"WHAT WILL MY PEOPLE DO!"
The Grand Duke and his party left Interlaken by special train early in
the afternoon, and great was Robin's relief when Hobbs returned with
the word that they were safely on their way to the capital of
Switzerland. He emerged from the seclusion of his room, where he had
been in hiding since noon, and set out for a walk through the town. His
head was high and his stride jaunty, for his heart was like a cork.
People stared after him with smiles of admiration, and never a
_cocher'_ passed him by without a genial, inviting tilt of the eyebrow
and a tentative pull at the reins, only to meet with a pleasant shake
of the head or the negative flourish of a bamboo cane.
Night came and with it the silvery glow of moonlight across the hoary
headed queen of the Oberland. When Robin came out from dinner he seated
himself on the porch, expectant, eager--and vastly lonesome. An
unaccountable shyness afflicted him, rendering him quite incapable of
sending his card up to the one who could have dispelled the gathering
gloom with a single glance of the eye. Would she come stealing out
ostensibly to look at the night-capped peak, but with furtive glances
into the shadows of the porch in quest of--But no! She would not do
that! She would come attended by the exasperating Mr. White and the
friendly duenna. Her starry eyes, directed elsewhere, would only serve
to increase the depth of the shadows in which he lurked impatient.
She came at last--and alone. Stopping at the rail not more than an
arm's length from where he sat, she gazed pensively up at the solemn
mistress of the valley, one slim hand at her bosom, the other hanging
limp at her side. He could have touched that slender hand by merely
stretching forth his own. Breathless, enthralled, he sat as one
deprived of the power or even the wish to move. The spell was upon him;
he was in thralldom.
She wore a rose-coloured gown, soft, slinky, seductive. A light
Egyptian scarf lay across her bare shoulders. The slim, white neck and
the soft dark hair--but she sighed! He heard that faint, quick-drawn
sigh and started to his feet.
"Bedelia!" he whispered softly.
She turned quickly, to find him standing beside her, his face aglow
with rapture. A quick catch of the breath, a sudden movement of the
hand that lay upon her breast, and then she smiled,--a wavering,
uncertain smile that went straight to his heart and shamed him for
startling her. "I beg your pardon," he began lamely. "I--I startled
you."
She held out her hand to him, still smiling. "I fear I shall never
become accustomed to being pursued," she said, striving for command of
her voice.
"It is dreadful to feel that some one is forever watching you from
behind. I am glad it is you, however. You at least are not 'the secret
eye that never sleeps'!" She gently withdrew her hand from his ardent
clasp. "Mrs. Gaston told me that she had seen you. I feared that you
might have gone on your way rejoicing."
"Rejoicing?" he cried. "Why do you say that?"
"After our experience in Paris, I should think that you had had enough
of me and my faithful watchdogs."
"Rubbish!" he exclaimed. "I shall never have enough of you," he went
on, with sudden boldness. "As for the watch-dogs, they are not likely
to bite us, so what is there to be afraid of?"
"Have you succeeded in evading the watchful eye of Mr. Totten's
friend?" she enquired, sending an apprehensive glance along the porch.
"Completely," he declared. "I am quite alone in this hotel and, I
believe, unsuspected. And you? Are you still being--"
"Sh! Who knows? I think we have thrown them off the track, but one
cannot be sure. I raised a dreadful rumpus about it in Paris,
and--well, they said they were sorry and advised me not to be worried,
for the surveillance would cease at once. Still, I am quite sure that
they lied to me."
"Then you _are_ being followed."
She smiled again, and there was mischief in her eyes. "If so, I have
led them a merry chase. We have been travelling for two days and
nights, Mr. Schmidt, by train and motor, getting off at stations
unexpectedly, hopping into trains going in any direction but the right
one, sleeping in strange beds and doing all manner of queer things. And
here we are at last. I am sure you must look upon me as a very silly,
flibberty-gibbet creature."
"I see that your retinue has been substantially augmented," he
remarked, a trace of jealousy in his voice. "The good-looking Mr. White
has not been eluded."
"Mr. White? Oh, yes, I see. But he is to be trusted, Mr. Schmidt," she
said mysteriously--and tantalisingly. "He will not betray me to my
cruel monster of a father. I have his solemn promise not to reveal my
whereabouts to any one. My father is the last person in the world to
whom he would go with reports of my misdoings."
"I saw you this morning, riding with him," said he glumly.
"Through the telescope?" she inquired softly, laying a hand upon the
stationary instrument.
He flushed hotly. "It was when you were starting out, Miss Guile. I am
not one of the spies, you should remember."
"You are my partner in guilt," she said lightly. "By the way, have you
forgiven me for leading you into temptation?"
