"It depends altogether on the other man's wife," he said, and she looked
up quickly. It was too dark to see his face, but something told her to
press the point no further. Deep down in her heart she was beginning to
rejoice in the belief that he had found her out. If he still believed
her to be the real princess, then he was--but the subject of
conversation, at least, had to be changed.
"You say your message to Ravone was of a purely personal nature," she
said.
"Yes, your highness." She did not like the way in which he said "your
highness." It sounded as if he meant it.
"How did you know that you were to see him to-day?"
"We have waited for this opportunity since last week. Franz was in the
castle grounds last Thursday."
"Good heavens! You don't mean it!"
"Yes, your highness. He carried a message to me from Ravone. That is why
Ravone and the others waited for me in the hills."
"You amaze me!"
"I have seen Franz often," he confessed easily. "He is an excellent
messenger."
"So it would seem. We must keep a lookout for him. He is the go-between
for you all, I see."
"Did you learn to say 'you all' in America?" he asked. Her heart gave a
great leap. There was something so subtle in the query that she was
vastly relieved.
"Never mind about that, sir. You won't tell me what you said in your
note to Ravone."
"I cannot."
"Well, he gave you one in return. If you are perfectly sincere, Baldos,
you will hand that note over to me. It shall go no farther, I swear to
you, if, as you vow, it does not jeopardize Graustark. Now, sir, prove
your loyalty and your honesty."
He hesitated for a long time. Then from an inner pocket he drew forth a
bit of paper.
"I don't see why it has not been destroyed," he said regretfully. "What
a neglectful fool I have been!"
"You might have said it had been destroyed," she said, happy because he
had not said it.
"But that would have been a lie. Read it, your highness, and return it
to me. It must be destroyed."
"It is too dark to read it here." Without a word he handed the paper to
her and called the chair bearers, to whom he gave instructions that
brought her speedily beneath one of the park lamps. She afterwards
recalled the guilty impulse which forced her to sit on the tell-tale
note while the men were carrying her along in the driveway. When it was
quite safe she slyly opened the missive. His hand closed over hers, and
the note, and he bent close once more.