoners -use to encourage their horses up the mill brae. But Hugo--when he is -angry he says nought, only the red bar comes up slowly, and as it grows -dark and fiery you wish he would order you to the scaffold at once, and -be done with it!" - -"Well," said Jorian, "at all events, there is always our Helene. I -opine, whatever we do, she will not forget old days--the night at the -earth-houses belike and other things. I think we may risk it!" - -"True," meditated Boris, "you say well. There is always Helene. The -Little Playmate will not let our necks be stretched! Not at least for -succouring a Princess in distress." - -"And a woman in love?" added Jorian, who, though he followed the lead of -the long man in great things, had a shrewder eye for some more intimate -matters. - -"Eh, what's that you say?" said Boris, turning quickly upon him. He had -been regarding with interest a shackled-kneed varlet holding a halberd -in his arms as if it had been a fractious bairn. - -But Jorian was already addressing the company before him. - -"Here, ye unbaked potsherds--dismiss, if ye know what that means. Get ye -to the walls, and if ye cannot stand erect, lean against them, and hold -brooms in your hands that the Muscovite may take them for muskets and -you for men if he comes nigh enough. Our Lady is not Joan of the -Dishclout, that such draught-house ragpickers as you should be pinned to -her tail. Set bolsters stuffed with bran on the walls! Man the gates -with faggots. Cleave beech billets half in two and set them athwart -wooden horses for officers. But insult not the sunshine by letting your -shadows fall outside the city. Break off! Dismiss! Go! Get out o' -this!" - -As Jorian stood before the levies and vomited his insults upon them, a -gleam of joy passed across chops hitherto white like fish-bellies with -the fear of death. Bleared eyes flashed with relief. And there ran a -murmur through the ragged ranks which sounded like "Thank you, great -captain!" - - * * * * * - -In a short quarter of an hour the drums of the Plassenburg Palace Guard -had beaten to arms. From gate to gate the light sea-wind had borne the -cheerful trumpet call, and when Joan returned, heartless and downcast, -with half a dozen more mouldy rascals, smelling of muck-rakes and damp -stable straw, she found before her more than half the horsemen of -Plassenburg armed cap-a-pie in burnished steel. Whereat she could only -look at Boris in astonishment. - -"Your Highness," said that captain, saluting gravely, "we are only able -to accompany you as Envoys Extraordinary of the Prince and Princess of -Plassenburg. But as such we feel it our duty in order properly to -support our state, to take with us a suitable attendance. We are sure -that neither Prince Hugo nor yet his Princess Helene would wish it -otherwise!" - -Before Joan could reply a messenger came springing up the long narrow -streets along which the disbanded levies, so vigorously contemned of -Jorian, were hurrying to their places upon the walls with a detail of -the Plassenburg men behind them, driving them like sheep. - -Joan took the letter and opened it with a jerk. - - "From High Captain von Orseln to the Princess Joan. - - "Come with all speed, if you would be in time. We are hard - beset. The enemy are all about us. Prince Conrad has ordered a - charge!" - -The face of the woman whitened as she read, but at the same moment the -fingers of Joan of the Sword Hand tightened upon the hilt. She read the -letter aloud. There was no comment. Boris cried an order, Jorian -dropped to the rear, and the retinue of the Envoys Extraordinary swung -out on the road towards the great battle. - -Outnumbered and beaten back by the locust flock which spread to either -side, far outflanking and sometimes completely enfolding his small army, -Prince Conrad still maintained himself by good generalship and the high -personal courage which stimulated his followers. The hardy Kernsbergers, -both horse and foot, whom Maurice had brought up, proved the backbone of -the defence. Besides which Werner von Orseln had striven by rebuke and -chastening, as well as by appeals to their honour, to impart some -steadiness into the Courtland ranks. But save the free knights from the -landward parts, who were driven wild by the sight of the ever-spreading -Muscovite desolation, there was little stamina among the burghers. They -were, indeed, loud and turbulent upon occasion, but they understood but -ill any concerted action. In this they differed conspicuously from their -fellows of the Hansa League, or even from the clothweavers of the -Netherland cities. - -As Joan and the war-captains of Plassenburg came nearer they heard a low -growling roar like the distant sound of the breakers on the outer shore -at Isle Rugen. It rose and fell as the fitful wind bore it towards them, -but it never entirely ceased. - -They dashed through the fords of the Alla, the three hundred lances of -the Plassenburg Guard clattering eagerly behind them. Joan led, on a -black horse which Conrad had given her. The two war-captains with one -mind set their steel caps more firmly on their heads, and as his steed -breasted the river bank Jorian laughed aloud. Angrily Joan turned in her -saddle to see what the little man was laughing at. But with quick -instinct she perceived that he laughed only as the war-horse neighs when -he scents the battle from afar. He was once more the born fighter of -men. Jorian and his mate would never be generals, but they were the best -tools any general could have. - -They came nearer. A few wreaths of smoke, hanging over the yet distant -field, told where Russ and Teuton met in battle array. A solemn -slumberous reverberation heard at intervals split the dull general roar -apart. It was the new cannon which had come from the Margraf George to -help beat back the common foe. Again and again broke in upon their -advance that appalling sound, which set the inward parts of men -quivering. Presently they began to pass limping men hasting cityward, -then fleeing and panic-stricken wretches who looked over their shoulders -as if they saw steel flashing at their backs. - -A camp-marshal or two was trying to stay these, beating them over the -head and shoulders with the flat of their swords; but not a man of the -Plassenburgers even looked towards them. Their eyes were on that distant -tossing line dimly seen amid clouds of dust, and those strange wreaths -of white smoke going upward from the cannons' mouths. The roar grew -louder; there were gaps in the fighting line; a banner went down amid -great shouting. They could see the glinting of sunshine upon armour. - -"Kernsberg!" cried Joan, her sword high in the air as she set spurs in -her black stallion and swept onward a good twenty yards before the rush -of the horsemen of Plassenburg. - -Now they began to see the arching arrow-hail, grey against the skyline -like gnat swarms dancing in the dusk of summer trees. The quarrels -buzzed. The great catapults, still used by the Muscovites, twanged like -the breaking of viol cords. - -The horses instinctively quickened their pace to take the wounded in -their stride. There--there was the thickest of the fray, where the great -cannon of the Margraf George thundered and were instantly wrapped in -their own white pall. - -[Illustration: "The sturdy form of Werner von Orseln, bestriding the -body of a fallen knight." [_Page 351_]] - -Joan's quick glance about her for Conrad told her nothing of his -whereabouts. But the two war-captains, more experienced, perceived that -the Muscovites were already everywhere victorious. Their horsemen -outflanked and overlapped the slender array of Courtland. Only about -the cannon and on the far right did any seem to be making a stand. - -"There!" cried Jorian, couching his lance, "there by the cannon is where -we will get our bellyful of fighting." - -He pointed where, amid a confusion of fighting-men, wounded and -struggling horses, and the great black tubes of the Margraf's cannon, -they saw the sturdy form of Werner von Orseln, grown larger through the -smoke and dusty smother, bestriding the body of a fallen knight. He -fought as one fights a swarm of angry bees, striking every way with a -desperate courage. - -The charging squadrons of Plassenburg divided to pass right and left of -the cannon. Joan first of all, with her sword lifted and crying not -Kernsberg now, but "Conrad! Conrad!" drave straight into the heart of -the Cossack swarm. At the trampling of the horses' feet the Muscovites -lifted their eyes. They had been too intent to kill to waste a thought -on any possible succour. - -Joan felt herself strike right and left. Her heart was crazed within her -so that she set spurs to her steed and rode him forward, plunging and -furious. Then a blowing wisp of white plume was swept aside, and through -a helmet (broken as a nut shell is cracked and falls apart) Joan saw the -fair head of her Prince. A trickle of blood wetted a clinging curl on -his forehead and stole down his pale cheek. Werner von Orseln, begrimed -and drunken with battle, bestrode the body of Prince Conrad. His -defiance rose above the din of battle. - -"Come on, cowards of the North! Taste good German steel! To me, -Kernsberg! To me, Hohenstein! Curs of Courtland, would ye desert your -Prince? Curses on you all, swart hounds of the Baltic! Let me out of -this and never a dog of you shall ever bite bread again!" - -And so, foaming in his battle anger, the ancient war-captain would have -stricken down his mistress. For he saw all things red and his heart was -bitter within him. - -With all the power that was in her, right and left Joan smote to clear -her way to Conrad, praying that if she could not save him she might at -least die with him. - -But by this time Captains Boris and Jorian, leaving their horsemen to -ride at the second line, had wheeled and now came thrusting their lances -freely into Cossack backs. These last, finding themselves thus taken in -the rear, turned and fled. - -"Hey, Werner, good lad, do not slay your comrades! Down blade, old -Thirsty. Hast thou not drunken enough blood this morning?" So cried the -war-captains as Werner dashed the blood and tears out of his eyes. - -"Back! back!" he cried, as soon as he knew with whom he had to do. "Go -back! Conrad is slain or hath a broken head. They were lashing at him as -he lay to kill him outright? Ah, viper, would you sting?" (He thrust a -wounded Muscovite through as he was crawling nearer to Conrad with a -broad knife in his hand.) "These beaten curs of Courtlanders broke at -the first attack. Get him to horse! Quick, I say. My Lady Joan, what do -you do in this place?" - -For even while he spoke Joan had dismounted and was holding Conrad's -head on her lap. With the soft white kerchief which she wore on her helm -as a favour she wiped the wound on his scalp. It was long, but did not -appear to be very deep. - -As Werner stood astonished, gazing at his mistress, Boris summoned the -trumpeter who had wheeled with him. - -"Sound the recall!" he bade him. And in a moment clear notes rang out. - -"He is not dead! Lift him up, you two!" Joan cried suddenly. "No, I