"Certainly. I am still in the Garden of Eden, you see, and as I don't
take any stock in the book of Genesis, I hope to prove to myself at
least, that the conduct of an illustrious forebear of mine was not due
to the frailties of Eve but to his own tremendous anxiety to get out of
a place that was filled with snakes. I hope and pray that you will
continue to put temptation in my path so that I may have the frequent
pleasure of falling."
She turned her face away and for a moment was silent. "Shall we take
those chairs over there, Mr. Schmidt? They appear to be as abandoned as
we." She indicated two chairs near the broad portals.
He shook his head. "If we are looking for the most utterly abandoned,
allow me to call your attention to the two in yonder corner."
"It is quite dark over there," she said with a frown.
"Quite," he agreed. "Which accounts, no doubt, for your failure to see
them."
"Mrs. Gaston will be looking for me before--" she began hesitatingly.
"Or Mr. White, perhaps. Let me remind you that they have exceedingly
sharp eyes."
"Mr. White is no longer here," she announced.
His heart leaped. "Then I, at least, have nothing to fear," he said
quickly.
She ignored the banality. "He left this afternoon. Very well, let us
take the seats over there. I rather like the--shall I say shadows?"
"I too object to the limelight,--Bedelia," he said, offering her his
arm.
"You are not to call me Bedelia," she said, holding back.
"Then 'forgive us our transgressions' is to be applied in the usual
order, I presume."
"Are you sorry you called me Bedelia?" she insisted, frowning ominously.
"No. I'm sorry you object, that's all."
They made their way through a maze of chairs and seated themselves in
the dim corner. Their view of the Jungfrau from this vine-screened
corner was not as perfect as it might have been, but the Jungfrau had
no present power of allurement for them.
"I cannot stay very long," she said as she sank back in the comfortable
chair.
He turned his back not only upon the occupants of the porch but the
lustrous Jungfrau, drawing his chair up quite close to hers. As he
leaned forward, with his elbows on the arms of the chair, she seemed to
slink farther back in the depths of hers, as if suddenly afraid of him.
"Now, tell me everything," he said. "From beginning to end. What became
of you after that day at St. Cloud, whither have you journeyed, and
wherefore were you so bent on coming to this now blessed Interlaken?"
"Easily answered. Nothing at all became of me. I journeyed thither, and
I came because I had set my heart on seeing the Jungfrau."
"But you had seen it many times."
"And I hoped that I might find peace and quiet here," she added quite
distinctly.
"You expected to find me here, didn't you?"
"Yes, but I did not regard you as a disturber of the peace."
"You knew I would come, but you didn't know why, did you, Bedelia?" He
leaned a little closer.
"Yes, I knew why," she said calmly, emotionlessly. He drew back
instantly, chilled by her directness. "You came because there was
promise of an interesting adventure, which you now are on the point of
making impossible by a rather rash exhibition of haste."
He stared at her shadowy face in utter confusion. For a moment he was
speechless. Then a rush of protesting sincerity surged up within him
and he cried out in low, intense tones: "I cannot allow you to think
that of me, Miss Guile. If I have done or said anything to lead you to
believe that I am--"
"Oh, I beg of you, Mr. Schmidt, do not enlarge upon the matter by
trying to apologise," she cried.
"I am not trying to apologise," he protested. "I am trying to justify
what you are pleased to call an exhibition of haste. You see, it's just
this way: I am obliged to make hay while the sun shines, for soon I may
be cast into utter darkness. My days are numbered. In a fortnight I
shall be where I cannot call my soul my own. I--"
"You alarm me. Are you to be sent to prison?"
"You wouldn't look upon it as a prison, but it seems like one to me. Do
not laugh. I cannot explain to you now. Another day I shall tell you
everything, so pray take me for what I am to-day, and ask no questions.
I have asked no more of you, so do you be equally generous with me."
"True," she said, "you have asked no questions of me. You take me for
what I am to-day, and yet you know nothing of my yesterdays or my
to-morrows. It is only fair that I should be equally confiding. Let
there be no more questions. Are we, however, to take each other
seriously?"
"By all means," he cried. "There will come a day when you may
appreciate the full extent of my seriousness."
"You speak in riddles."
"Is the time ripe for me to speak in sober earnest?" he questioned
softly. She drew back again in swift alarm.
"No, no! Not now--not yet. Do not say anything now, Mr. Schmidt, that
may put an end to our--to our adventure."
She was so serious, so plaintive, and yet so shyly prophetic of comfort
yet to be attained, that his heart warmed with a mighty glow of
exaltation. A sweet feeling of tenderness swept over him.
"If God is good, there can be but one end to our adventure," he said,
and then, for some mysterious reason, silence fell between them. Long
afterward--it seemed hours to him!--she spoke, and her voice was low
and troubled.
"Can you guess why I am being watched so carefully, why I am being
followed so doggedly by men who serve not me but another?"
"Yes. It is because you are the greatest jewel in the possession of a
great man, and he would preserve you against all varlets,--such as I."
