The Great Court Scandal Part 26

"Then I will go there to-morrow and call myself Madame Bernard," she said decisively. "Leucha will go with me in search of apartments."

Having gained her freedom, she now wanted to see what an English middle-cla.s.s house was like. She had heard much of English home life from Allen and from the English notabilities who had come to Court, and she desired to see it for herself. Hotel life is the same all the world over, and it already bored her.

"Certainly. Your Majesty will be much quieter and far more comfortable in apartments, and pa.s.sing as an ordinary member of the public," Leucha said. "I happen to know a very nice house where one can obtain furnished apartments. It faces the sea near the pier, and is kept by a Mrs. Blake, the widow of an Army surgeon. When I was in service with Lady Porthkerry we stayed there for a month."

"Then we will most certainly go there; and perhaps you, Mr. Bourne, will find it possible to take the sea air at Worthing instead of being cooped up here. You might come down by a night train--that is, if you know a place where you would be safe."

He shook his head dubiously.

"I know a place in Brighton--where I've stayed several times. It is not far from Worthing, certainly. But we will see afterwards. Does your Majesty intend to leave London to-morrow?"

"Yes; but please not `your Majesty,'" she said, in mild reproach, and with a sweet smile. "Remember, I am in future plain Madame Bernard, of Bordeaux, shall we say? The landlady--as I think you call her in English--must not know who I am, or there will soon be paragraphs in the papers, and those seaside snap-shotters will be busy. I should quickly find myself upon picture postcards, as I've done, to my annoyance, on several previous occasions when I've wanted to be quiet and remain incognito."

And so it was arranged that she should establish herself at Mrs.

Blake's, in Worthing, which she did about six o'clock on the following evening.

The rooms, she found, were rather frowzy, as are those of most seaside lodgings, the furniture early Victorian, and on the marble-topped whatnot was that ornament in which our grandmothers so delighted--a case of stuffed birds beneath a gla.s.s dome. The two windows of the first-floor sitting-room opened out upon a balcony before which was the promenade and the sea beyond--one of the best positions in Worthing, without a doubt.

Mrs. Blake recognised Leucha at once, terms were quickly fixed, and the maid--as is usual in such cases--received a small commission for bringing her mistress there.

When they were duly installed, Leucha, in confidence, told the inquisitive landlady that her mistress was one of the old French aristocracy, while at the same moment "Madame" was sitting out upon the balcony watching the sun disappear into the grey waters of the Channel.

In the promenade a few people were still pa.s.sing up and down, the majority having gone in to dinner. But among them was one man, who, though unnoticed, lounged past and glanced upward--the tall, thin, grey-haired man who had on the previous night watched her enter the house in Hammersmith.

He wore a light grey suit, and presented the appearance of an idler from London, like most of the other promenaders, yet the quick, crafty look he darted in her direction was distinctly an evil one.

Yet in ignorance she sat there, in full view of him, enjoying the calm sundown, her eyes turned pensively away into the grey, distant haze of the coming night.

Her thoughts were away there, across the sea. She wondered how her husband fared, now that he was King. Did he ever think of her save with angry recollections; or did he ever experience that remorse that sooner or later must come to every man who wrongs a faithful woman?

That morning, before leaving the Savoy, she had received two letters, forwarded to her in secret from Brussels. One was from Treysa, and the other bore the postmark "Roma."

The letter from Treysa had been written by Steinbach three days after the King's death. It was on plain paper, and without a signature. But she knew his handwriting well. It ran:--

"Your Majesty will have heard the news, no doubt, through the newspapers. Two days ago our King George was, after luncheon, walking on the terrace with General Scheibe, when he was suddenly seized by paralysis. He cried, `I am dying, Scheibe. Help me indoors!' and fell to the ground. He was carried into the palace, where he lingered until nine o'clock in the evening, and then, in spite of all the physicians could do, he expired. The Crown Prince was immediately proclaimed Sovereign, and at this moment I have just returned from the funeral, whereat the greatest pomp has been displayed. All the Sovereigns of Europe were represented, and your Majesty's absence from Court was much remarked and commented upon. The general opinion is that you will return--that your difference with the King will now be settled; and I am glad to tell you that those who were your Majesty's bitterest enemies a week ago are now modifying their views, possibly because they fear what may happen to them if you really do return. At this moment the Court is divided into two sets--those who hope that you will take your place as Queen, and those who are still exerting every effort to prevent it. The latter are still crying out that you left Treysa in company with Count Leitolf, and urging his Majesty to sue for a divorce--especially now that the Emperor of Austria has degraded you by withdrawing your Imperial privileges and your right to bear the Imperial arms of Austria, and by decree striking you off the roll of the Dames de la Croix Etoilee. From what I have gathered, a spy of Hinckeldeym's must have followed your Majesty to Vienna and seen you meet the Count. At present, however, although every effort is being made to find you, the secret agents have, it is said, been unsuccessful. I have heard that you are in Italy, to be near Leitolf; evidently a report spread by Hinckeldeym and his friends.