will -take him on my steed. It is the strongest, and I the lightest. I alone -will bear him in." - -And before any could speak she sprang into the saddle without assistance -with all her old lightness of action, most like that of a lithe lad who -chases the colts in his father's croft that he may ride them bareback. - -So Werner von Orseln lifted the head and Boris the feet, bearing him -tenderly that they might set him upon Joan's horse. And so firm was her -seat (for she rode as the Maid rode into Orleans with Dunois on one side -and Gilles de Rais on the other), that she did not even quiver as she -received the weight. The noble black looked round once, and then, as if -understanding the thing that was required of him, he gentled himself and -began to pace slow and stately towards the city. On either side walked -tall Boris and sturdy Werner, who steadied the unconscious Prince with -the palms of their hands. - -Meanwhile the Palace Guard, with Jorian at its head, defended the slow -retreat, while on the flanks Maurice and his staunch Kernsbergers -checked the victorious advance of the Muscovites. Yet the disaster was -complete. They left the dead, they left the camp, they left the -munitions of war. They abandoned the Margraf's cannon and all his great -store of powder. And there were many that wept and some that only ground -teeth and cursed as they fell back, and heard the wailing of the women -and saw the fear whitening on the faces they loved. - -Only the Kernsbergers bit their lips and watched the eye of Maurice, by -whose side a slim page in chain-mail had ridden all day with visor down. -And the men of the Palace Guard prayed for Prince Hugo to come. - -As for Joan, she cared nothing for victory or defeat, loss or gain, -because that the man she loved leaned on her breast, bleeding and very -still. - -Yet with great gentleness she gave him down into loving hands, and -afterwards stood marble-pale beside the couch while Theresa von Lynar -unlaced his armour and washed his wounds. Then, nerving herself to see -him suffer, she murmured over to herself, once, twice, and a hundred -times, "God help me to do so and more also to those who have wrought -this--specially to Louis of Courtland and Ivan of Muscovy." - -"Abide ye, little one--be patient. Vengeance will come to both!" said -Theresa. "I, who do not promise lightly, promise it you!" - -And she laid her hand on the girl's shoulder. Never before had the -Duchess Joan been called "little one!" Yet for all her brave deeds she -laid her head on Theresa's shoulder, murmuring, "Save him--save him! I -cannot bear to lose him. Pray for him and me!" - -Theresa kissed her brow. - -"Ah," she said, "the prayers of such as Theresa von Lynar would avail -little. Yet she may be a weapon in the hand of the God of vengeance. Is -it not written that they that take the sword shall perish by the sword?" - -But already Joan had forgotten vengeance. For now the surgeons of -Courtland stood about, and she murmured, "Must he die? Tell me, will he -die?" - -And as the wise men silently shook their heads, the crying of the -victorious Muscovites could be heard outside the wall. - -Then ensued a long silence, through which broke a gust of iron-throated -laughter. It was the roar of the Margraf's captured cannon firing the -salvo of victory. - - - - -CHAPTER LI - -THERESA'S TREACHERY - - -That night the whole city of Courtland cowered in fear before its -triumphant enemy. At the nearest posts the Muscovites were in great -strength, and the sight of their burnings fretted the souls of the -citizens on guard. Some came near enough to cry insults up to the -defenders. - -"You would not have your own true Prince. Now ye shall have ours. We -will see how you like the exchange!" - -This was the cry of some renegade Courtlander, or of a Muscovite learned -(as ofttimes they are) in the speech of the West. - -But within the walls and at the gates the men of Kernsberg and -Hohenstein rubbed their hands and nudged each other. - -"Brisk lads," one said, "let us make our wills and send them by pigeon -post. I am leaving Gretchen my Book of Prayers, my Lives of the Saints, -my rosary, and my belt pounced with golden eye-holes----" - -"Methinks that last will do thy Gretchen most service," said his -companion, "since the others have gone to the vintner's long ago!" - - * * * * * - -"Thou art the greater knave to say so," retorted his companion; "and if -by God's grace we come safe out of this I will break thy head for thy -roguery!" - -The Muscovites had dragged the captured cannon in front of the -Plassenburg Gate, and now they fired occasionally, mostly great balls -of quarried stone, but afterward, as the day wore later, any piece of -metal or rock they could find. And the crash of wooden galleries and -stone machicolations followed, together with the scuttling of the -Courtland levies from the post of danger. A few of the younger citizens, -indeed, were staunch, but for the most part the Plassenburgers and -Kernsbergers were left to bite their lips and confide to each other what -their Prince Hugo or their Joan of the Hand Sword would have done to -bring such cowards to reason and right discipline. - -"An it were not for our own borders and that brave priest-prince, no -shaveling he," they said, "faith, such curs were best left to the -Muscovite. The plet and the knout were made for such as they!" - -"Not so," said he who had maligned Gretchen; "the Courtlanders are -yea-for-soothing knaves, truly; but they are Germans, and need only to -know they must, to be brave enough. One or two of our Karl's hostelries, -with thirteen lodgings on either side, every guest upright and a-swing -by the neck--these would make of the Courtlanders as good soldiers as -thyself, Hans Finck!" - -But at that moment came Captain Boris by and rebuked them sharply for -the loudness of their speech. It was approaching ten of the clock. Boris -and Jorian had already visited all the posts, and were now ready to make -their venture with Theresa von Lynar. - -"No fools like old fools!" grumbled Jorian sententiously, as he buckled -on his carinated breastplate, that could shed aside bolts, quarrels, and -even bullets from powder guns as the prow of a vessel sheds the waves to -either side in a good northerly wind. - -"'Tis you should know," retorted Boris, "being both old and a fool." - -"A man is known by the company he keeps!" answered Jorian, adjusting the -lining of his steel cap, which was somewhat in disarray after the battle -of the morning. - -"Ah!" sighed his companion. "I would that I had the choosing of the -company I am to keep this night!" - -"And I!" assented Jorian, looking solemn for once as he thought of -pretty Martha Pappenheim. - -"Well, we do it from a good motive," said Boris; "that is one comfort. -And if we lose our lives, Prince Conrad will order many masses (they -will need to be very many) for your soul's peace and good quittance from -purgatory!" - -"Humph!" said Jorian, as if he did not see much comfort in that, "I -would rather have a box on the ear from Martha Pappenheim than all the -matins of all the priests that ever sung laud!" - -"Canst have that and welcome--if her sister will do as well!" cried -Anna, as the two men went out into the long passage. And she suited the -deed to the word. - -"Oh! I have hurt my hand against that hard helmet. It serves me right -for listening! Marthe!"--she looked about for her sister before turning -to the soldiers--"see, I have hurt my hand," she added. - -Then she made the tears well up in her eyes by an art of the tongue in -the throat she had. - -"Kiss it well, Marthe!" she said, looking up at her sister as she came -along the passage swinging a lantern as carelessly as if there were not -a Muscovite in the world. - -But Boris forestalled the newcomer and caught up the small white hand in -the soft leathern grip of his palm where the ring-mail stopped. - -"_I_ will do that better than any sister!" he said. - -"That, indeed, you cannot; for only the kiss of love can make a hurt -better!" - -Anna glanced up at him with wet eyes, a little maid full of innocence -and simplicity. Most certainly she was all unconscious of the danger in -which she was putting herself. - -"Well, then, I love you!" said Boris, who did his wooing plainly. - -And did not kiss her hand. - -Meanwhile the others had wandered to the end of the passage and now -stood at the turnpike staircase, the light of Martha Pappenheim's -lantern making a dim haze of light about them. - -Anna looked at Boris as often as she could. - -"You really love me?" she questioned. "No, you cannot; you have known me -too brief a time. Besides, this is no time to speak of love, with the -enemy at the gates!" - -"Tush!" said Boris, with the roughness which Anna had looked for in vain -among all the youth of Courtland. "I tell you, girl, it is the time. You -and I are no Courtlanders, God be thanked! In a little while I shall -ride back to Plassenburg, which is a place where men live. I shall not -go alone. You, little Anna, shall come, too!" - -"You are not deceiving me?" she murmured, looking up upon occasion. -"There is none at Plassenburg whom you love at all?" - -"I have never loved any woman but you!" said Boris, settling his -conscience by adding mentally, "though I may have thought I did when I -told them so." - -"Nor I any man!" said Anna, softly meditative, making, however, a -similar addition. - -Thus Greek met Greek, and both were very happy in the belief that their -own was the only mental reservation. - -"But you are going out?" pouted Anna, after a while. "Why cannot you -stay in the Castle to-night?" - -"To-night of all nights it is impossible," said Boris. "We must make the -rounds and see that the gates are guarded. The safety of the city is in -our hands." - -"You are sure that you will not run into any danger!" said Anna -anxiously. She remembered a certain precariousness of tenure among some -of her previous--mental reservations. There was Fritz Wünch, who had -laughed at the red beard of a Prussian baron; Wilhelm of Bautzen, who -went once too often on a foray with his uncle, Fighting Max of -Castelnau---- - -For answer the staunch war-captain kissed her, and the girl clung to her -lover, this time in real tears. Martha's candle had gone out, and the -two had perforce to go down the stair in the dark. They reached the foot -at last. - -"None of them were quite like him," she owned that night to her sister. -"He takes you up as if he would break you in his arms. And he could, -too. It is good to feel!" - -"Jorian also is just like that--so satisfactory!" answered Martha. Which -shows the use Jorian must have made of his time at the stairhead, and -why Martha Pappenheim's light went out. - -"He swears he has never loved any woman before." - -"Jorian does just the same." - -"I suppose we must never tell them----" - -"Marthe--if you should dare, I will---- Besides, you were just as bad!" - -"Anna, as if I would dream of such a thing!" - -And the two innocents fell into each other's arms and embraced after the -manner of women, each in her own heart thinking how much she preferred -"the