An Imperial Marriage Part 39

"It is positively wonderful, Paul! Wonderful!"

"It will do in the dark, anyhow," I replied, quite satisfied with the result. "Say nothing to Althea about it; but if you can manage it, drop her a hint that I have had very bad news. It is so essential she should act naturally when von Felsen comes, that I must even venture to frighten her a little."

I would not trust myself to see Althea herself again before von Felsen's visit, lest I should be led to tell her everything in my desire to relieve her anxiety. So much depended upon his being entirely deceived, that I dared not take the risk of her not being able to appear completely sincere in what she had to promise.

It was a hard task to mislead her even for so short a time; and twenty times I started off to relieve the suspense I knew was torturing her.

But I did not go.

Then von Felsen arrived. He asked openly for Fraulein von Ringheim, and by my orders Ellen showed him into my room. He was a very different man from the shaken reed he had been when I had interviewed him at the club on the night of the Jew's murder. He was now self-confident, resolved, and sure of himself on the strength of the cards he held.

On the other hand I endeavoured to express alarm and genuine apprehension.

"It is no use your denying that Fraulein Althea is here, Herr Bastable.

I know it and the police know it. I shan't go without seeing her."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, letting my eyes fall before his.

"That all depends on what she does. You have made a holy mess of things in your cleverness. Your house is watched by the police, and you can't escape. If things go wrong, you'll have to answer for having had the Baron here. I know he's here, too."

"You are not going to play on a woman's fears about her father, are you?" A spice of mild indignation in this. "As for me, you can't harm me."

"Harm you? Can't I?" he cried with a snort of anger. "Perhaps you'll change your tone when I tell you, on my honour----"

"Never mind your honour," I cut in with a sneer which had the intended effect of adding anger to his bl.u.s.ter.

"When I leave this house I shall only have to hold up my finger and the lot of you will be inside the nearest gaol as quickly as you can be taken there by the police--you and Althea and her father and your sister too. You are all in this, you know. And if you provoke me, by Heaven I'll do it at once."

I did not reply but sat looking down at the table in intense dismay.

"Now are you going to deny that she is in the house?" he cried triumphantly after a pause.

"No, I don't deny it." The words seemed to be wrung from me, and I continued my stare of dismay at the table.

"I thought that would bring you to your senses. Where is she?"

"I'll take you up to her;" and I rose.

"No, thank you. I don't want you," he declared with a short laugh.

I sat down again. "I must think all this over," I murmured with a sigh of concern. "She's in the drawing-room, the room at the top of the stairs."

"I'll find it right enough, you bet." He went to the door and then turned for a last shot. "You understand, Bastable, if she says no, you'll all sleep in gaol to-night."

I let my head sink on my hand, and with a last leer of satisfaction he went out.

My only fear was lest I had overdone it; but he was anything but a keen observer, and was himself a man of exaggerated gesture.

I waited a few minutes to give him time to put his cowardly proposition to Althea and then, having rumpled my hair a bit to give the appearance of intense perturbation, I followed to add my plea to his--that Althea should agree to marry him.

It was, as she had said, the only way; but in furtherance of my plans instead of his.

CHAPTER XIX

VON FELSEN GAINS HIS END

I entered the room just when matters had reached the crisis. Althea, very pale and troubled, was sitting near the window and von Felsen stood over her dictating his terms. He had wrought upon her fears until she was on the point of yielding.

He resented my interference, therefore, fearing lest I should cause her to change her mind, and he turned on me angrily. "There is no need for you to come here, Herr Bastable. You can do no good."

"I could not keep away. So much depends upon Fraulein Althea's decision that I must know it at once." I spoke like one distracted with doubt.

A gloating, boastful, confident smile, for which I could have kicked him, was his reply.

Althea shuddered at it and then turned to me. "What else can I do, Mr.

Bastable?"

I flung up my hands and sighed distractedly. "This cannot be necessary.

Herr von Felsen must give us a little time in which to think. I have still influence, and I must go and see what I can do."

"If you leave the house it will be to go straight to prison," he declared with a sneer.

Althea winced again at this. "You see, I must do it."

"You coward," I cried to him. Then I started as if an idea had just occurred to me. "I can stop you. I had forgotten. You are pledged to marry Fraulein Ziegler. She shall know of this at once"; and I turned as if to hurry from the room.

"Stop," he shouted. "Leave this room and that instant I will call in those outside."

I stopped obediently, as if baffled and frightened. Then I gave another little start and shot a furtive, cunning glance at him.

"You said just now you didn't want me in the room," I said slowly.

He looked at me very searchingly. "You stop here. I can read your thought easily enough, but you won't fool me. Neither you nor any one here will leave this house until Fraulein Althea is my wife. Understand that."

I did not reply, but sat down and began to finger my moustache, moving my eyes about as if thinking of some means to outwit him. "We shall see," I said with a repet.i.tion of the cunning smile.

"Mr. Bastable!" said Althea, in a tone of appeal.

"No, no, no. There must be some other way. I am not afraid for myself." Then I laughed. "If we are not to leave the house then, there shall be no marriage. There shall be none here, that I swear. Let come what may, there shall not. You are driving me to bay, von Felsen. Have a care, man, what you do." I spoke without pa.s.sion, but the suggestion of threat in my tone drew his eyes upon me and started his suspicions.

Althea was completely puzzled by my conduct, and I was glad to see that.

If I could mislead her, after what I had said that morning, I was sure to be successful with the grosser wits of von Felsen.

"Herr von Felsen has proposed that the marriage shall take place here this evening, and it--it must be so," she said after a pause.