"The people are clamouring loudly for you. They demand that `their Claire' shall be brought back to them as Queen. Great demonstrations have been made in the Dom Platz, and inflammatory speeches have been delivered against Hinckeldeym, who is denounced as your arch-enemy. The mob on two occasions a.s.sumed an att.i.tude so threatening that it had to be dispelled by the police. The situation is serious for the Government, inasmuch as the Socialists have resolved to champion your cause, and declare that when the time is ripe they will expose the plots of your enemies, and cause Hinckeldeym's downfall.

"I am in a position to know that this is no mere idle talk. One of the spies has betrayed his employers; hence the whole Court is trembling.

What will the King do? we are all asking. On the one hand the people declare you are innocent and ill-judged, while on the other the Court still declares with dastardly motive that your friends.h.i.+p with Leitolf was more than platonic. And, unfortunately, his Majesty believes the latter.

"My own opinion is that your Majesty's best course is still to remain in concealment. A squadron of spies have been sent to the various capitals, and photographs are being purposely published in the ill.u.s.trated press in order that you may be identified. I hope, however, that just at present you will not be discovered, for if so I fear that in order to stem the Socialistic wave even your friends must appear to be against you. Your Majesty knows too well the thousand and one intrigues which form the undercurrent of life at our Court, and my suggestion is based upon what I have been able to gather in various quarters. All tends to show that the King, now that he has taken the reins of government, is keenly alive to his responsibility towards the nation. His first speech, delivered to-day, has shown it. He appears to be a changed man, and I can only hope and pray that he has become changed towards yourself.

"If you are in Paris or in London, beware of secret agents, for both capitals swarm with them. Remain silent, patient and watchful; but, above all, be very careful not to allow your enemies any further food for gossip. If they start another scandal at this moment, it would be fatal to all your Majesty's interests; for I fear that even the people, faithful to your cause up to the present, would then turn against you.

In conclusion, I beg to a.s.sure your Majesty of my loyalty, and that what ever there is to report in confidence I will do so instantly through this present channel. I would also humbly express a hope that both your Majesty and the Princess Ignatia are in perfect health."

The second letter--the one bearing the Rome postmark--was headed, "Imperial Emba.s.sy of Austria-Hungary, Palazzo Chigi," and was signed "Carl."

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

LOVE AND "THE LADYBIRD."

Re-entering the room she found herself alone, Leucha having gone downstairs into the garden to walk with Ignatia. Therefore she drew the letter from her pocket and re-read it.

"Dearest Heart," he wrote,--"To-night the journals in Rome are publis.h.i.+ng the news of the King's death, and I write to you as your Majesty--my Queen. You are my dear heart no longer, but my Sovereign.

Our enemies have again libelled us. I have heard it all. They say that we left Treysa in company, and that I am your lover; foul lies, because they fear your power. The _Tribuna_ and the _Messagero_ have declared that the King contemplates a divorce; yet surely you will defend yourself. You will not allow these cringing place-seekers to triumph, when you are entirely pure and innocent? Ah, if his Majesty could only be convinced of the truth--if he could only see that our friends.h.i.+p is platonic; that since the clay of your marriage no word of love has ever been spoken between us! You are my friend--still my little friend of those old days at dear old Wartenstein. I am exiled here to a Court that is brilliant though torn by internal intrigue, like your own. Yet my innermost thoughts are ever of you, and I wonder where you are and how you fare. The spies of Hinckeldeym have, I hope, not discovered you. Remember, it is to that man's interest that you should remain an outcast.

"Cannot you let me know, by secret means, your whereabouts? One word to the Emba.s.sy, and I shall understand. I am anxious for your sake. I want to see you back again at Treysa with the scandalous Court swept clean, and with honesty and uprightness ruling in place of bribery and base intrigue. Do not, I beg of you, forget your duty to your people and to the State. By the King's death the situation has entirely changed. You are Queen, and with a word may sweep your enemies from your path like flies. Return, a.s.sert your power, show them that you are not afraid, and show the King that your place is at his side. This is my urgent advice to you as your friend--your oldest friend.

"I am sad and even thoughtful as to your future. Somehow I cannot help thinking that wherever you are you must be in grave peril of new scandals and fresh plots, because your enemies are so utterly unscrupulous. Rome is as Rome is always--full of foreigners, and the Corso bright with movement. But the end of the season has come. The Court moves to Racconigi, and we go, I believe, to Camaldoli, or some other unearthly hole in the mountains, to escape the fever. I shall, however, expect a single line at the Emba.s.sy to say that my Sovereign has received my letter. I pray ever for your happiness. Be brave still, and may G.o.d protect you, dear heart.--Carl."

