Later in the day the Princess Yetive received from the gaunt, hawkish
old man in the fortress a signed statement, withdrawing his charges
against Baldos the guard. Marlanx did not ask for leniency; it was not
in him to plead. If the humble withdrawal of charges against Baldos
could mitigate the punishment he knew Yetive would impose, all well and
good. If it went for naught, he was prepared for the worst. Down there
in his quarters, with wine before him, he sat and waited for the end. He
knew that there was but one fate for the man, great or small, who
attacked a woman in Graustark. His only hope was that the princess might
make an exception in the case of one who had been the head of the
army--but the hope was too small to cherish.
Baldos walked forth a free man, the plaudits of the people in his
ears. Baron Dangloss and Colonel Quinnox were beside the tall guard as
he came forward to receive the commendations and apologies of
Graustark's ruler and the warm promises of reward from the man he
served.
He knelt before the two rulers who were holding court on the
veranda. The cheers of nobles, the shouts of soldiery, the exclamations
of the ladies did not turn his confident head. He was the born knight.
The look of triumph that he bestowed upon Beverly Calhoun, who lounged
gracefully beside the stone balustrade, brought the red flying to her
cheeks. He took something from his breast and held it gallantly to his
lips, before all the assembled courtiers. Beverly knew that it was a
faded rose!