Palladia

Chapter I

' So it snowed, and snowed, and snowed.' 'Like to-day?1 ' Just like to-day, and all the foxes stayed in their holes, and the Prince could find nothing to hunt, and he stopped at the door of a great castle.' Palladia looked wistfully across to the deep window, veiled in a moving cold gauze of snowflakes. She was sitting on a black bear-skin rug before the fire. The heavy logs were crackling and snapping joyfully in the wide hearth-place, and their light wrapped her round, and pencilled warm the lithe lines of her young body as she leant back against the oak seat, her arms raised and her hands clasped behind her head. The flame danced capriciously, catching now a gem at her throat, now the gold at her belt, gleaming in her hair, lingering on the soft round of arm and shoulder, but finding answering flame in the depth of her gracious eyes, dark and sweet, like star sapphires.

Across her knees was a flood of gold, damascening the velvet of her dress ; and from its midst, a childish face, very delicate and earnest, was upturned to hers, and the eyes asked for the end of the story. The snow had been falling for many hours, and in the dusk of the winter day Princess Palladia was telling her little sister a fairy tale, full of wonders indeed, but not half so wonderful as those which Palladia would weave for herself when Saya let her dream quietly in the firelight. To-day was a day for dreams and stories, for anything which would make one forget that the unkind snow would stop the riding, that for many days to come there would be no rush through the keen air to help the young blood bear the silences and the loneliness of the old rooms, the dreary monotony of winter life in the dull Castle.

Schnu and Detchen, & B the dear black ponies, must go without their bit of sugar to-night, because the snow lay three feet deep on the way to the stables, and even Palladia would not have cared to meet the certain wrath of the 'Dirckheim' had she attempted to go out on such an evening. 'Dirckheim' was called Countess by ordinary mortals, and was the elderly gentlewoman who had educated and mothered the two royal girls, and who was now anxious as their own mother would have been about their establishment in life. For Palladia and Saya came of a great old dynasty, but had grown up simply, in their dilapidated castle, because their father was poor for all his royal blood, and too proud to show his poverty to the gaping crowd at court. It was known that there were two penniless Princesses in the old Schaumburg Schloss ; Princesses brought up with much care as to morals but with prudent absence of prejudices as to religion, since of course they must be ready to embrace with ardour the faith of whatever husbands could be found for them.

For the last two years the faithful Dirckheim had been storming heaven to send a satisfactory suitor for Palladia, but none had come as yet, and Palladia was nearly twenty, and had not been presented at court ! The Dirckheim felt that the time had come to give the Prince a piece of her mind, and she had in fact made him a present of that valuable fragment, much to his surprise. It had happened after their stiff and frugal mid-day meaL a few weeks before the first snow came. The Countess had followed Palladia's papa to a smoky room full of antlers and skulls which he called his study. He was a tall thin man with a grey moustache and dark eyes, and he was the best shot in the Empire. ' I wish to remind your Highness,' began the Dirckheim with timid dignity, 'that it wants but six weeks to the Princess Palladia's twentieth birthday.' ' That is very kind of you, Countess,' replied the Prince ; ' what do you think she would like for a birthday present ? ' ' A wedding ring, your Highness ! ' replied the old lady promptly. ' It is high time the Princess were married ! ' The Prince stared at her, and then sat down and groaned.

He was not a man of resources, and hated to have his after lunch cigar interfered with. ' Why on earth should she want to be married ? ' he wailed. ' Is she not happy as she is ? Has anybody dared to make love to her 1 ' This last idea made him sit up straight, and he bent a very stern glance on the Dirckheim. That lady was not at all alarmed. 'There is no one who could possibly make love to her,' she replied, 'except Captain Fuggera, who is not exactly young. Besides the Princess is much too well brought up to think of such things ; therefore we must think of them for her, and indeed I assure your Highness that it is quite time to see about it if we are to establish her properly at alL All the Princess's cousins were married before they were eighteen.' 'They had dowries,' remarked the Prince. ' Fortunately,' answered the old lady, drily. ' Some of them were amazingly plain.