way of a man with a maid"--at least that form of it cultivated by -stout war-captains of Plassenburg. - -Without, Boris and Jorian trampled along through a furious gusting of -Baltic rain, which came in driving sheets from the north and splashed -its thumb-board drops equally upon the red roofs of Courtland, the -tented Muscovites drinking victory, and upon the dead men lying afield. -Worse still, it fell on many wounded, and to such even the thrust of the -thievish camp-follower's tolle-knife was merciful. Never could monks -more fitly have chanted, "Blessed are the dead!" than concerning those -who lay stiff and unconscious on the field where they had fought, to -whose ears the Alla sang in vain. - -Attired in her cloak of blue, with the hood pulled low over her face, -Theresa von Lynar was waiting for Boris and Jorian at the door of the -market-hospital. - -"I thank you for your fidelity," she said quickly. "I have sore need of -you. I put a great secret into your hands. I could not ask one of the -followers of Prince Conrad, nor yet a soldier of the Duchess Joan, lest -when that is done which shall be done to-night the Prince or the Duchess -should be held blameworthy, having most to gain or lose thereto. But you -are of Plassenburg and will bear me witness!" - -Boris and Jorian silently signified their obedience and readiness to -serve her. Then she gave them their instructions. - -"You will conduct me past the city guards, out through the gates, and -take me towards the camp of the Prince of Muscovy. There you will leave -me, and I shall be met by one who in like manner will lead me through -the enemy's posts." - -"And when will you return, my Lady Theresa? We shall wait for you!" - -"Thank you, gentlemen. You need not wait. I shall not return!" - -"Not return?" cried Jorian and Boris together, greatly astonished. - -"No," said Theresa very slowly and quietly, her eyes set on the -darkness. "Hear ye, Captains of Plassenburg--I will give you my mind. -You are trusty men, and can, as I have proved, hold your own counsel." - -Boris and Jorian nodded. There was no difficulty about that. - -"Good!" they said together as of old. - -As they grew older it became more and more easy to be silent. Silence -had always been easier to them than speech, and the habit clave to them -even when they were in love. - -"Listen, then," Theresa went on. "You know, and I know, that unless -quick succour come, the city is doomed. You are men and soldiers, and -whether ye make an end amid the din of battle, or escape for this time, -is a matter wherewith ye do not trouble your minds till the time comes. -But for me, be it known to you that I am the widow of Henry the Lion of -Kernsberg. My son Maurice is the true heir to the Dukedom. Yet, being -bound by an oath sworn to the man who made me his wife, I have never -claimed the throne for him. But now Joan his sister knows, and out of -her great heart she swears that she will give up the Duchy to him. If, -therefore, the city is taken, the Muscovite will slay my son, slay him -by their hellish tortures, as they have sworn to do for the despite he -put upon Prince Ivan. And his wife, the Princess Margaret, will die of -grief when they carry her to Moscow to make a bride out of a widow. Joan -will be a prisoner, Conrad either dead or a priest, and Kernsberg, the -heritage of Henry the Lion, a fief of the Czar. There is no help in any. -Your Prince would succour, but it takes time to raise the country, and -long ere he can cross the frontier the Russian will have worked his will -in Courtland. Now I see a way--a woman's way. And if I fall in the doing -of it, well--I but go to meet him for the sake of whose children I -freely give my life. In this bear me witness." - -"Madam," said Boris, gravely, "we are but plain soldiers. We pretend not -to understand the great matters of State of which you speak. But rest -assured that we will serve you with our lives, bear true witness, and in -all things obey your word implicitly." - -Without difficulty they passed through the streets and warded gates. -Werner von Orseln, indeed, tramping the inner rounds, cried "Whither -away?" Then, seeing the lady cloaked between them, he added after his -manner, "By my faith, you Plassenburgers beat the world. Hang me to a -gooseberry bush if I do not tell Anna Pappenheim of it ere to-morrow's -sunset. As I know, she will forgive inconstancy only in herself!" - -They plunged into the darkness of the outer night. As soon as they were -beyond the gates the wind drave past them hissing level. The black trees -roared overhead. At first in the swirl of the storm the three could see -nothing; but gradually the watchfires of the Muscovite came out -thicksown like stars along the rising grounds on both sides of the Alla. -Boris strode on ahead, peering anxiously into the night, and a little -behind Jorian gave Theresa his hand over the rough and uneven ground. A -pair of ranging stragglers, vultures that accompany the advance of all -great armies, came near and examined the party, but retreated promptly -as they caught the glint of the firelight upon the armour of the -war-captains. Presently they began to descend into the valley, the -iron-shod feet of the men clinking upon the stones. Theresa walked -silently, steeped in thought, laying a hand on arm or shoulder as she -had occasion. Suddenly tall Boris stopped dead and with a sweep of his -arm halted the others. - -"There!" he whispered, pointing upward. - -And against the glow thrown from behind a ridge they could see a pair of -Cossacks riding to and fro ceaselessly, dark against the ruddy sky. - -"Gott, would that I had my arbalist! I could put gimlet holes in these -knaves!" whispered Jorian over Boris's shoulder. - -"Hush!" muttered Boris; "it is lucky for Martha Pappenheim that you left -it at home!" - -"Captains Boris and Jorian," Theresa was speaking with quietness, -raising her voice just enough to make herself heard over the roar of the -wind overhead, for the nook in which they presently found themselves was -sheltered, "I bid you adieu--it may be farewell. You have done nobly and -like two valiant captains who were fit to war with Henry the Lion. I -thank you. You will bear me faithful witness in the things of which I -have spoken to you. Take this ring from me, not in recompense, but in -memory. It is a bauble worth any lady's acceptance. And you this -dagger." She took two from within her mantle, and gave one to Jorian. -"It is good steel and will not fail you. The fellow of it I will keep!" - -She motioned them backward with her hand. - -"Abide there among the bushes till you see a man come out to meet me. -Then depart, and till you have good reason keep the last secret of -Theresa, wife of Henry the Lion, Duke of Kernsberg and Hohenstein!" - -Boris and Jorian bowed themselves as low as the straitness of their -armour would permit. - -"We thank you, madam," they said; "as you have commanded, so will we -do!" - -And as they had been bidden they withdrew into a clump of willow and -alder whose leaves clashed together and snapped like whips in the wind. - -"Yonder woman is braver than you or I, Jorian," said Boris, as crouching -they watched her climb the ridge. "Which of us would do as much for any -on the earth?" - -"After all, it is for her son. If you had children, who can say----?" - -"Whether I may have children or no concerns you not," returned Boris, -who seemed unaccountably ruffled. "I only know that I would not throw -away my life for a baker's dozen of them!" - -Upon the skyline Theresa von Lynar stood a moment looking backward to -make sure that her late escort was hidden. Then she took a whistle from -her gown and blew upon it shrilly in a lull of the storm. At the sound -the war-captains could see the Cossacks drop their lances and pause in -their unwearying ride. They appeared to listen eagerly, and upon the -whistle being repeated one of them threw up a hand. Then between them -and on foot the watchers saw another man stand, a dark shadow against -the watchfires. The sentinels leaned down to speak with him, and then, -lifting their lances, they permitted him to pass between them. He was a -tall man, clad in a long caftan which flapped about his feet, a -sheepskin posteen or winter jacket, and a round cap of fur, high-crowned -and flat-topped, upon his head. - -He came straight towards Theresa as if he expected a visitor. - -The two men in hiding saw him take her hand as a host might that of an -honoured guest, kiss it reverently, and then lead her up the little hill -to where the sentinels waited motionless on their horses. So soon as the -pair had passed within the lines, their figures and the Cossack salute -momentarily silhouetted against the watchfires, the twin horsemen -resumed their monotonous ride. - -By this time Jorian's head was above the bushes and his eyes stood well -nigh out of his head. - -"Down, fool!" growled Boris, taking him by the legs and pulling him -flat; "the Cossacks will see you!" - -"Boris," gasped Jorian, who had descended so rapidly that the fall and -the weight of his plate had driven the wind out of him, "I know that -fellow. I have seen him before. It is Prince Wasp's physician, Alexis -the Deacon. I remember him in Courtland when first we came thither!" - -"Well, and what of that?" grunted Boris, staring at the little detached -tongues of willow-leaf flame which were blown upward from the Muscovite -watchfires. - -"What of that, man?" retorted Boris. "Why, only this. We have been -duped. She was a traitress, after all. This has been planned a long -while." - -"Traitress or saint, it is none of our business," said Boris grimly. "We -had better get ourselves within the walls of Courtland, and say nothing -to any of this night's work!" - -"At any rate," added the long man as an afterthought, "I have the ring. -It will be a rare gift for Anna." - -Jorian looked ruefully at his dagger, holding it between the rustling -alder leaves, so as to catch the light from the watchfires. The red glow -fell on a jewel in the hilt. - -"'Tis a pretty toy enough, but how can I give that to Marthe? It is not -a fit keepsake for a lady!" - -"Well," said Boris, suddenly appeased, "I will swop you for it. I am not -so sure that my pretty spitfire would not rather have it than any ring I -could give her. Shall we exchange?" - -"But we promised to keep them as souvenirs?" urged Jorian, whose -conscience smote him slightly. "One does not tell lies to a lady--at -least where one can help it." - -"It depends upon the lady!" said Boris practically. "You can tell your -Marthe the truth. I will please myself with Anna. Hand over the dagger." - -So wholly devoid of sentiment are war-captains when they deal with -keepsakes. - - - - -CHAPTER LII - -THE MARGRAF'S POWDER CHESTS - - -It was indeed Alexis the Deacon who met the Lady Theresa. And the matter -had been arranged, just as Boris said. Alexis the Deacon, a wise man of -many disguises, remained in Courtland after the abrupt departure of -Prince Ivan. Theresa had found him in the hospital, where, sheltered by -a curtain, she heard him talk with a dying man--the son of a Greek -merchant