maxgregor made no reply for a moment. it flashed across his mind that some person or persons were playing a cruel hoax on the queen.
but a moment's reflection served to show that such a thing was impossible. in the first place the telegram was in the cypher used by the queen in communicating with tomani, the only really faithful friend she possessed in the councils of the government party of asturia. and tomani's honour was beyond question.
the queen was first to speak. she crossed over and laid a shaking hand on maxgregor's arm.
"you must be mistaken," she said. "unless tomani—but not for a moment do i doubt him. i trust him as implicitly as i trust yourself. and yet you say—you say——"
"that the king is dead, madame. the king was killed in the disaster that happened to his special train between here and paris. mind you, nobody knows of this with the exception of the faithful few into whose hands you would place your life safely. as a matter of fact the disaster was no accident at all, it was deliberately brought about by countess saens and prince mazaroff for their own ends. the miscreants disappeared and i am afraid that we shall not have the satisfaction of laying them by the heels. the driver and stoker of the train were killed so that it is impossible to[296] obtain their testimony. captain alexis and mr. charles maxwell escaped by a miracle, though they are both badly knocked about. it was mr. maxwell who saved the situation and contrived to get the body of the king smuggled away."
"but the telegram, general, the telegram?" the queen cried. "tomani says that the king is in our capital closeted with ministers. perhaps at this very moment——"
"but, madame, i assure you that the king is no more," maxgregor protested. "there is some strange maddening mystery here that will be explained in time. i say the king is dead, if necessary i am prepared to prove that to you. the body was smuggled away so that russia should have no pretext for interfering. it was essential that they should not know what had happened, for the present at any rate. they must not know till we can get prince alix on the scene."
"you are assuming a thing that you can prove?" the queen asked hoarsely.
"indeed i am, madame. try and realise the fact that your sway is ended. it expires with the life of the king as you know. therefore, we must put all private feeling aside and strain every nerve to get prince alix to asturia before the russians learn what has happened. once prince alix is nominated to the succession, russia is powerless. do you follow me?"
"i should follow you better if i were certain that you were telling me hard facts, general."
"heaven only knows that i am, madame. that the king is dead is beyond question. let me finish what i am going to say. i have had everything from lechmere. he had a mysterious message[297] from prince peretori urging him to go at once to the scene of the disaster. he was told to visit the cottage of a certain peasant and give proofs of his identity. there he saw the body of the king hidden away. the body was brought back to england, and at present it is locked in one of my rooms. i have seen it, lechmere has seen it, so has dr. varney."
the queen passed her hand across her forehead with a gesture of despair.
"it is all bewildering and so confusing, so sudden!" she cried. "you come to me and tell me this a few minutes after the receipt of tomani's telegram."
"i do not wish to be hard or unkind," maxgregor interrupted. "but i must ask you for the present to forget that telegram. that side of the mystery will doubtless be cleared up in time. what most concerns us now is the king and the fact that his death must be concealed from everybody until we have had time to communicate with prince alix. of your dream and mine we can say nothing; that is shattered. our whole energies too must be devoted to the task of defeating russia. and the king has to be buried, you understand."
"but that cannot be done without necessary formalities," the queen protested. "in england——"
"yes, i know that in england they do things differently to what they do abroad. but most fortunately, we have dr. varney on our side. he attended the king, he is prepared to certify that death was the result of a shock and that nothing in the way of an inquest was necessary. officially, the doctor is not supposed to know anything about the railway accident. he is not bound to speak[298] of what has happened until officially, you, as royal consort, see fit to announce to the world that king erno of asturia is no more. varney suggests that the body be embalmed and conveyed to asturia for burial. you see everything plays for our hand if we can only be bold and do not lose our opportunities."
the queen made no reply for a little time, she paced up and down the room lost in thought. a kingdom had slipped through her fingers, all her darling ambition had fallen suddenly to the ground. the cup of humiliation was full to the brim and she had to drink it to the dregs. and yet through it all was the consolation that peace and quietness henceforth would be her portion. she had been tried beyond her strength of late.
"paul," she said, with a gentle sweetness that surprised maxgregor. "i place myself entirely in your hands. i have done more than a woman's portion and i have failed. the fact that i knew that i should fail from the first does not render my humiliation any the less bitter. the king is dead, and for his own sake and mine i do not regret it. my married life has been a nightmare, i am glad that it is over. how can i grieve for this thing when i remember what i have suffered? henceforth i take no part in politics—that is, after we have successfully placed alix on a firm throne. the people will follow him as they never would have followed me, devoted as i was to their interests. when you came in i was getting ready to start for asturia. i was going to travel incognito and let it be understood that i was still in england. and that splendid girl jessie harcourt was coming with me. it is just as well that she should be out of the[299] way for some little time, and her courage and devotion are splendid."
before maxgregor could make any reply, jessie came into the room. she was quietly dressed in black and evidently ready for a journey. at the sight of the queen's pale face and the presence of maxgregor she started and backed towards the door. the queen detained her.
"this is no private conversation," she said, "at least not so far as you are concerned. i should like you to know everything, for i feel how implicitly i can trust you. general maxgregor brings some startling news. news so strange that i would not believe it for a time. he says the king is dead."
"dead!" jessie exclaimed. "but that telegram, madame. surely your friend tomani——?"
"is beyond reproach. nor can i believe that anybody has obtained access to my private cypher. and yet the king is dead. the general will tell you all about that."
maxgregor reported his story over again, jessie listening with dilated eyes. how many ages ago, she wondered, since she was filling her dreary routine duties in bond street. but she seemed to have left that old life behind her years ago. she was piecing the puzzle together as maxgregor spoke. at the name of peretori a sudden light flashed in upon her.
"prince peretori," she cried. "it was prince peretori who sent that mysterious telegram to mr. lechmere. then the prince must have known all about it, i mean after the accident. and prince peretori was the man who impersonated the king for the sake of a bet and then foolishly played into the hands of countess saens and the rest of them.[300] it was he who passed himself off to the editor of the mercury as king of asturia. surely you can see what has happened?"
"i wish i did," maxgregor muttered. "it would simplify matters wonderfully."
"why, the problem is already solved," said jessie. "prince peretori was sincerely sorry for the part he had played. he said he would do his best to make amends. ah, he is far cleverer in his frivolous way than you give him credit for. he foresaw something of this and hung in disguise on the track of the king. he was not far off when the accident took place. and thus he was on his way when he was assured of the fact that the king was dead. once more he played the part of the king of asturia. he made up as the king, he would probably use a few bandages and a discoloured face so as to make detection absolutely impossible. the king was expected in his capital and the prince went there instead. hence the telegram from tomani who had not detected the imposture. by this time you may be sure that prince alix is on the spot. it is the old story of the comedy man who comes forward at the crisis and saves the play."
"she is right," maxgregor shouted. "for a million she has hit the right nail on the head."