The Princess is beautiful, and clever, and she has a heart of gold.' ' I forget what their religion is ? ' said Palladia's papa, dreamily, for he had lighted his cigar. ' Oh — orthodox — yes, orthodox,' replied Palladia's governess hastily ; ' but very broad-minded, of course. I have taken care not to instil disadvantageous prejudices. Any nice young man will find that she falls in with his views, I am sure.' Then his Highness had made a bow, and the old lady knew that she was dismissed, and had trotted away, hoping devoutly that she had made the necessary impression on his slow-moving mind. After that, the Prince had written several letters, and had received some with outlandish postmarks, and one day had announced that there would be a guest ; and a great fuss had been made over a quiet man of no particular age and with very quick dark eyes, who had only stayed one day, to the intense disappointment of the two Princesses, who had planned much amusement for and with the new arrival.

Palladia had been dressed with special care, and the Dirckheim had entreated her not to scandalise the new-comer by some of her very original speeches. ' People do not look for originality in royal young ladies,' she said. Palladia, in all good faith, had been on her best behaviour, and had appeared so amiable and charming and altogether correct, that Count Mouravieff had decided at once that she would make an admirable consort for his master, the Grand Duke of Carinthia, a very young and rather dissipated Prince, whom his subjects were anxious to see put in harness as soon as possible. Indeed Count Mouravieff had been much struck by the grace and charm of the cloistered girl and had allowed himself to dream for a few brief moments of how those dark eyes would flash and melt could a man touch her heart.

But he had little to do with hearts. Life was a quick sharp race, he wanted a Grand Duchess without scheming relations, at once, because through her he could better drive the boy master who had been a little restive of late. The boy master had relations — plenty — across one of his frontiers, and they had whispered that Mouravieff should make haste and get the Grand Duke decently married before some impossible scandal ruined his prospects. Dowry ? A detail ! All that could be managed somehow. And a girl brought up alone in Schloss Schaumburg would have heard nothing, would not be extravagant, and would start fair. The Grand Duke kicked a little at first and finally consented, ungraciously enough, to let himself be married — on one condition. The Princess must be pretty. That was all that really mattered ; need they talk any more ?

And he had lighted a cigarette and had gone to tell a particular friend, Comtesse Karacsay by name, of this new and heavy burden which was being laid upon him, and Vanda Karacsay had sympathised deeply for more reasons than one. There was no use in troubling Palladia ■with the matter until everything was quite arranged. Of course, as the Dirckheim had said, she was extremely well brought up, and would at once consent to anything that her dear papa proposed for her good, but somehow papa did not much care about telling her of his kind plans, even when they were fairly far advanced ; and on the day when the first snow fell, had rather a shock on reading his paper, which arrived, luckily, before the storm. There it was set forth, among other items of court news, that a marriage was shortly to take place between the Grand Duke of Carinthia, and Palladia, eldest daughter of H.S.H. the Prince of Schaumburg Valdai, a lady understood to possess much amiability and gTeat esprit.

The Prince was extremely angry and the Dirckheim snorted scornfully when he showed her this description of the Princess. ' " Amiability " and " esprit " indeed ! ' she exclaimed ; ' why, they never say that except when it would be sheer impudence to say the Princess was pretty ! " Amiability " is always understood as describing a squint, and " esprit " almost means a crooked back ! That comes of your Highness's fancy for bringing up the Princesses in a desert where there is no photographer.' ' I say, though,' remarked the Prince rather ruefully, ' if this is in the papers, it must be announced to the Princess,' and he tucked at his grey moustache and brought one of the ends between his teeth and bit it dubiously. This was what the Dirckheim had been wanting to have done for weeks, and she replied with alacrity — ' I will send the Princess to your Highness at once.

She has been very cross at the snow stopping her riding. This will cheer her up.' ' Think so 1 ' asked the Prince, still gloomily. Palladia, cross, was rather a handful. ' Could we not put it off till to-morrow ? Or would you undertake to tell her, Countess ? Yes, that is the way. A woman can do those things so much better than a man.' The Countess pleaded to be let off, but the Prince was too much pleased with the idea to change his mind, and when he had bowed her out of the room he rang for his gentleman, the elderly Captain Fuggera, and said he had a headache, intended to dine alone, and was on no account to be disturbed that evening. Captain Fuggera bowed and departed, and then the Prince took down his gun to clean, and double-locked his door. By the time he opened it in the morning, Palladia would have worked off any little excitement which might be produced by the announcement of his benevolent arrangements for her welfare.