domiciled in Courtland, whose talent for languages and quick -intelligence had induced Prince Conrad to place him on his immediate -staff of officers. - -"I bid you reveal to me the plans and intents of the Prince," Theresa -heard Alexis say, "otherwise I cannot give you absolution. I am priest -as well as doctor." - -At this the young Greek groaned and turned aside his head, for he loved -the Prince. Nevertheless, he spoke into the ear of the physician all he -knew, and as reward received a sleeping draught, which induced the sleep -from which none waken. - -And afterwards Theresa had spoken also. - -So it was this same Alexis--spy, priest, surgeon, assassin, and chief -confidant of Ivan Prince of Muscovy--who, in front of the watchfires, -bent over the hand of Theresa von Lynar on that stormy night which -succeeded the crowning victory of the Russian arms in Courtland. - -"This way, madam. Fear not. The Prince is eagerly awaiting you--both -Princes, indeed," Alexis said, as he led her into the camp through -lines of lighted tents and curious eyes looking at them from the -darkness. "Only tell them all that you have to tell, and, trust me, -there shall be no bounds to the gratitude of the Prince, or of Alexis -the Deacon, his most humble servant." - -Theresa thought of what this boundless gratitude had obtained for the -young Greek, and smiled. They came to an open space before a lighted -pavilion. Before the door stood a pair of officers trying in vain to -shield their gay attire under scanty shoulder cloaks from the hurtling -inclemency of the night. Their ready swords, however, barred the way. - -"To see the Prince--his Highness expects us," said Alexis, without any -salute. And with no further objection the two officers stood aside, -staring eagerly and curiously however under the hood of the lady's cloak -whom Alexis brought so late to the tent of their master. - -"Ha!" muttered one of them confidentially as the pair passed within, "I -often wondered what kept our Ivan so long in Courtland. It was more than -his wooing of the Princess Margaret, I will wager!" - -"Curse the wet!" growled his fellow, turning away. He felt that it was -no time for speculative scandal. - -Theresa and her conductor stood within the tent of the commander of the -Muscovite army. The glow of light, though it came only from candles set -within lanterns of horn, was great enough to be dazzling to her eyes. -She found herself in the immediate presence of Prince Ivan, who rose -with his usual lithe grace to greet her. An older man, with a grey -pinched face, sat listlessly with his elbow on the small camp table. He -leaned his forehead on his palm, and looked down. Behind, in the half -dark of the tent, a low wide divan with cushions was revealed, and all -the upper end of the tent was filled up with a huge and shadowy pile of -kegs and boxes, only half concealed behind a curtain. - -"I bid you welcome, my lady," said Prince Ivan, taking her hand. "Surely -never did ally come welcomer than you to our camp to-night. My servant -Alexis has told me of your goodwill--both towards ourselves and to -Prince Louis." (He indicated the silent sitting figure with a little -movement of his hand sufficiently contemptuous.) "Let us hear your news, -and then will we find you such lodging and welcome as may be among rough -soldiers and in a camp of war." - -As he was speaking Theresa von Lynar loosened her long cloak of blue, -its straight folds dank and heavy with the rains. The eyes of the Prince -of Muscovy grew wider. Hitherto this woman had been to him but a common -traitress, possessed of great secrets, doubtless to be flattered a -little, and then--afterwards--thrown aside. Now he stood gazing at her -his hands resting easily on the table, his body a little bent. As she -revealed herself to him the pupils of his eyes dilated, and amber gleams -seemed to shoot across the irises. He thought he had never seen so -beautiful a woman. As he stood there, sharpening his features and -moistening his lips, Prince Ivan looked exceedingly like a beast of prey -looking out of his hole upon a quarry which comes of its own accord -within reach of his claws. - -But in a moment he had recovered himself, and came forward with renewed -reverence. - -"Madam," he said, bowing low, "will you be pleased to sit down? You are -wet and tired." - -He went to the flap of the pavilion and pushed aside the dripping flap. - -"Alexis!" he cried, "call up my people. Bid them bring a brazier, and -tell these lazy fellows to serve supper in half an hour on peril of -their heads!" - -He returned and stood before Theresa, who had sunk back as if fatigued -on an ottoman covered with thick furs. Her feet nestled in the bearskins -which covered the floor. The Prince looked anxiously down. - -"Pardon me, your shoes are wet," he said. "We are but Muscovite boors, -but we know how to make ladies comfortable. Permit me!" - -And before Theresa could murmur a negative the Prince had knelt down and -was unloosing the latchets of her shoes. - -"A moment!" he said, as he sprang again to his feet with the lithe -alertness which distinguished him. Prince Ivan ran to a corner where, -with the brusque hand of a master, he had tossed a score of priceless -furs to the ground. He rose again and came towards Theresa with a flash -of something scarlet in his hand. - -"You will pardon us, madam," he said, "you are our guest--the sole lady -in our camp. I lay it upon your good nature to forgive our rude -makeshifts." - -And again Prince Ivan knelt. He encased Theresa's feet in dainty -Oriental slippers, small as her own, and placed them delicately and -respectfully on the couch. - -"There, that is better!" he said, standing over her tenderly. - -"I thank you, Prince." She answered the action more than the words, -smiling upon him with her large graciousness; "I am not worthy of so -great favour." - -"My lady," said the Prince, "it is a proverb of our house that though -one day Muscovy shall rule the world, a woman will always rule Muscovy. -I am as my fathers were!" - -Theresa did not answer. She only smiled at the Prince, leaning a little -further back and resting her head easily upon the palm of her hand. The -servitors brought in more lamps, which they slung along the ridge-pole -of the roof, and these shedding down a mellow light enhanced the ripe -splendour of Theresa's beauty. - -Prince Ivan acknowledged to himself that he had spoken the truth when he -said that he had never seen a woman so beautiful. Margaret?--ah, -Margaret was well enough; Margaret was a princess, a political -necessity, but this woman was of a nobler fashion, after a mode more -truly Russ. And the Prince of Muscovy, who loved his fruit with the -least touch of over-ripeness, would not admit to himself that this -woman was one hour past the prime of her glorious beauty. And indeed -there was much to be said for this judgment. - -Theresa's splendid head was set against the dusky skins. Her rich hair -of Venice gold, escaping a little from the massy carefulness of its -ordered coils, had been blown into wet curls that clung closely to her -white neck and tendrilled about her broad low brow. The warmth of the -tent and the soft luxury of the rich rugs had brought a flush of red to -a cheek which yet tingled with the volleying of the Baltic raindrops. - -"Alexis never told me this woman was so beautiful," he said to himself. -"Who is she? She cannot be of Courtland. Such a marvel could not have -been hidden from me during all my stay there!" - -So he addressed himself to making the discovery. - -"My lady," he said, "you are our guest. Will you deign to tell us how -more formally we may address you? You are no Courtlander, as all may -see!" - -"I am a Dane," she answered smiling; "I am called the Lady Theresa. For -the present let that suffice. I am venturing much to come to you thus! -My father and brothers built a castle upon the Baltic shore on land that -has been the inheritance of my mother. Then came the reivers of -Kernsberg and burned the castle to the ground. They burned it with fire -from cellar to roof-tree. And they slackened the fire with the blood of -my nearest kindred!" - -As she spoke Theresa's eyes glittered and altered. The Prince read -easily the meaning of that excitement. How was he to know all that lay -behind? - -"And so," he said, "you have no good-will to the Princess Joan of -Hohenstein--and Courtland. Or to any of her favourers?" he added after a -pause. - -At the name the grey-headed man, who had been sitting unmoved by the -table with his elbow on the board, raised a strangely wizened face to -Theresa's. - -"What"--he said, in broken accents, stammering in his speech and -grappling with the words as if, like a wrestler at a fair, he must throw -each one severally--"what--who has a word to say against the Lady Joan, -Princess of Courtland? Whoso wrongs her has me to reckon with--aye, were -it my brother Ivan himself!" - -"Not I, certainly, my good Louis," answered Ivan easily. "I would not -wrong the lady by word or deed for all Germany from Bor-Russia to the -Rhine-fall!" - -He turned to Alexis the Deacon, who was at his elbow. - -"Fill up his cup--remember what I bade you!" he said sharply in an -undertone. - -"His cup is full, he will drink no more. He pushes it from him!" -answered Alexis in the same half-whisper. But neither, as it seemed, -took any particular pains to prevent their words carrying to the ear of -Prince Louis. And, indeed, they had rightly judged. For swiftly as it -had come the momentary flash of manhood died out on the meagre face. The -arm upon which he had leaned swerved limply aside, and the grey beard -fell helplessly forward upon the table. - -"So much domestic affection is somewhat belated," said Prince Ivan, -regarding Louis of Courtland with disgust. "Look at him! Who can wonder -at the lady's taste? He is a pretty Prince of a great province. But if -he live he will do well enough to fill a chair and hold a golden rod. -Take him away, Alexis!" - -"Nay," said Theresa, with quick alarm, "let him stay. There are many -things to speak of. We may need to consult Prince Louis later." - -"I fear the Prince will not be of great use to us," smiled Prince Ivan. -"If only I had known, I would have conserved his princely senses more -carefully. But for heads like his the light wine of our country is -dangerously strong." - -He glanced about the pavilion. The servants had not yet retired. - -"Convey his Highness to the rear, and lay him upon the powder barrels!" -He indicated with his hand the array of boxes and kegs piled in the dusk -of the tent. The servitors did as they were told; they lifted Prince -Louis and would have carried him to that grim couch, but, struck with -some peculiarity, Alexis the Deacon suddenly bent over his lax body and -thrust his hand into the bosom of his princely habit, now tarnished -thick with wine stains and spilled meats. - -"Excellency," he said, turning to his master, "the Prince is dead! His -heart does not beat. It is the stroke! I warned you it would come!" - -Prince Ivan strode hastily towards the body of Louis of Courtland. - -"Surely not?" he cried, in