Produced by Al Haines.
[Illustration: Cover]
AN
IMPERIAL MARRIAGE
BY
ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT
AUTHOR OF
"BY RIGHT OF SWORD," "WHEN I WAS CZAR," ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED_
WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED
LONDON, MELBOURNE AND TORONTO
1909
CONTENTS
CHAP.
I. The "Imperial Marriage"
II. Complications
III. Chalice
IV. Ephraim Ziegler
V. Althea's Story
VI. A Stroke of Luck
VII. Preliminary Steps
VIII. Trapped
IX. A Perilous Crisis
X. In the Hands of the Police
XI. My Return
XII. Murder
XIII. In the House of Death
XIV. The Murderer
XV. Baron von Ringheim
XVI. My Role as a Conspirator
XVII. "W. Mischen's" Warehouse
XVIII. The Luck Turns
XIX. Von Felsen Gains his End
XX. A Bride Elect
XXI. Like a Dog at Heel
XXII. In Search of the Baron
XXIII. In the Grip of an Enemy
XXIV. From Peril to Peril
XXV. An Awkward Plight, indeed
XXVI. A Charge of Murder
XXVII. Once Again in the Toils
XXVIII. Dragen Again
XXIX. Just in Time
XXX. The End
CHAPTER I
THE "IMPERIAL MARRIAGE"
When the Kaiser planned the marriage between his kinswoman, the Princess
von Altenvelt, and his handsome favourite, the Prince von Graven--the
"Imperial Marriage," as the Court gossips styled it--there did not
appear to be even the remotest possibility that it could ever be any
concern of mine.
The news was almost the last I sent through to my paper, the _London
Newsletter_, for I heard of it just before I resigned my position as
Berlin Special Correspondent, on succeeding to my uncle's fortune. I
had remained on in the capital, ostensibly to give a lift to my
successor, my old Varsity chum, Gerald Bassett, but in reality for a
reason which no one knew, except my sister, Bessie. And she only
guessed it was on Althea's account.
Sisters have a knack of ferreting out these secrets, and I gathered that
she had guessed mine because she had dropped more than one hint that
Althea, being a great friend of hers, would be very welcome as a
sister-in-law.
That was the position when, at a dance one night, Hugo von Felsen told
me with a grin on his thin long malicious face that the Imperial
Marriage was in danger because Prince von Graven had fallen in love with
Althea and she with him.
I had always detested von Felsen, and had only tolerated him in my
newspaper days because, as the son of a powerful Minister, Count von
Felsen, he could sometimes be tapped for valuable information. The fact
that this news came from him made it seem even worse than it was.
"You can see for yourself," he added. "There they are, together. All
Berlin knows about it. Look, everybody is watching them"; and his
close-set cunning eyes were fixed on my face as if he knew how his words
would affect me, and was pleased.
"They are worth looking at, anyhow," I answered, with a shrug of
indifference. They were. In my eyes Althea was the most beautiful girl
in the room. The type of a lovely brunette, with perfectly moulded
features, large lustrous eyes instinct with tenderness and sympathy, and
a figure of consummate grace. But then I looked at her with the eyes of
a lover. The Prince was also strikingly handsome. Tall, with a
soldierly bearing, and as fair as Althea was dark, his face was marred
only by the weakness of the mouth.
"We only want the Kaiser himself and the Princess von Altenvelt to
complete the picture, eh?" sneered von Felsen with a chuckle of malice.
"How his High-and-Mightiness would enjoy the sight! As much as you do,
Bastable."
"Yourself, you should say, rather, judging by your looks," I retorted.
"It is nothing to me."
"You wouldn't have a chance, if it were," he snapped.
I was not going to let him see how hard I was hit by the news, and as
the band struck up then I turned away in search of my partner. This was
Chalice Mennerheim; really Althea's niece, although the relationship
appeared a little absurd as there was only a year or so between them. I
meant to find out from her whether there was any foundation for von
Felsen's insinuation.
Chalice had a remarkable voice, and Althea had brought her to Berlin to
be trained by Herr Grumpel, the great professor, whose influence at
Court was as powerful as his skill in voice culture was great.