Now it happened that Schloss Schaumburg was a day's post from the capital, and that the copy of the newspaper which contained that calumnious description of Palladia was brought to the Grand Duke Carolus with his morning coffee the day before the snow stopped Palladia's riding. It was not his own capital. That was a much smaller and duller place, and he was fond of inventing pretexts for paying visits to the brilliant metropolis of his cousin over the frontier. He was a long, lazy, fair-haired boy, with light eyes that always looked over one's head (unless ' one ' happened to be a very pretty woman), a contemptuous droop on a very fresh mouth, and displaying in his whole well-groomed person the confiding languor of youthful royalty before it has buckled to its work. The languor was not very genuine, and he jumped out of bed at a bound when he read the words relating to Palladia.

Y/ith the paper in his hand he burst into the room next to his own, and began to heap accusations on a quiet gentleman who rose from a writing-table and 6tood silent under the vials of the Grand Duke's wrath. It was Count Mouravieff, the same who had paid a short visit to Schloss Schaumburg some weeks before. He looked puzzled and apologetic, and it took some minutes for him to understand what had happened. ' Traitor, conspirator, betrayer of your sovereign ! ' cried the Grand Duke in comic despair, ' you have chosen a Princess who must be hideous, probably deformed, one-eyed, a fright, and have promised that I should marry her ! Mouravieff, have I not loaded you with kindness ? Why choose for me a bride of whom even a newspaper editor dares only to say that she is amiable and clever ? ' 'She is beautiful, lovely, young!' asseverated the bewildered chamberlain. 'Who has been telling your Highness all these lies?' ' Lies ? ' cried Carolus, ' why even this man of lies dares not say she is pretty !

I repudiate the alliance, I refuse to be sacrificed ; you shall marry her yourself, traitor that you are ! ' Mouravieff understood now. He came and glanced at the paper which Carolus held out to him, pointing to the obnoxious words. ' Your Highness is mistaken,' he said quietly. ' She has never been in the capital, her portrait has never been seen here. She may be black or copper-coloured for all these people know, and they want to be on the safe side. She is a very fair woman. Why should I betray my Prince? Go and look at her.' ' That's an idea,' said the Grand Duke, sitting down on the bed. He looked very young in his sleeping-jacket, with his fair hair all tousled and his bare feet thrust into fur slippers. 'Let us take her by surprise. No time to frizz her hair or doctor her com plexion !

What fun ! ' But Mouravieff protested. Such a proceeding was too undigni fied, quite unusual ; there would be no rooms got ready, probably no dinner ; a telegram must be sent and then they could start at once. He only begged the Grand Duke to reserve his judgment till he could decide for himself. The telegram was accordingly sent — and then came the snow. It lay in soft billows along the railway lines, and grew to mighty walls on either side of them as workmen shovelled at it unceasingly to keep the way free. High up in the hills it choked the hollows, and broke down fences, and gathered on slopes, and then fell in masses over precipices, wrecking telegraph wires and posts, and working dismay and confusion in the quotation of stocks, depriving the world of thrilling details about interesting criminals, and wrapping the inhabitants of Schloss Schaumburg in complete ignorance of the honour which was about to be conferred upon them.

It was late in the afternoon when two gentlemen, one young and fair who passed first, and one older and darker who swore only in whispers, descended from the much belated express at a small station nearly buried in snow. The dark man entreated the other to be seated in the only dry corner of the place, while he went out to see for the carriage which would of course have been sent for them. Then he came into the road, and tried to peer through the blind darkness and saw nothing. He shivered angrily and came back to speak to the one official on duty. 'Is there no message from Schloss Schaumburg?' he asked sharply. He was beginning to repent of his romantic advice. ' Nay,' answered the man slowly ; ' were the Herrschaft expected there ? ' ' I telegraphed yesterday,' said Count Mouravieff shortly. ' Oh ! ' said the station-master, ' something must have gone wrong with the message.