seeming astonishment. "This may prove very -inconvenient. Yet, after all, what does it matter? With your assistance, -madam, the city is ours. And then, what matters dead prince or living -prince? A garrison in every fort, a squadron of good Cossacks pricking -across every plain, a tax-collector in every village--these are the best -securities of princedom. But this is like our good Louis. He never did -anything at a right time all his life." - -Theresa stood on the other side of the dead man as the servitors lowered -him for the inspection of their lord. The weary wrinkled face had been -smoothed as with the passage of a hand. Only the left corner of the -mouth was drawn down, but not so much as to be disfiguring. - -"I am glad he spoke kindly of his wife at the last," she murmured. And -she added to herself, "This falls out well--it relieves me of a -necessity." - -"Spoken like a woman!" cried Prince Ivan, looking admiringly at her. -"Pray forgive my bitter speech, and remember that I have borne long with -this man!" - -He turned to the servitors and directed them with a motion of his hand -towards the back of the pavilion. - -"Drop the curtain," he said. - -And as the silken folds rustled heavily down the curtain fell upon the -career and regality of Louis, Prince of Courtland, hereditary Defender -of the Holy See. - -The men did not bear him far. They placed him upon the boxes of the -powder for the Margraf's cannon, which for safety and dryness Ivan had -bade them bring to his own pavilion. The dead man lay in the dark, -open-eyed, staring at the circling shadows as the servitors moved -athwart the supper table, at which a woman sat eating and drinking with -her enemy. - - * * * * * - -Theresa von Lynar sat directly opposite the Prince of Muscovy. The board -sparkled with mellow lights reflected from many lanterns. The servitors -had departed. Only the measured tread of the sentinels was heard -without. They were alone. - -And then Theresa spoke. Very fully she told what she had learned of the -defences of the place, which gates were guarded by the Kernsbergers, -which by the men of Plassenburg, which by the remnants of the broken -army of Courtland. She spoke in a hushed voice, the Prince sipping and -nodding as he looked into her eyes. She gave the passwords of the inner -and outer defences, the numbers of the defenders at each gate, the plans -for bringing provisions up the Alla--indeed, everything that a besieging -general needs to know. - -And so soon as she had told the passwords the Prince asked her to pardon -him a moment. He struck a silver bell and with scarce a moment's delay -Alexis entered. - -"Go," said the Prince; "send one of our fellows familiar with the speech -of Courtland into the city by the Plassenburg Gate. The passwords are -'_Henry the Lion_' at the outer gate and '_Remember_' at the inner port. -Let the man be dressed in the habit of a countryman, and carry with him -some wine and provend. Follow him and report immediately." - -While the Prince was speaking he had never taken his eyes off Theresa -von Lynar, though he had appeared to be regarding Alexis the Deacon. -Theresa did not blanch. Not a muscle of her face quivered. And within -his Muscovite heart, full of treachery as an egg of meat, Prince Ivan -said, "She is no traitress, this dame; but a simpleton with all her -beauty. The woman is speaking the truth." - -And Theresa was speaking the truth. She had expected some such test and -was prepared; but she only told the defenders' plans to one man; and as -for the passwords, she had arranged with Boris that at the earliest dawn -they were to be changed and the forces redistributed. - -While these two waited for the return of Alexis, the Prince encouraged -Theresa to speak of her wrongs. He watched with approbation the sparkle -of her eye as he spoke of Joan of the Sword Hand. He noted how she shut -down her lips when Henry the Lion was mentioned, how her voice shook as -she recounted the cruel end of her kin. - -Though at ordinary times most sober, the Prince now added cup to cup, -and like a Muscovite he grew more bitter as the wine mounted to his -head. He leaned forward and laid his hand upon his companion's white -wrist. Theresa quivered a little, but did not take it away. The Prince -was becoming confidential. - -"Yes," he said, leaning towards her, "you have suffered great wrongs, -and do well to hate with the hate that craves vengeance. But even you -shall be satisfied. To-morrow and to-morrow's to-morrow you and I shall -have out our hearts' desire upon our enemies. Yes, for many days. -Sweet--sweet it shall be--sweet, and very slow; for I, too, have wrongs, -as you shall hear." - -"Truly, I did well to come to you!" said Theresa, giving her hand -willingly into his. He clasped her fingers and would have kissed her but -for the table between. - -"You speak truth." He hissed the words bitterly. "Indeed, you did better -than well. I also have wrongs, and Ivan of Muscovy will show you a -Muscovite vengeance. - -"This Prince Conrad of theirs baulked me of my revenge and drove me -from the city. Him will I take and burn at the stake in his priest's -robes, as if he were saying mass--or, better still, in the red of the -cardinal's habit with his hat upon his head. And ere he dies he shall -see his paramour carried to her funeral. For I will give you the life of -the woman for whose sake he thwarted Ivan of Muscovy. If you will it, no -hand but yours shall have the shedding of the blood of your house's -enemy. Is not this your vengeance already sweet in prospect?" - -"It is sweet indeed!" answered Theresa. - -"Your Highness!" said the voice of Alexis at the tent door, "am I -permitted to speak?" - -"Speak on!" cried Ivan, without relaxing his clasp upon the hand of -Theresa von Lynar. Indeed, momentarily it became a grip. - -"The man went safely through at the Plassenburg Gate. The passwords were -correct. The man who challenged spoke with a Kernsberg accent!" - -The Prince's grasp relaxed. - -"It is well," he said. "Now go to the captains and tell them to be in -their posts about the city according to the plan--the main assault to be -delivered by the gate of the sea. At dawn I will be with you! Go! Above -all, do not forget the passwords--first '_Henry the Lion!_' then -'_Remember!_'" - -Alexis the Deacon saluted and went. - -The Prince rose and came about the table nearer to Theresa von Lynar. -She drew her breath quickly and checked it as sharply with a kind of -sob. Her left hand went down to her side as naturally as a nun's to her -rosary. But it was no rosary her fingers touched. The action steadied -her, and she threw back her head and smiled up at her companion -debonairly as though she had no care in the world. - -Theresa repeated the passwords slowly and audibly. - -"'_Henry the Lion!_' '_Remember!_' Ah!" (she broke off with a laugh) "I -am not likely to forget." Ivan laid his hand on her shoulder, glad to -see her so resolute. - -"All in good time," he said, sitting down on a stool at her feet and -taking her hand--her right hand. The other he did not see. Then he spoke -confidentially. - -"One other revenge I have which I shall keep till the last. It shall be -as sweet to me as yours to you. I shall draw it out lingeringly that I -may drain all its sweetness. It concerns the upstart springald whom the -Princess Margaret had the bad taste to prefer to me. Not that I cared a -jot for the Princess. My taste is far other" (here he looked up -tenderly); "but the Princess I must wed, as maid or widow I care not. I -take her provinces, not herself; and these must be mine by right of fief -and succession as well as by right of conquest. The way is clear. That -piece of carrion which men called by a prince's name was carried out a -while ago. Conrad the priest, who is a man, shall die like a man. And I, -Ivan, and Holy Russia shall enter in. By the right of Margaret, sole -heir of Courtland, city and province shall be mine; Kernsberg shall be -mine; Hohenstein shall be mine. Then mayhap I will try a fall for -Plassenburg and the Mark with the Executioner's Son and his little -housewife. But sweeter than all shall be my revenge upon the man I -hate--upon him who took his betrothed wife from Ivan of Muscovy." - -"Ah," said Theresa von Lynar, "it will indeed be sweet! And what shall -be your worthy and terrible revenge?" - -"I have thought of it long--I have turned it over, this and that have I -thought--of the smearing with honey and the anthill, of trepanning and -the worms on the brain--but I have fixed at last upon something that -will make the ears of the world tingle----" - -He leaned forward and whispered into the ear of Theresa von Lynar the -terrible death he had prepared for her only son. She nodded calmly as -she listened, but a wonderful joy lit up the woman's face. - -"I am glad I came hither," she murmured, "it is worth it all." - -Prince Ivan took her hand in both of his and pressed it fondly. - -"And you shall be gladder yet," he said, "my Lady Theresa. I have -something to say. I had not thought that there lived in the world any -woman so like-minded, even as I knew not that there lived any woman so -beautiful. Together you and I might rule the world. Shall it be -together?" - -"But, Prince Ivan," she interposed quickly, but still smiling, "what is -this? I thought you were set on wedding the Princess Margaret. You were -to make her first widow and then wife." - -"Theresa," he said, looking amorously up at her, "I marry for a kingdom. -But I wed the woman who is my mate. It is our custom. I must give the -left hand, it is true, but with it the heart, my Theresa!" - -He was on his knees before her now, still clasping her fingers. - -"You consent?" he said, with triumph already in his tone. - -"I do not say you nay!" she answered, with a sigh. - -He kissed her hand and rose to his feet. He would have taken her in his -arms, but a noise in the pavilion disturbed him. He went quickly to the -curtain and peeped through. - -"It is nothing," he said, "only the men come to fetch the powder for the -Margraf's cannon. But the night speeds apace. In an hour we assault." - -With an eager look on his face he came nearer to her. - -"Theresa," he said, "a soldier's wooing must needs be brisk and speedy. -Yours and mine yet swifter. Our revenge beckons us on. Do you abide here -till I return--with those good friends whose names we have mentioned. -But now, ere I go forth, pledge me but once your love. This is our true -betrothal. Say, 'I love you, Ivan!' that I may keep it in my heart till -my return!" - -Again he would have taken her in his arms, but Theresa turned quickly, -finger on lip. She looked anxiously towards the back of the tent where -lay the dead prince. "Hush! I hear something!" she said. - -Then she smiled upon him--a sudden radiance like sunshine through -rain-clouds. - -"Come with me--I am afraid of the dark!" she said, almost like a child. -For great is the guile of woman when her all is at stake. - -Theresa von Lynar opened the latch of a horn lantern which dangled at a -pole and took the taper in her left. She gave her right hand with a -certain gesture