After a couple of turns round the room I led her into one of the
conservatories. She was very vain and intensely selfish, and would have
been really pretty, had it not been for a certain hard, calculating
expression in her light blue eyes. They always suggested to me the eyes
of an unskilfully painted picture.
I paid her a number of compliments and then led round to the subject of
the Prince, observing casually that I had just heard some news about
him.
"Tell me," she said, with a quick side glance and a very musical laugh,
as she laid her hand on my arm with a little coaxing gesture. "It's
awfully wicked, and Althea is always at me about it; but I love scandal.
And I'm scarcely twenty yet. What I shall be at thirty makes me
shudder. A regular old scandal-monger, I expect."
"You are not shuddering; only smiling and looking very pretty. The
Prince thinks you very pretty too, I presume, by the way he was looking
at you when you were dancing with him just now."
She laughed again. "What were you going to tell me?"
"They say the Imperial Marriage is in danger because he----" I left the
sentence unfinished intentionally.
"Go on. Go on. Because----? Tell me."
"Haven't you noticed anything which would enable you to finish the
sentence?"
"You don't mean--Althea?" Her voice sank to a whisper.
I felt a grip at my heart at this confirmation. "Half the people here
were watching them just now as they stood together in the centre of the
room."
She burst suddenly into a fit of merry, irresponsible laughter. "Isn't
it fun?" she cried. I suppose it was, to her. I did not see the humour
of it, however.
"There may not be much laughter in it when the Kaiser hears," I growled.
"Ah, the Kaiser!" and she shrugged her shapely shoulders petulantly.
"What business has he to turn matchmaker? Why should not the Prince
marry whom he pleases? Think what an ugly thing is that Princess von
Altenvelt!" She appeared to be quite indignant on Althea's account.
"It would cost the Prince the Emperor's favour and his position at
Court," I replied; "and probably he would be packed off to some fever
hole in the Colonies on military service. Nice for Althea, that. The
Kaiser can be hard when he likes."
"It is unjust! Infamous!" she exclaimed vehemently. "Poor Althea! But
you don't think that really? The Kaiser likes him too well."
"He has done it before, remember." Jealousy plays odd pranks with a
man. Here was I finding a sort of morbid delight in drawing this gloomy
picture, when in reality I wished Althea all the happiness in the world.
But the smart of my disappointment was so fresh that I felt positively
spiteful for the moment.
Chalice cast her eyes down, and in the pause a partner came to look for
her. She threw me a little nod and a smile, as if we had had the
pleasantest chat, and flitted off prattling to her partner and making
eyes at him as I had seen her make them to a hundred other men before.
I sat on and brooded. I had been a self-centred ass not to have seen
things, and a fool to dream that such a girl as Althea would ever give
me a second thought. And then with a sigh I resolved to get out of
Berlin without loss of time. I was walking off to the smoking room when
I came on Althea sitting alone.
"I believe you have actually forgotten that this was our dance, Mr.
Bastable," she said with a reproachful look and a smile. She always
spoke English, and spoke it remarkably well.
I had forgotten it, and mumbled a lame apology.
"Let us sit out the remainder of it then. I am rather tired. And you
look as if the weight of a throne were on your shoulders. Are you
worried?"
I dropped into the seat by her side and began to make small talk,
although every pulse in my body was leaping with the desire to speak of
the feeling that filled my heart.
At length she spoke of Chalice. "You were talking to her just now," she
said, "and appeared to be discussing some very grave subject."
I resolved suddenly to get the truth from her. "It was about you, in
fact."
"About me?" she asked in surprise.
"I don't know whether you'll think I'm putting my foot in it, but I
should like to tell you something."
"What a grave preface!" she said jestingly, but with an earnest look.
I fidgeted uneasily under her gaze. "The fact is, I heard something
from von Felsen, and Chalice confirmed it--about you and Prince von
Graven."
She pressed her hands together quickly, and a tinge of colour crept up
into her cheeks. "Chalice confirmed it?" she repeated. "What did she
say?"
"Well, the fact is--you see, when you and the Prince were standing
together in the middle of the room a while back, a whole lot of people
were staring at you; and--there was a lot of talk as to what the Kaiser
would be likely to do when he--when he heard about you two."
