I wondered if they would not detect the odor of my cigar, and thus
discover that they were not alone in the garden, but the draft carried
the smoke away from them; and then I became absorbed in what they were
saying.
"I can give you only a few moments, Ivan," murmured the princess. "My
guests will miss me. You should have come to me later."
"I know; but it was impossible. There is a meeting to-night, and our
good friends are very anxious to hear something from you. When can you
be present to tell them in your own words what you accomplished during
your journey?"
The tone of the question was masterful, and unconsciously I resented
it.
What right had any other man to address my princess in that manner? for
already I found myself regarding her as my princess. I knew now that
I had wandered into the garden solely for the purpose of being alone to
think about her, and that in my short journeys up and down the paths,
finally ending among the cushions of the Turkish bower, I had had her
with me for a companion. You will discover by this statement that I was
still mindful of her presence near me, even though I had left her in
the drawing room while I went away alone; but it is always possible to
conjure a personal presence if the mind is sufficiently intent upon it,
and even though that presence be not physical, it is nevertheless real.
The tone of the man who was speaking with her in the adjoining bower
was masterful, as I have said. More than that it was familiar. It was
even intimate, I thought, and I was conscious of a silent rage when I
heard it.
I sensed his words subconsciously, and yet I had thoroughly
comprehended them. He had spoken of a meeting of their "very good
friends" and I had no doubt to whom he referred; neither had I any
doubt at the moment, that this man talking so confidentially with the
princess, was one of the "marked" members of that rapidly widening
group of persons whom my busily engaged employees were learning to
know.
It was with a distinct shock, however, that I realized by virtue of the
intimate manner of the man, that Zara de Echeveria must also be
implicated with the nihilists, since he dared to speak to her so
openly, so masterfully, and with such confident reliance upon the
manner in which his communication would be received. Her reply
convinced me sufficiently, had I required added conviction at that
moment.
"I do not know," she said. "Say that I will send word to them in the
usual way, and at the earliest opportunity. Say that I was entirely
successful; that everything in Paris and Berlin is in the most
excellent condition, and that nothing--absolutely nothing, you
understand--must be done without my knowledge and permission."