of surrender to Prince Ivan. - -"Come!" she said, and led him within the inner pavilion. A dim light -sifted through the open flap by which the men had gone out with their -load of powder. Day was breaking and a broad crimson bar lay across the -path of the yet unrisen sun. Theresa and Prince Ivan stood beside the -dead. He had been roughly thrown down on the pile of boxes which -contained the powder manufactured by the Margraf's alchemists according -to the famous receipt of Bertholdus Schwartz. The lid of the largest -chest stood open, as if the men were returning for yet another burden. - -"Quick!" she said, "here in the presence of the dead, I will whisper it -here, here and not elsewhere." - -She brought him close to her with the gentle compulsion of her hand till -he stood in a little angle where the red light of the dawn shone on his -dark handsome face. Then she put an arm strong as a wrestler's about -him, pinioning him where he stood. Yet the gracious smile on the woman's -lips held him acquiescent and content. - -She bent her head. - -[Illustration: "'The password, Prince--do not forget the password!'" -[_Page 379_]] - -"Listen," she said, "this have I never done for any man before--no, not -so much as this! And for you will I do much more. Prince Ivan, you speak -true--death alone must part you and me. You ask me for a love pledge. I -will give it. Ivan of Muscovy, you have plotted death and torture--the -death of the innocent. Listen! I am the wife of Henry of Kernsberg, the -mother of the young man Maurice von Lynar whom you would slay by -horrid devices. Prince, truly you and I shall die together--and the time -is _now_!" - -Vehemently for his life struggled Prince Ivan, twisting like a serpent, -and crying, "Help! Help! Treachery! Witch, let me go, or I will stab you -where you stand." Once his hand touched his dagger. But before he could -draw it there came a sound of rushing feet. The forms of many men -stumbled up out of the gleaming blood-red of the dawn. - -Then Theresa von Lynar laughed aloud as she held him helpless in her -grasp. - -"The password, Prince--do not forget the password! You will need it -to-night at both inner and outer guard! I, Theresa, have not forgotten. -It is '_Henry the Lion_! _Remember!_'" - -And Theresa dropped the naked candle she had been holding aloft into the -great chest of dull black grains which stood open by her side. - - * * * * * - -And after that it mattered little that at the same moment beyond the -Alla the trumpets of Hugo, Prince of Plassenburg, blew their first -awakening blast. - - - - -CHAPTER LIII - -THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH VISIBLE - - -"So," said Pope Sixtus amicably, "your brother was killed by the great -explosion of Friar Roger's powder in the camp of the enemy! Truly, as I -have often said, God is not with the Greek Church. They are schismatics -if not plain heretics!" - -He was a little bored with this young man from the North, and began to -remember the various distractions which were waiting for him in his own -private wing of the Vatican. Still, the Church needed such young -war-gods as this Prince Conrad. There were signs, too, that in a little -she might need them even more. - -The Pope's mind travelled fast. He had a way of murmuring broken -sentences to himself which to his intimates showed how far his thoughts -had wandered. - -It was the Vatican garden in the month of April. Holy Week was past, and -the mind of the Vicar of Christ dwelt contentedly upon the great gifts -and offerings which had flowed into his treasury. Conrad could not have -arrived more opportunely. Beneath, the eye travelled over the hundred -churches of Rome and the red roofs of her palaces--to the Tiber no -longer tawny, but well-nigh as blue as the Alla itself; then further -still to the grey Campagna and the blue Alban Hills. But the Pope's eye -was directed to something nearer at hand. - -In an elevated platform garden they sat in a bower sipping their -after-dinner wine. Beyond answering questions Conrad said little. He -was too greatly astonished. He had expected a saint, and he had found -himself quietly talking politics and scandal with an Italian Prince. The -Holy Father's face was placid. His lips moved. Now and then a word or -two escaped him. Yet he seemed to be listening to something else. - -That which he looked at was an excavation over which thousands of men -crawled, thick as ants about a mound when you thrust your stick among -their piled pine-needles on Isle Rugen. Already at more than one point -massive walls began to rise. Architects with parchment rolls in their -hands went to and fro talking to overseers and foremen. These were clad -in black coats reaching below the waist, which made inky blots on the -white earth-glare and contrasted with the striped blouses of the -overseers and the naked bodies and red loin-cloths of the workmen. - -Conrad blessed his former sojourns in Italy which enabled him to follow -the fast-running river of the Pontiff's half-unconscious meditation, -which was couched not in crabbed monkish Latin, but in the free Italic -to which as a boy the Head of the Church had been accustomed. - -"So your brother is dead!--(Yes, yes, he told me so before.) And a -blessing of God, too. I never liked my brothers. Nephews and nieces are -better, so be they are handsome. What, you have none? Then you are the -heir to the kingdom--you must marry--you must marry!" - -Conrad suddenly flushed fiery red. - -"Holy Father," he said nervously, his eyes on the Alban Hills, "it was -concerning this that I made pilgrimage to Rome--that I might consult -your Holiness!" - -The Pontiff nodded amicably and looked about him. At the far end of the -garden, in a second creeper-enclosed arbour similar to that in which -they sat, the Pope's personal attendants congregated. These were mostly -gay young men in parti-coloured raiment, who jested and laughed without -much regard for appearances, or at all fearing the displeasure of the -Church's Head. As Conrad looked, one of them stood up and tossed over -the wall a delicately folded missive, winged like a dart and tied with a -ribbon of fluttering blue. Then, the moment afterwards, from beneath -came the sound of girlish laughter, whereat all the young men, save one, -craned their necks over the wall and shouted jests down to the unseen -ladies on the balcony below. - -All save one--and he, a tall stern-faced dark young man in a plain black -soutane, walked up and down in the sun, with his eyes on the ground and -his hands knotting themselves behind his back. The fingers were twisting -nervously, and he pursed his lips in meditation. He did not waste even -one contemptuous glance on the riotous crew in the arbour. - -"Aha--you came to consult me about your marriage," chuckled the Holy -Father. "Well, what have you been doing? Young blood--young blood! Once -I was young myself. But young blood must pay. I am your father -confessor. Now, proceed. (This may be useful--better, better, better!)" - -And with a wholly different air of interest, the Pope poured himself a -glass of the rich wine and leaned back, contemplating the young man now -with a sort of paternal kindliness. The thought that he had certain -peccadillos to confess was a relish to the rich Sicilian vintage, and -created, as it were, a common interest between them. For the first time -Pope Sixtus felt thoroughly at ease with his guest. - -"I have, indeed, much to confess, Holy Father, much I could not pour -into any ears but thine." - -"Yes--yes--I am all attention," murmured the Pontiff, his ears pricking -and twitching with anticipation, and the famous likeness to a goat -coming out in his face. "Go on! Go on, my son. Confession is the -breathing health of the soul! (If this young man can tell me aught I do -not know--by Peter, I will make him my private chaplain!)." - -Then Conrad summoned up all his courage and put his soul's sickness into -the sentence which he had been conning all the way from the city of -Courtland. - -"My father," he said, very low, his head bent down, "I, who am a priest, -have loved the Lady Joan, my brother's wife!" - -"Ha," said Sixtus, pursing his lips, "that is bad--very bad. (Bones of -Saint Anthony! I did not think he had the spirit!) Penance must be -done--yes, penance and payment! But hath the matter been secret? There -has, I hope, been no open scandal; and of course it cannot continue now -that your brother is dead. While he was alive all was well; but -dead--oh, that is different! You have now no cloak for your sin! These -open sores do the Church much harm! I have always avoided such myself!" - -The young man listened with a swiftly lowering brow. - -"Holy Father," he said; "I think you mistake me. I spoke not of sin -committed. The Princess Joan is pure as an angel, unstained by evil or -the thought of it! She sits above the reach of scandalous tongues!" - -("Humph--what, then, is the man talking about? Some cold northern -snowdrift! Strange, strange! I thought he had been a lad of spirit!") - -But aloud Sixtus said, with a surprised accent, "Then why do you come to -me?" - -"Sire, I am a priest, and even the thought of love is sin!" - -"Tut-tut; you are a prince-cardinal. In Rome at least that is a very -different thing!" - -He turned half round in his seat and looked with a certain indulgent -fondness upon the gay young men who were conducting a battle of flowers -with the laughing girls beneath them. Two of them had laid hold of -another by the legs and were holding him over the trellised flowers that -he might kiss a girl whom her companions were elevating from below for a -like purpose. As their young lips met the Pontiff slapped the purple -silk on his thigh and laughed aloud. - -"Ah, rascals, merry rascals!" (here he sighed). "What it is to be -young! Take an old man's advice, Live while you are young. Yes, live and -leave penance, for old age is sufficient penance in itself. (Tut--what -am I saying? Let his pocket do penance!) He who kissed was my nephew -Girolamo, ever the flower of the flock, my dear Girolamo. I think you -said, Prince Conrad, that you were a cardinal. Well, most of these young -men are cardinals (or will be, so soon as I can get the gold to set them -up. They spend too much money, the rascals)." - -"These are cardinals? And priests?" queried Conrad, vastly astonished. - -The Holy Father nodded and took another sip of the perfumed Sicilian. - -"To be a cardinal is nothing," he said calmly. "It is a step--nothing -more. The high road of advancement, the spirit of the time. When I have -princedoms for them all, why, they must marry and settle--raise -dynasties, found princely houses. So it shall be with you, son Conrad. -Your brother was alive, Prince of Courtland, married to this fair lady -(what was her name? Yes, yes, Joanna). You, a younger son, must be -provided for, the Church supported. Therefore you received that which -was the hereditary right of your family--the usual payments to Holy -Church being made. You were Archbishop, Cardinal, Prince of the Church. -In time you would have been Elector of the Empire and my assessor at the -Imperial