I kept my eyes on the ground and felt many parts of a fool in the pause
which followed. Then Althea laughed, and I looked up.
"It is a very awkward position, of course; and equally of course you do
not quite understand it. I--I meant to tell you and Bessie all about
it. I will do so one day. We must be more careful for the future."
And again she laughed.
Her laughter nettled me. It ought not to have done so, of course. She
could not possibly know how I felt. "If you wish to avoid the Kaiser's
anger, you certainly must be. But I am going off to England by the
afternoon mail to-morrow," I declared bluntly.
My reference to the Kaiser stopped her laughter, and she looked very
grave for a moment. Then she got up. "I must say good-bye to you then,
I suppose."
We shook hands; and then to my surprise she added: "I wish I knew what
the Kaiser would do. It would let the thing be cleared up."
"I wish you happiness with all my heart," I replied earnestly.
"Thank you, Mr. Bastable. I am sure you do. I should like---- But of
course I can't. Good-bye"; and with this she turned away a little
abruptly.
I told my sister as we were driving home that I was going to England on
the following day, and she guessed at once that Althea was the cause,
and got the truth out of me.
"I don't believe it, Paul," was her verdict; "but perhaps the best thing
is for you to go away. A change will do you good; and as Aunt Charlotte
is coming here I must stay behind." Aunt Charlotte was Mrs. Ellicott, a
wealthy, childless widow, who made a great favourite of Bessie and was
to leave her her money.
A sleepless night's reflection confirmed me in my resolve to go away,
and the next afternoon found me at the station.
Then the unexpected happened. I was looking after my luggage and Bessie
had gone off to buy me some papers, when Althea came hurrying up to me.
"Oh, Mr. Bastable, I remembered you would be here. I am in desperate
trouble. Will you help me?"
She was pale and, although she smiled, I could see she was trembling
with nervous excitement. "Of course I will. Tell me," I replied
quickly. To help her, I was ready to toss every plan I had formed into
the melting-pot of change.
"I am to be arrested."
"Arrested! You!" I exclaimed in profound astonishment.
She laid her hand on my arm and made a brave effort to smile again. "I
think it is on account of--of Prince von Graven." Her voice died down
gradually as she said this hesitatingly, until it was little more than a
whisper; and her eyes fell.
"And where is _he_, then?" I blurted out, like the clumsy lout I was.
I guessed of course that the news had reached the Kaiser's ears and he
had taken prompt action. But that the Prince should have left her to
bear the brunt of the Imperial anger alone in this way was downright
cowardice.
"You don't understand, Mr. Bastable," she said, biting her lip. "But
I---- Oh, they are following me now. What am I to do?"
I pulled myself together. "Do you mean the police?"
"I don't know. I was on the point of leaving the house when they came.
The maid, Lotta, helped me to slip away; but I think they followed me."
"Do they know you well by sight?"
"I think not. I passed one of them outside. I got a cab, but they
followed."
"It will be all right. Bessie is here. Don't worry. We'll see you
through."
Bessie came hurrying up with an exclamation of surprise at seeing
Althea.
"Don't stop to ask any questions, Bess," I said. "Fraeulein Korper is in
some bother. Take her into one of the waiting-rooms and change cloaks
and hats with her. She can come back to me; but you must drive off
somewhere in a cab. Get out when you are a mile or so away, and then go
home on foot. There isn't a moment to lose. Quick, both of you."
Bessie hurried Althea away almost before I had finished speaking, and I
turned to see that my luggage was put back into the cloak-room instead
of being registered. I made the excuse that one of the trunks had been
forgotten.
Althea returned before I had finished, and I gave her a critical look.
My sister had been wearing a long drab driving coat and a very plain,
essentially English golf cap; and I could not restrain a smile at the
change they effected in Althea. No German would dream of taking their
wearer for one of his countrywomen.
She was still nervous, and as she came up she whispered that the men she
meant had just entered the station.
A glance in the direction she indicated showed me that I knew one of
them--a police agent, named Dormund. Not the one who had seen her,
fortunately.
