"We are pretty much of a size and I think mine will fit you," he
observed.
"It is very little you ask, Sire." I answered.
"Then my valet will squire you," and he rang for the servant.
And it was well he did; for I was not used to fancy uniforms, with
their peculiar fastenings and adornments, and I might have spent the
entire evening in solving them. But Adolph attired me with astonishing
celerity, and then, swinging a cheval glass before me, he inquired:
"Are you satisfied, sir?"
"You are a wonderful valet, Adolph," I said, ignoring the mirror.
I did not need it to know that I was clad in scarlet and gold, with a
black, fur-bound dohlman over one shoulder and a tall black busby on my
head. I hung the Eagle of the Cincinnati about my neck and went back
to the King.
He looked me over critically and nodded. "You'll do, my boy," he said.
Then he raised the Eagle and examined it. "It is a great Order," he
said; "one of the greatest in the world, but a Prince of Valeria must
wear his country's also," and he pinned the Star of the Lion on my
tunic. "And now, come, I want to show you to your cousin."
At the door of the Princess's apartments he waved aside the footman
and, himself, announced:
"His Royal Highness, the Grand Duke Armand!"
It was so unexpected and sounded so queer, withal, that, for a moment,
I hesitated; then I took a fresh grip on my busby and followed the
King. The next instant, I was bending over the Princess's hand and
listening to her words of welcome and congratulation. When I turned to
Lady Helen she curtsied deeply, even as she would have done for one of
her own Princes.
"God save Your Royal Highness," she said.
And, as I raised her hand and kissed it, I tried, in vain, to read in
her eyes whether she meant it or was only mocking me.
Then, we went in to dinner--and, here, was a surprise for me, also.
It was the same room we had breakfasted in the previous day, but now,
upon the wall, fronting us as we entered, hung a full-length portrait
of an officer in the uniform of the Red Huzzars. It was the Great
Henry; but it could just as well have been myself. Surely, outwardly,
at least, he was my _alter ego_.
Even Courtney's astonishment pierced his heavy equanimity; and Lady
Helen stopped sharply and gazed at the painting and, then, at me, and,
then, at the painting, again, in silent wonder. For although they both
knew, generally, of the resemblance, it needed the uniform to bring it
out in full effect.
"Your Majesty has given us a series of surprises to-night," said
Courtney.
"It is surely wonderful--almost beyond belief," said Lady Helen.
"Now, you know something of my sensations when I first met him," said
Frederick, "though, then, I had not the benefit of the Huzzar attire."
"And you, Princess?" asked Lady Helen.
The King laughed aloud; Courtney became absorbed in the picture; I
tugged at my sword-knot--we all were thinking of the kiss before the
Ball. But Dehra, naturally, thought of the meeting in the forest six
years before.
"It was a long time ago, but I think I did notice the resemblance in a
casual way," she said.
The King stared at her in surprise; Courtney smiled slightly and
glanced at me, and Lady Helen's eyes shot from Dehra to me and back
again in a vain attempt to understand. Frederick, however, was on the
point of asking an explanation when the Princess gave him a glance, and
he instantly dropped the matter and motioned us to our seats.
Mine was on Dehra's right; Courtney's on her left. Presently, I heard
the King say to Lady Helen:
"Come, confess you are curious how the American military attaché
becomes a Valerian Archduke?"
And, through Dehra's talk, I detected the laughing answer, pitched high
enough to reach me:
"'Curious' is quite too mild a word, Sire."
Then, as the King began the story, she glanced over at me and I nodded
my thanks. It would have been a bit awkward, just then, if she had
shown she already knew my history. To-morrow it mattered not to me if
it were known the Kingdom over; aye, and farther, too. But to-morrow
was the future; to-night was mine. I was in favor; a King across the
table; a beautiful woman beside me. What more could any man wish?
And, when Dehra whispered: "Do you know, Armand, you are very handsome
to-night?" I tossed all discretion overboard and made violent love to
her before them all. Nor heeded Courtney's warning looks, nor Lady
Helen's curious glances. It was Dehra, herself, who brought me up
sharply, after a space.
"I am afraid, Armand," said she, "if you flirt so strenuously with me
to-night, you will have no cards left for the balance of our game."
"Our game?" I echoed blankly, forgetting for the moment the compact of
the Ball.
She smiled. "You see, you play it better than I ever can. I don't
even know enough to forget it is a game."
I turned and looked her in the eyes. "Then, in all you have done
lately, you have been only playing the game?" I asked.
"Is that quite a fair question?" she answered.
"Yes--under the circumstances."
"But I thought you called it a game?"
"I did."
"And, yet, you ask me to spread my cards on the table?"
"Not exactly; I ask to see only the tricks that are turned," said I.