Diet. That was your course. What harm, then, that you should -make love to your brother's wife? Natural--perfectly natural. Fortunate, -indeed, that you had a brother so complaisant----" - -"Sir," said Conrad, half rising from his seat, "I have already had the -honour of informing you----" - -"Yes, yes, I forgot--pardon an old man. (Ah, the rascal, would he? -Served him right! Ha, ha, well smitten--a good girl!)" - -Another had tried the trick of being held over the balcony, but this -time the maiden below was coy, and, instead of a kiss, the youth had -received only a sound smack on the cheek fairly struck with the palm of -a willing hand. - -"Yes, I remember. It was but a sin of the soul. (Stupid fellow! stupid -fellow! Girolamo is a true Delia Rovere. He would not have been served -so.) Yes, a sin of the soul. And now you wish to marry? Well, I will -receive back your hat. I will annul your orders--the usual payments -being made to Holy Church. I have so many expenses--my building, the -decorations of my chapel, these young rascals--ah, little do you know -the difficulties of a Pope. But whom do you wish to marry? What, your -brother's widow? Ah, that is bad--why could you not be content----? -Pardon, your pardon, my mind is again wandering." - -"Tsut--tsut--this is a sad business, a matter infinitely more difficult, -forbidden by the Church. What? They parted at the church door? A wench -of spirit, I declare. I doubt not like that one who smote Pietro just -now. I wonder not at you, save at your moderation--that is, if you speak -the truth." - -"I do speak the truth!" said Conrad, with northern directness, beginning -to flush again. - -"Gently--gently," said Sixtus; "there are many minutes in a year, many -people go to make a world. I have never seen a man like you before. Be -patient, then, with me. I am giving you a great deal of my time. It will -be difficult, this marriage--difficult, but not impossible. Peter's -coffers are very empty, my son." - -The Pontiff paused to give Conrad time to speak. - -"I will pay into the treasury of the Holy Father on the day of my -marriage a hundred thousand ducats," said Conrad, blushing deeply. It -seemed like bribing God. - -The Vicegerent of Christ stretched out a smooth white hand, and his -smile was almost as gracious as when he turned it upon his nephew -Girolamo. - -"Spoken like a true prince," he cried, "a son of the Church indeed. Her -works--the propagation of the Faith, the Holy Office--these shall -benefit by your generosity." - -He turned about again and beckoned to the tall young man in the black -soutane. - -"Guliano, come hither!" he cried, and as he came he explained in his low -tones, "My nephew, between ourselves, a dull dog, but will be great. He -choked a ruffian who attacked him on the street; so, one day, he will -choke this Italy between his hands. He will sit in this chair. Ah, there -is one thing that I am thankful for, and it is that I shall be dead when -our Julian is Pope. I know not where I shall be--but anything were -preferable to being in Rome under Julian--purgatory or----Yes, my dear -nephew, Prince Conrad of Courtland! You are to go and prepare documents -concerning this noble prince. I will instruct you as to their nature -presently. Await me in the hither library." - -The young man had been looking steadily at Conrad while his uncle was -speaking. It was a firm and manly look, but there was cruelty lurking in -the curve of the upper lip. Guliano della Rovere looked more -_condottiere_ than priest. Nevertheless, without a word he bowed and -retired. - -When he was gone the Pope sat a moment absorbed in thought. - -"I will send him to Courtland with you. (Yes, yes, he is staunch and to -be trusted with money.) He will marry you and bring back -the--the--benefaction. Your hand, my son. I am an old man and need help. -May you be happy! Live well and honour Holy Church. Be not too nice. The -commons like not a precisian. And, besides, you cannot live your youth -over. Girolamo! Girolamo! Where is that rascal? Ah, there you are. I saw -you kiss yonder pretty minx! Shame, sir, shame! You shall do penance--I -myself will prescribe it. What kept you so long when I called you? Some -fresh rascality, I will wager!" - -"No, my father," said Girolamo readily. "I went to the dungeons of the -Holy Office to see if they had finished off that ranting philosopher who -stirred up the people yesterday!" - -"Well, and have they?" asked the Pontiff. - -"Yes, the fellow has confessed that six thousand pieces are hidden under -the hearthstone of his country house. So all is well ended. He is to be -burned to-morrow." - -"Good--good. So perish all Jews, heretics, and enemies of Holy Church!" -said Pope Sixtus piously. "And now I bid you adieu, son Conrad! You set -out to-morrow. The papers shall be ready. A hundred thousand ducats, I -think you said--_and_ the fees for secularisation. These will amount to -fifty thousand more. Is it not so, my son?" - -Conrad bowed assent. He thought it was well that Courtland was rich and -his brother Louis a careful man. - -"Good--good, my son. You are a true standard-bearer of the Church. I -will throw in a perpetual indulgence--with blanks which you may fill up. -No, do not refuse! You think that you will never want it, because you do -not want it now. But you may--you may!" - -He stretched out his hand. The blessed ring of Saint Peter shone upon -it. Conrad fell on his knees. - -"_Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi benedicat te in omni benedictione -spirituali. Amen!_" - - - - -EPILOGUE OF EXPLICATION - - -It was the morning of a white day. The princely banner flew from every -tower in Castle Kernsberg, for that day it was to lose a duchess and -gain a duke. It was Joan's second wedding-day--the day of her first -marriage. - -Never had the little hill town seen so brave a gathering since the -northern princes laid Henry the Lion in his grave. In the great vault -where he slept there was a new tomb, a plain marble slab with the -inscription-- - - "THERESA, WIFE OF HENRY, - DUKE OF KERNSBERG AND HOHENSTEIN." - -And underneath, and in Latin, the words-- - - "AFTER THE TEMPEST, PEACE!" - -For strangely enough, by the wonder of Providence or some freak of the -exploding powder, they had found Theresa fallen where she had stood, -blackened indeed but scarce marred in face or figure. So from that -burnt-out hell they had brought her here that at the last she might rest -near the man whom her soul loved. - -And as they moved away and left her, little Johannes Rode, the scholar, -murmured the words, "_Post tempestatem, tranquillitas!_" - -Prince Conrad heard him, and he it was who had them engraven on her -tomb. - -But on this morning of gladness only Joan thought of the dead woman. - -"To-day I will do the thing she wished," the Duchess thought, as she -looked from the window towards her father's tomb. "She would take -nothing for herself, yet shall her son sit in my place and rule where -his father ruled. I am glad!" - -Here she blushed. - -"Yet, why should I vaunt? It is no sacrifice, for I shall be--what I -would rather a thousand times be. Small thanks, then, that I give up -freely what is worth nothing to me now!" - -And with the arm that had wielded a sword so often and so valiantly, -Joan the bride went on arraying her hair and making her beautiful for -the eyes of her lord. - -"My lord!" she said, and again with a different accent. "_My_ lord!" - -And when these her living eyes met those others in the Venice mirror, -lo! either pair was smiling a new smile. - - * * * * * - -Meantime, beneath in her chamber, the Princess Margaret was making her -husband's life a burden to him, or rather, first quarrelling with him -and the next moment throwing her arms about his neck in a passion of -remorse. For that is the wont of dainty Princess Margarets who are sick -and know not yet what aileth them. - -"Maurice," she was saying, "is it not enough to make me throw me over -the battlements that they should all forsake me, on this day of all -others, when you are to be made a Duke in the presence of the Pope's -Legate and the Emperor's _Alter_--what is it?--_Alter ego?_ What a silly -word! And you might have told it to me prettily and without laughing at -me. Yes, you did, and you also are in league against me. And I will not -go to the wedding; no, not if Joan were to beg of me on my knees! I will -not have any of these minxes in to do my hair. Nay, do not you touch it. -I am nobody, it seems, and Joan everything. Joan--Joan! It is Joan this -and Joan that! Tush, I am sick of your Joans. - -"She gives up the duchy to us--well, that is no great gift. She is -getting Courtland for it, and my brother. Even he will not love me any -more. Conrad is like the rest. He eats, drinks, sleeps, wakes, talks -Joan. He is silent, and thinks Joan. So, I believe, do you. You are only -sorry that she did not love you best! - -"Well, if you _are_ her brother, I do not care. Who was speaking about -marrying her? And, at any rate, you did not know she was your sister. -You might very well have loved her. And I believe you did. You do not -love me, at all events. _That_ I do know! - -"No, I will not 'hush,' nor will I come upon your knee and be petted. I -am not a baby! '_What is the matter betwixt me and the maidens?_' If you -had let me explain I would have told you long ago. But I never get -speaking a word. I am not crying, and I shall cry if I choose. Oh yes, I -will tell you, Duke Maurice, if you care to hear, why I am angry with -the maids. Well, then, first it was that Anna Pappenheim. She tugged my -hair out by the roots in handfuls, and when I scolded her I saw there -were tears in her eyes. I asked her why, and for long she would not tell -me. Then all at once she acknowledged that she had promised to marry -that great overgrown chimney-pot, Captain Boris, and must hie her to -Plassenburg, if I pleased. I did not please, and when I said that surely -Marthe was not so foolish thus to throw herself away, the wretched -Marthe came bawling and wringing hands, and owned that she was in like -case with Jorian. - -"So I sent them out very quickly, being justly angry that they should -thus desert me. And I called for Thora of Bornholm, and began easing my -mind concerning their ingratitude, when the Swede said calmly, 'I fear -me, madam, I am not able to find any fault with Anna and Martha. For I -am even as they, or worse. I have been married for over six months.' - -"'And to whom?' I cried; 'tell me, and he shall hang as surely as I am a -Princess of Courtland.' For I was somewhat disturbed. - -"'To-day your Highness is Duchess of Kernsberg,' said the minx, as -calmly as if at sacrament. 