"It will be all right," I said reassuringly. "Now just a touch or two
more, and you will pass as English. Put your hair back right out of
sight; slip on these sun spectacles, purse up your lip and show as many
of your teeth as possible--you know the German cartoon of the average
English girl; look as plain and formidable as you can; and only speak to
me to snap out a word or so, as if we were quarrelling."
She tried to follow my directions, and I was glad to see her smile in
amusement, despite her alarm.
"That's better. I know one of the men, and he will probably come over
and speak to me. We are supposed to be brother and sister for a minute
or two--he has never seen Bessie--and we are wrangling because you have
left one of my trunks behind and caused me to lose the train in
consequence. Be looking among those trunks over there, so that you can
keep your face averted."
"He is not the man who saw me," she whispered, when I pointed to
Dormund, who caught sight of me soon afterwards and came over.
"Why you couldn't see that all the things were brought beats me," I
exclaimed in a loud, irritable tone to Althea. "I thought you could be
trusted to count as far as four without a mistake. Giving all this
infernal trouble. I shall have to go back for it, and so miss the
train. Enough to make a man almost swear."
Dormund was now close and had heard much of what I said and was looking
intently at Althea.
"Heir Bastable, excuse me," he said.
I turned on him quickly and irritably, and then smiled. "Hullo, Herr
Dormund. I wondered who the deuce it was, and was within an ace of
venting a bit of temper on you for the interruption. My sister has
forgotten a trunk of mine, and now I shall miss the train," I gestured
toward Althea. She had her profile toward him, and his face showed me
that he had no suspicion.
"Ah, your sister," he said; and raised his hat and looked first at her
and then to me as if expecting an introduction. "I heard you were
leaving Berlin to-day," he continued, when I did not take the hint. "It
is indeed annoying."
A scowl and an angry murmur gave him the measure of my temper. "It's a
marvel to me that women can make such blunders," I growled.
"Where are you going?"
"London. And now there's no train till the night mail, and I hate night
travelling."
"Have you been long in the station?"
"About half an hour or so. It took my sister that time to find out that
she had made any mistake at all"; and I shot another wrathful glance at
Althea. There was no doubt about my being in a very bad temper over it.
"Then perhaps you can do me a little service. You know Fraeulein
Korper, I believe? Have you seen her here within the last few minutes?"
"My dear fellow, I haven't had eyes for anything but my luggage, and not
enough eyes to see all that even," I replied with a short angry laugh.
"Have you seen anything of Althea Korper here, Bessie?" I called.
"No," she snapped, as irritably as I had spoken before. It was well
done.
"Thank you," I replied in the same snappy tone, "I am sorry," I said to
Dormund; "don't you know her by sight then?"
"Unfortunately, no."
I lowered my voice. "You're surely not seeking her officially?"
He smiled and threw up his hands, leaving me to infer what I pleased.
"By Jove," I exclaimed. "Can't say I wish you luck, Dormund." Then I
turned to the porter. "Here, get these trunks to the cloak-room. I'll
drive back for the other and see if I can catch the train after all.
Come along, Bessie."
She acted the sulky sister to the life and succeeded in keeping her face
almost entirely averted from Dormund.
He remained with me while I got rid of the luggage and then while I
chartered the cab; and I began to wonder if after all he had not some
suspicion and whether he would let Althea go.
She had kept behind us and when the cab was ready, the door of which
Dormund himself held open, she hurried past him and took her seat. He
closed the door and stood bareheaded while we drove off.
I drew a breath of relief.
"Will he follow us?" asked Althea nervously.
"Not he. He hasn't a thought of the trick we've played him."
"Oh, Mr. Bastable, how could you do it so naturally? I was positively
trembling the whole time."
"You needn't worry about anything now," I said reassuringly. "Try to
fix your thoughts on what is to be done next."
"I don't know what to do," she murmured.
Neither did I. Nor did I seem to care. The unexpectedness of it all
had taken my breath away. The whole position was so unreal that I was
in the clouds.
A few minutes before I had been bent only upon rushing away in search of
distraction from the galling rack of my disappointment on her account;
and now she had rushed to me in the hour of her trouble, and was by my
side, trusting to me to get her out of it all.
I would do it at any cost; but for the moment I was so elated by the
proof of her confidence, that I could think of nothing else.