"Mistress, they would dare. They--they are beasts!" Her voice sank
to a whisper. "Mistress, I heard a cry just before noon like a man
who--who had been mortally injured. The voice was like that of
Ernest, the butler. Mistress, mistress--" Lenke fell on her knees,
and catching hold of Elizabeth's dress buried her face in its folds,
and sobbed--"Ernest--has--disappeared. In his room were
only--bloodstains."
"Oh, Lenke!" Elizabeth whispered to herself, and her face went
suddenly white. It did not seem possible; Ernest to disappear so!
She tried to convince herself that the maid was lying, but if
Elizabeth needed any confirmation of the truth it was in Lenke's
attitude.
If that had happened, without any knowledge of it having reached her
until now, what other awful deeds might already have taken place?
Her father...
Frantically she bent down and clutched Lenke by the shoulders till
the servant moaned with pain. "Lenke--Lenke--my father--your master,
is he safe?"
Lenke gazed with horror at her mistress, then she broke free from
Elizabeth's grasp, ran across the room to the door, and disappeared
outside. The key turned. Elizabeth was once again alone.
The terror depicted in the maid's face--her significant dismay at the
question--her orders to answer no questions--seized with
consternation Elizabeth sank into a chair as she felt her limbs
trembling.
Question after question raced through her mind, queries which could
not be answered. As though an icy blast were blowing through her
room she shivered with a cold fear. The unconquerable spirit which
did not wilt beneath the horror of the day was stricken down at the
thought of her father. Where was he now, what had happened to him?
Feverishly she crossed to the door and hammered upon it till her
hands turned red. For a long time there was no movement, but
presently she heard a shuffle along the passage outside.
The door opened, a Red guard stood there.
"My father, where is he? Quick, for the love of mercy tell me!" she
pleaded.