'My husband's name is Johannes Rode!' - -"And when I have told you, instead of being sorry for me, you do nothing -but laugh. I will indeed fling me over the window!" - -And the fiery little Princess ran to the window and pretended to cast -herself headlong. But her husband did not move. He stood leaning against -the mantelshelf and smiling at her quietly and lovingly. - -Hearing no rush of anxious feet, and finding no restraining arm cast -about her, Margaret turned, and with fresh fire in her gesture stamped -her foot at Maurice. - -"That just proves it! Little do you care whether or no I kill myself. -You wish I would, so that you might marry somebody else. You dare not -deny it!" - -Maurice knew better than to deny it, nor did he move till the Princess -cast herself down on the coverlet and sobbed her heart out, with her -face on the pillow and her hair spraying in linked tendrils about her -white neck and shoulders. Then he went gently to her and laid his hand -on her head, regardless of the petulant shrug of her shoulders as he -touched her. He gathered her up and sat down with her in his arms. - -"Little one," he said, "I want you to be good. This is a great and a -glad day. To-day my sister finds the happiness that you and I have -found. To-day I am to sit in my father's seat and to have henceforth my -own name among men. You must help me. Will you, little one? For this -once let me be your tire-woman. I have often done my own tiring when, in -old days, I dared death in women's garments for your sweet sake. -Dearest, do not hurt my heart any more, but help me." - -His wife smiled suddenly through her tears, and cast her arms about his -neck. - -"Oh, I am bad--bad--bad," she cried vehemently. "It were no wonder if -you did not love me. But do keep loving me. I should die else. I will be -better--I will--I will! I do not know why I should be so bad. Sometimes -I think I cannot help it." - -But Maurice kissed her and smiled as if he knew. - -"We will live like plain and honest country folk, you and I," he said. -"Let Anna and Martha follow their war-captains. Thora at least will -remain with us, and we will make Johannes Rode our almoner and court -poet. Now smile at me, little one! Ah, that is better." - -In Margaret's April eyes the sun shone out again, and she clung lovingly -to her husband a long moment before she would let him go. - -Then she thrust him a little away from her, that she might see his face, -as she asked the question of all loving and tempestuous Princess -Margarets, "Are you sure you love me just the same, even when I am -naughty?" - -Maurice was sure. - -And taking his face between her hands in a fierce little clutch, she -asked a further assurance. "Are you quite, quite sure?" she said. - -And Maurice was quite, quite sure. - - * * * * * - -Not in a vast and solemn cathedral was Joan married, but in the old -church of Kernsberg, which had so often raised the protest of the Church -against the exactions of her ancestors. The bridal escort was of her own -tried soldiery, now to be hers no more, and all of them a little sad for -that. Hugo and Helene of Plassenburg had come--Hugo because he was the -representative of the Emperor, and Helene because she was a sweet and -loving woman who delighted to rejoice in another's joy. - -With these also arrived, and with these was to depart, the dark-faced -stern young cardinal of San Pietro in Vincoli. He must have good escort, -he said, for he carried many precious relics and tokens of the affection -of the faithful for the Church's Head. The simple priesthood of -Kernsberg shrank from his fiery glances, and were glad when he was gone. -But, save at the hour of bridal itself, he spent all his time with the -treasurer of the Princedom of Courtland. - -When at last they came down the aisle together, and the sweet-voiced -choristers sang, and the white-robed maidens scattered flowers for their -feet to walk upon, the bride found opportunity to whisper to her -husband, "I fear me I shall never be Joan of the Sword Hand any more!" - -He smiled back at her as they came out upon the tears and laughter and -acclaim of the many-coloured throng that filled the little square. - -"Be never afraid, beloved," he said, and his eyes were very glad and -proud, "only be Joan to me, and I will be your Sword Hand!" - - -THE END - - - - - The Gresham Press, - UNWIN BROTHERS, - WOKING AND LONDON. - - - - -Novels by Guy Boothby. - -_SPECIAL & ORIGINAL DESIGNS._ - -Each volume attractively illustrated by Stanley L. Wood and others. - -_Crown 8vo, Cloth Gilt, Trimmed Edges, 5s._ - - -Mr. Rudyard Kipling Says: - - "Mr. GUY BOOTHBY has come to great honours now. His name is - large upon hoardings, his books sell like hot cakes, and he - keeps a level head through it all. I've met him several times in - England, and he added to my already large respect for him." - - A MAKER OF NATIONS. - THE RED RAT'S DAUGHTER. - LOVE MADE MANIFEST. - PHAROS, THE EGYPTIAN. - ACROSS THE WORLD FOR A WIFE. - THE LUST OF HATE. - BUSHIGRAMS. - THE FASCINATION OF THE KING. - DR. NIKOLA. - THE BEAUTIFUL WHITE DEVIL. - A BID FOR FORTUNE; or, Dr. Nikola's Vendetta. - IN STRANGE COMPANY: A Story of Chili and the Southern Seas. - THE MARRIAGE OF ESTHER: A Torres Straits Sketch. - - - - -NEW COMPLETE LIBRARY EDITION - - .. OF .. - -G.J. 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KEMP-WELCH - 14 =HOLMBY HOUSE.= Illustrated by LUCY E. KEMP-WELCH - 15 =THE WHITE ROSE.= Illustrated by S.E. WALLER - 16 =TILBURY NOGO.= Illustrated by STANLEY L. WOOD - 17 =UNCLE JOHN.= Illustrated by S.E. WALLER - - - - -Novels by Joseph Hocking. - - _CROWN 8vo, CLOTH GILT, 3s. 6d. EACH._ - (EACH VOLUME UNIFORM.) - -Though Mr. JOSEPH HOCKING'S novels have been (by the _Spectator_) -compared to Mr. NG-GOULD'S and (by the _Star_) to Mr. THOMAS -HARDY'S--next to whom it placed him as a writer of country life--and by -other journals to Mr. HALL CAINE'S and Mr. ROBERT BUCHANAN'S, they are, -one and all, stamped with striking and original individuality. Bold in -conception, pure in tone, strenuously high and earnest in purpose, -daring in thought, picturesque and life-like in description, worked out -with singular power and in nervous and vigorous language, it is not to -be wondered at that Mr. HOCKING'S novels are eagerly awaited by a large -and ever increasing public. - - =THE PURPLE ROBE.= - Illustrated by J. BARNARD DAVIS. - - =WEAPONS OF MYSTERY.= - With Frontispiece and Vignette. - - =FIELDS OF FAIR RENOWN.= - With Frontispiece and Vignette by J. BARNARD DAVIS. - - =ALL MEN ARE LIARS.= - With Frontispiece and Vignette by GORDON BROWNE. - - =ISHMAEL PENGELLY: An Outcast.= - With Frontispiece and Vignette by W. S. STACEY. - - =THE STORY OF ANDREW FAIRFAX.= - With Frontispiece and Vignette by GEO. HUTCHINSON. - - =JABEZ EASTERBROOK.= - With Frontispiece and Vignette by STANLEY L. WOOD. - - =ZILLAH.= With Frontispiece by POWELL CHASE. - - =THE MONK OF MAR-SABA.= - With Frontispiece and Vignette by W. S. STACEY. - - - - -=Recent Novels.= - - =LADY BARBARITY.= By J. C. SNAITH, Author of "Mistress Dorothy - Marvin," "Fierceheart, the Soldier," &c. Illustrated by W. - D. ALMOND. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s. - - "'Lady Barbarity' would cheer a pessimist in a November fog; it - is so gay, so good humoured, so full of the influence of youth - and beauty, that he must be a dull dog who finds no enjoyment in - the reading of it."--_Black and White._ - - =WILLOW THE KING.= By the same Author. Illustrated by LUCIEN - DAVIS, R.I. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s. - - "The best cricket novel I have ever read. The heroine is drawn - with amazing vigour and vividness. Her wit, her volleying - repartee, her humour, are almost incredibly brilliant."--_The - Star._ - - =THE SANCTUARY CLUB.= By Mrs. L. T. MEADE, Author of "The - Medicine Lady," &c., &c. Illustrated by SIDNEY PAGET. Crown - 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s. - - In the "Sanctuary Club" the author has excelled her own - brilliant record, and has written a novel as full of incident - and breathless adventure as has been published for many a day. - - =THE GOLD STAR LINE.= By the same Author. Illustrated by ADOLF - THIEDE. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s. - - "Tales of mystery never fail to attract.... There is plenty of - variety and excitement to be got out of this volume."--_Bristol - Times._ - - =A DAUGHTER OF THE MARIONIS.= By E. P. OPPENHEIM, Author of - "False Evidence," "The World's Great Snare," &c. Illustrated - by ADOLF THIEDE. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. - - "Mr. Oppenheim has boundless imagination. There is good - thrilling mystery in his books, and not a few excellent - characters."--_British Weekly._ - - =THE MAN AND HIS KINGDOM=. By E. P. OPPENHEIM, Author of "A - Daughter of the Marionis." Illustrated by J. AMBROSE WALTON. - Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. - - "Humdrum is the very last word you could apply to (a tale by) E. - P. Oppenheim."--_Illustrated London News._ - - =A MAN OF HIS AGE.= By HAMILTON DRUMMOND, Author of "For the - Religion." Illustrated by J. AMBROSE WALTON. Crown 8vo, - cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. - - This is a tale of the Hugenôts, and is told with such dramatic - power and such intense personal interest that the reader - identifies himself or herself with the hero or heroine - throughout. - - =A FAIR BRIGAND.= By GEORGE HORTON, Author of "Constantine," "In - Unknown Seas," &c., &c. Illustrated by EDMUND J. SULLIVAN. - Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. - - The scene of this tale is laid in modern Greece, and is a funny, - frolicsome story that will amuse every one, and likely take a - lasting place in the reader's mind. - - =AGATHA WEBB.= By A. K. GREEN, Author of "The Leavenworth Case," - "X. Y. Z.," &c. Illustrated by ADOLF THIEDE. Crown 8vo, - cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. - - Readers of "The Leavenworth Case" need not be told that A. K. - Green can write a detective story with consummate ability, and - the present story is in many ways her masterpiece. - - =THE EYE OF FATE.= By ALICE MAUD MEADOWS, Author of "Out from - the Night." Illustrated by T. W. HENRY. Crown 8vo, cloth - gilt, 3s. 6d. - - "A weird and exciting story, very well written, the characters - faithfully described, the interest vividly sustained from - beginning to end."--_The Queen._ - - =PAUL: A Herald of the Cross.= By FLORENCE M. KINGSLEY, Author - of "Titus," "Stephen," &c. Illustrated by HENRY AUSTIN. - Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. - - "A book not to be missed. In a word ... a triumph. It is rare to - meet a book so contenting in all its features."--_Literary - World._ - - - - -You cannot beat the Best. - - THE - WINDSOR - MAGAZINE - - .. Always contains the .. - - BEST WORK by the - - .. BEST AUTHORS .. - - and BEST ARTISTS. - - It has eclipsed every other Sixpenny Magazine, and has - achieved the most Brilliant Success of the day. - - * * * * * - - =Holds the Record= - for giving the Best Serial Story of the Year. - - =Holds the Record= - for giving Splendid Exclusive Articles by recognised specialists. - - =Holds the Record= - for being the Most Varied, the Most Entertaining, and the Most - Instructive of Magazines. - - * * * * * - - The "Times" calls it "Wonderful." - - -LONDON: WARD, LOCK & CO., LTD. - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: Obvious errors in spelling and punctuation have -been corrected. 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