Tears sprang to her beautiful eyes as she read the letter of the man who was a.s.suredly her greatest friend--the man whom the cruel world so erroneously declared to be her lover.

The red afterglow from over the sea streamed into the room as she sat with her eyes fixed away on the distant horizon, beyond which lay the wealthy, picturesque kingdom over which she was queen.

Leucha entered, and saw that she was _triste_ and thoughtful, but, like a well-trained maid, said nothing. Little Ignatia was already asleep after the journey, and dinner would be served in half an hour.

"I hope Madame will like Worthing," the maid remarked presently, for want of something else to say. She had dropped the t.i.tle of Majesty, and now addressed her mistress as plain "Madame."

"Delightful--as far as I have seen," was the reply. "More rural than Hastings, it appears. To-morrow I shall walk on the pier, for I've heard that it is the correct thing to do at an English watering-place.

You go in the morning and after dinner, don't you?"

"Yes, Madame."

"Mr. Bourne did well to suggest this place. I don't think we shall ever be discovered here."

"I hope not," was Leucha's fervent reply. "Yet what would the world really say, I wonder, if it knew that you were in hiding here?"

"It would say something against me, no doubt--as it always does," she answered, in a hard voice; and then she recollected Steinbach's serious warning.

Dinner came at last, the usual big English joint and vegetables, laid in that same room. The housemaid, in well-starched cap, cuffs, and ap.r.o.n, was a typical seaside domestic, who had no great love for foreigners, because they were seldom lavish in the manner of tips. An English servant, no matter of what grade, reflects the same askance at the foreigner as her master exhibits. She regards all "forriners" as undesirables.

"Madame" endeavoured to engage the girl in conversation, but found her very loath to utter a word. Her name was Richards, she informed the guest, and she was a native of Thrapston, in Northamptons.h.i.+re.

The bright, sunny days that followed Claire found most delightful.

Leucha took little Ignatia down to the sea each morning, and in the afternoon, while the child slept, accompanied her mistress upon long walks, either along the sea-road or through the quiet Suss.e.x lanes inland, now bright in the spring green. The so-called season at Worthing had not, of course, commenced; yet there were quite a number of people, including the "week-enders" from London, the people who came down from town "at reduced fares," as the railway company ingeniously puts it--an expression more genteel than "excursion." She hired a trap, and drove with Leucha to Steyning, Littlehampton, Sh.o.r.eham, those pretty lanes about Amberley, and the quaint old town of Arundel, all of which highly interested her. She loved a country life, and was never so happy as when riding or driving, enjoying the complete freedom that now, for the first time in her life, was hers.

Weeks crept by. Spring lengthened into summer, and Madame Bernard still remained in Worthing, which every day became fuller of visitors, mostly people from London, who came down for a fortnight or three weeks to spend their summer holiday. And with Leucha she became more friendly, and grew very fond of her.

She had written to Leitolf the single line of acknowledgment, and sent it to the Austrian Emba.s.sy in Rome, enclosing it in the official envelope which he had sent her, in order to avoid suspicion. To Steinbach too she had written, urging him to keep her well informed regarding the undercurrent of events at Court.

In reply he had sent her other reports which showed most plainly that, even though the King might be contemplating an adjustment of their differences in order that she might take her place as Queen, her enemies were still actively at work in secret to complete her ruin. Up to the present, however, the spies of Hinckeldeym had entirely failed to trace her, and their cruel story that she was in Rome had on investigation turned out to be incorrect. Her enemies were thus discomfited.

In the London papers she read telegrams from Treysa--no doubt inspired by her enemies--which stated that the King had already applied to the Ministry of Justice for a divorce, and that the trial was to be heard _in camera_ in the course of a few weeks.

Should she now reveal her whereabouts? Should she communicate with her husband and deny the scandalous charges before it became too late? By her husband's accession her position had been very materially altered.

Her duty to the country of her adoption was to be at her husband's side, and a.s.sist him as ruler. Not that she regretted for one single instant leaving Treysa. She had not the slightest desire to re-enter that seething world of intrigue; it was only the call of duty which caused her to contemplate it. At heart, indeed, if the truth were told, she still retained a good deal of affection for the man who had treated her so brutally. When her mind wandered back to the early days of her married life and the sweetness of her former love, she recollected that he possessed many good traits of character, and felt convinced that only the bitterness of her enemies had aroused the demon jealousy within him and made him what he had now become.

If she were really able to clear herself of the stigma now upon her, there might, after all, be a reconciliation--if not for her own sake, then for the sake of the little Princess Ignatia.