She did not reveal surprise at his shrewd conjecture. She nodded her
head and sighed.
"You are right. I am his greatest jewel, and yet he would give me into
the keeping of an utter stranger. I am being protected against that
conscienceless varlet--Love! If love lays hands upon me--ah, my friend,
you cannot possibly guess what a calamity that would be!"
"And love _will_ lay hands upon you, Bedelia,--"
"I am sure of that," she said, once more serene mistress of herself
after a peculiarly dangerous lapse. "That is why I shudder. What could
be more dreadful than to fall into the clutches of that merciless foe
to peace? He rends one's heart into shreds; he stabs in the dark; he
thrusts, cuts and slashes and the wounds never heal; he blinds without
pity; he is overbearing, domineering, ruthless and his victims are
powerless to retaliate. Love is the greatest tyrant in all the world,
Mr. Schmidt, and we poor wretches can never hope to conquer him. We are
his prey, and he is rapacious. Do you not shudder also?"
"Bless you, no! I'd rather enjoy meeting him in mortal combat. My
notion of bliss would be a fight to the death with love, for then the
conflict would not be one-sided. What could be more glorious than to
stand face to face with love, hand to hand, breast to breast, lip to
lip until the end of time? Let him cut and slash and stab if you will,
there would still be recompense for the vanquished. Even those who have
suffered most in the conflict with love must admit that they have had a
share in the spoils. One can't ignore the sweet hours when counting up
the bitter ones, after love has withdrawn from the tender encounter.
The cuts and slashes are cherished and memory is a store-house for the
spoils that must be shared with vanity."
"It sounds like a book. Who is your favourite author?" she inquired
lightly.
"Baedeker," he replied, with promptness. "Without my Baedeker, I should
never have chanced upon the route travelled by love, nor the hotel
where I now lodge in close proximity to--"
"Will you please be sensible?"
"You invite something to the contrary, Bedelia," he ventured.
"Haven't I requested you to--"
"I think of you only as Bedelia," he made haste to explain. "Bedelia
will stick to you forever, you see, while Miss Guile is almost
ephemeral. It cannot live long, you know, with so many other names
eager to take its place. But Bedelia--ah, Bedelia is everlasting."
She laughed joyously, naturally. "You really are quite wonderful, Mr.
Schmidt. Still I must change the subject. I trust the change will not
affect your glibness, for it is quite exhilarating. How long do you
purpose remaining in Interlaken?"
"That isn't changing the subject," said he. "I shall be here for a week
or ten days--or perhaps longer." He put it in the form of a question,
after all.
"Indeed? How I envy you. I am sorry to say I shall have to leave in a
day or two."
His face fell. "Why?" he demanded, almost indignantly.
"Because I am enjoying myself," she replied.
"I don't quite get your meaning."
"I am having such a good time disobeying my father, Mr. Schmidt, and
eluding pursuers. It is only a matter of a day or two before I am
discovered here, so I mean to keep on dodging. It is splendid fun."
"Do you think it is quite fair to me?"
"Did I induce you to come here, good sir?"
"You did," said he, with conviction. "Heaven is my witness. I would not
have come but for you. I am due at home by this time."
"Are you under any obligations to remain in Interlaken for a week or
ten days?"
"Not now," he replied. "Do you mind telling me where you are going to,
Miss Guile?"
"First to Vienna, then--well, you cannot guess where. I have decided to
go to Edelweiss."
"Edelweiss!" he exclaimed in astonishment. He could hardly believe his
ears.
"It is the very last place in the world that my father would think of
looking for me. Besides I am curious to see the place. I understand
that the great Mr. Blithers is to be there soon, and the stupid Prince
who will not be tempted by millions, and it is even possible that the
extraordinary Miss Blithers may take it into her head to look the place
over before definitely refusing to be its Princess. I may find some
amusement--or entertainment as an on-looker when the riots begin."
He was staring at her wide-eyed and incredulous. "Do you really mean to
say you are going to Graustark?"
"I have thought of doing so. Don't you think it will be amusing to be
on the scene when the grand climax occurs? Of course, the Prince will
come off his high horse, and the girl will see the folly of her ways,
and old Mr. Blithers will run 'rough shod over everybody, and--but,
goodness, I can't even speculate on the possibilities."
He was silent. So this was the way the wind blew, eh? There was but one
construction to be put upon her decision to visit the Capital of
Graustark. She _had_ taken it into her head "to look the place over
before definitely refusing to be its Princess!" His first thrill of
exultation gave way to a sickening sense of disappointment.
All this time she was regarding him through amused, half-closed eyes.
