"Command me," said I promptly.

"Her Highness is being forced into marriage with a man who is old

enough to be her grandfather. She holds him in horror, and will go to

any length to make this marriage an impossibility. For my part, I have

tried to convince her of the futility of resisting her royal uncle's

will." (Sensible little Britisher!) "What she is about to do will be

known only to four persons, one of whom is a downright rascal."

"A rascal?" slipped my lips, half-unconsciously. "I trust that I

haven't given you that impression," I added eagerly. (A rascal? The

plot was thickening to formidable opaqueness.)

"No, no!" she cried hastily, with a flash of summer on her lips. (What

is more charming than an English woman with a clear sense of the

humorous?) "You haven't given me that impression at all."

"Thank you." My vanity expanded under the genial warmth of this

knowledge. It was quite possible that she looked upon me favorably.

"To proceed. There is to be a kind of mock marriage here to-night, and

you are to witness it." She watched me sharply.

I frowned.

"Patience! Not literally a mock marriage, but the filling out of a

bogus certificate."

"I do not understand at all."

"You have heard of Hermann Steinbock, a cashiered officer?"

"Yes. I understand that he is the rascal to whom you refer."

"Well, this certificate is to be filled out completely. To outwit the

duke, her Highness commits--"

"A forgery."

"It is a terrible thing to do, but she has gone too far to withdraw

now. She is to become the wife of Hermann Steinbock. She wishes to

show the certificate to the duke."

"But the banns have not been made public."

"That does not matter."

"But why detain me?" I was growing restless. It was all folly, and no

good would come of it.

"It is necessary that a gentleman should be present. The caretaker is

not a gentleman. I have said that Steinbock is a rascal. As I review

the events, I begin to look upon your arrival as timely. Steinbock is

not a reliable quantity."

"I begin to perceive."

"He is to receive one thousand crowns for his part in the ceremony;

then he is to leave the country."

"But the priest's signature, the notary's seal, the iron-clad

formalities which attend all these things!" I stammered.

"You will recollect that her Highness is a princess of the blood.

Seldom is she refused anything in Barscheit." She went to a small

secretary and produced a certificate, duly sealed and signed. There

lacked nothing but Steinbock's name.

"But the rascal will boast about it! He may blackmail all of you. He

may convince the public that he has really married her Highness."




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