She had a distinct advantage over him. She knew that he was the Prince
of Graustark; she had known it for many days. Perhaps if she had known
all the things that were in his cunning brain, she would not have
ventured so far into the comedy she was constructing. She would have
hesitated--aye, she might have changed her methods completely. But she
was in the mood to do and say daring things. She considered her
position absolutely secure, and so she could afford to enjoy herself
for the time being. There would be an hour of reckoning, no doubt, but
she was not troubled by its promise of castigation.
"Poor Prince!" she sighed pityingly. He started. The remark was so
unexpected that he almost betrayed himself. It seemed profoundly
personal. "He will be in very hot water, I fear."
He regarded her coldly. "And you want to be on hand to see him squirm,
I suppose."
She took instant alarm. Was she going too far? His query was somewhat
disconcerting.
"To be perfectly frank with you, Mr. Schmidt, I am going to Graustark
because no one will ever think of looking for me in such an
out-of-the-way place. I am serious now, so you must not laugh at me.
Circumstances are such that I prefer to seek happiness after a fashion
of my own. My parents love me, but they will not understand me. They
wish me to marry a man they have picked out for me. I intend to pick
out my own man, Mr. Schmidt. You may suspect, from all that you have
seen, that I am running away from home, from those who are dearest in
all the world to me. You knew that I was carefully watched in Paris.
You know that my father fears that I may marry a man distasteful to
him, and I suppose to my mother, although she is not so--"
"Are his fears well-founded?" he asked, rudely interrupting her. "Is
there a man that he has cause to fear? Are--are you in love with some
one, Bedelia?"
"Do not interrupt me. I want you to know that I am not running away
from home, that I shall return to it when I see fit, and that I am not
in love with the man they suspect. I want you to be just with me. You
are not to blame my father for anything, no matter how absurd his
actions may appear to you in the light of the past few days. It is
right that he should try to safeguard me. I am wayward but I am not
foolish. I shall commit no silly blunder, you may be sure of that. Now
do you understand me better?"
She was very serious, very intense. He laid his hand on hers, and she
did not withdraw it. Emboldened, his hand closed upon the dainty
fingers and an instant later they were borne to his hot lips.
"You have said that I came here in search of a light adventure," he
whispered, holding her hand close to his cheek as he bent nearer to
her. "You imply that I am a trifler, a light-o'-love. I want you to
understand me better. I came here because I--"
"Stop!" she pleaded. "You must not say it. I am serious--yes, I know
that you are serious too. But you must wait. If you were to say it to
me now I should have to send you away and--oh, believe me, I do not
want to do that. I--I--"
"You love no one else?" he cried, rapturously.
She swayed slightly, as if incapable of resisting the appeal that
called her to his heart. Her lips were parted, her eyes glowed
luminously even in the shadows, and she scarcely breathed the words:
"I love no one else."
A less noble nature than his would have seized upon the advantage
offered by her sudden weakness. Instead, he drew a long, deep breath,
straightened his figure and as he gently released the imprisoned hand,
the prince in him spoke.
"You have asked me to wait. I am sure that you know what is in my
heart. It will always be there. It will not cut and slash and stab, for
it is the most tender thing that has ever come into my life--or yours.
It must never be accused of giving pain to you, so I shall obey
you--and wait. You are right to avoid the risk of entrusting a single
word of hope to me. I am a passer-by. My sincerity, my honesty of
purpose remain to be proved. Time will serve my cause. I can only ask
you to believe in me--to trust me a little more each day--and to let
your heart be my judge."
She spoke softly. "I believe in you, I trust you even now, or I would
not be here. You are kind to me. Few would have been so generous. We
both are passers-by. It is too soon for us to judge each other in the
full. I must be sure--oh, I must be sure of myself. Can you understand?
I must be sure of myself, and I am not sure now. You do not know how
much there is at stake, you can not possibly know what it would mean to
me if I were to discover that our adventure had no real significance in
the end. I know it sounds strange and mysterious, or you would not look
so puzzled. But unless I can be sure of one thing--one vital thing--our
adventure has failed in every respect. Now, I must go in. No; do not
ask me to stay--and let me go alone. I prefer it so. Good night, my
comrade."
He stood up and let her pass. "Good night, my princess," he said,
clearly and distinctly. She shot a swift glance into his eyes, smiled
faintly, and moved away. His rapt gaze followed her. She entered the
door without so much as a glance over her shoulder.
"My princess," he repeated wonderingly, to himself. "Have I kissed the
hand of my princess? God in heaven, is there on earth a princess more
perfect than she? Can there be in all this world another so deserving
of worship as she?"
Late at night she sat in her window looking up at the peaceful
Jungfrau. A dreamy, ineffably sweet smile lay in her dark eyes. The
hand he kissed had lain long against her lips. To herself she had
repeated, over and over again, the inward whisper:
"What will my dear, simple old dad say if I marry this man after all?"
In a window not ten feet away, he was staring out into the night, with
lowering eyes and troubled heart, and in his mind he was saying:
"What will my people do if I marry this woman after all?"