Ah ! here it is, I remember now, it came after the messenger had gone somewhere else, and when he returned the storm was too fierce. I never send up to the Castle in snow-storms. It is a bad road. But there is your message, and I will send it on when the snow clears a little." He handed a yellow paper to the Count, who tore it up angrily. 'Blockhead, you lose your place for this. Can you get me a carriage ? ' The station-master was apologetic, obsequious, full of good will sharpened by fright, and managed to get a light cart drawn by strong horses from the not distant village. The whole proceeding occupied not quite an hour. The Grand Duke was very cold, cross, and hungry by the time that he and his chamberlain started on the last stage of their journey, — the one that should bring him to his bride's home.

More than once they had to get out of the cart and walk, or rather plunge through the snow, while the horses were coaxed out of some heavy drift. The fir trees beside the road looked black and tall at first, but as the path ascended they, too, became white, choked with snow, and the travellers had to take the way on trust and the word of the red-faced driver, who kept assuring the Herrschaft that there was but a tiny bit, a ' Stuckerl ' further to go. At last a light or two came glimmering into the white sheet that hung all round them. Then one of Palladia's mastiffs gave tongue, another joined in ; the horses had stopped at last. There was a patter of hurrying feet, a scraping of bolts drawn back, then an astonished face lighted by a lantern in a doorway, and the sound of an upper window being thrown hastily open.

Who could be arriving at this remote fortress on such a night ? Saya's golden crest was reared from her sister's knee, and for a moment both listened in breathless silence ; then, with the quick curiosity of youth, they sprang up and sped out to the stair-head, down a few of the black old steps, and stood, arrested by sudden shyness, under the light of the rough antler chandelier. Palladia's hand was on the dark oak railing, and the folds of her heavy dress fell straight to her feet, but her lithe figure was inclined towards the white -robed child who leaned against her and gazed questioningly down into the hall. They made a fair picture, and as Mouravieff looked up and saw them, he felt again that sudden thrill of life in the region of a heart which had given him little trouble for many years now.

The girls recognised him, and very much puzzled, came slowly down the stairs to meet him, Palladia first and Saya a step or two behind. The greeting bestowed upon him by the elder Princess was cool and stately. This sudden invasion of the house at such an hour savoured of presumption, and in spite, perhaps because of their lonely, restricted life, the Dirckheim had never allowed the sisters or those around them to forget what was due to their rank. No reigning sovereign could have extended that royally white hand more coldly for Count Mouravieff to bow over, or have asked to what they owed the honour, etc., with a more disconcerting movement of the eyebrows. He had brought a friend, too, without warning. The fair young man beside him was staring somewhat insolently at Palladia from his light eyes, and looked less pleased than she did.

She was on the point of passing him with no more recognition than an almost imperceptible inclination of the head, when Mouravieff stopped her, and she found herself being presented to H.I. H. the Grand Duke of Carinthia. Her amazement was covered by the entrance of her father's aide-de-camp, Captain Fuggera. He cast one quick glance on the new-comers, another on the Princess, and came straight to within three paces of the young man, stopped and saluted him with frigid respect He had been presented to him during the autumn manœuvres the year before. It was all he could do not to laugh outright, for only half an hour ago the Dirckheim had been bewailing to him the injustice of fate and the Prince in forcing her to tell Princess Palladia that her hand had been practically bestowed on this very gentleman without the little formality of her consent having been asked to the arrange ment ; and Countess Dirckheim had decided to put off the evil hour till the next morning.

The aide-de-camp was a little afraid of the girl too, but he enjoyed a laugh at any price, and here the situation promised to become amusing. He whispered a word to the Princess, and with another bow left the room to inform her father of what had taken place, and meanwhile Saya stepped up to Palladia's side and greeted the guests shyly. At a word from her sister she ran to call the Dirckheim, and an awkward silence ensued. Palladia was the least embarrassed of the three, for her mind was running on minor details, such as the guests' rooms and supper. The housekeeping of Schloss Schaumburg was extremely primitive, and nothing had been sent up from the village since the storm began. Meanwhile the Grand Duke maintained a sulky silence, shivering ostentatiously from time to time. ' Pray come nearer to the fire,' said Palladia ; 'it is terribly cold.' ' It is indeed,' said the Grand Duke with a sneer which he thought worthy of a man of forty at least.

Then turning to Mouravieff, he said, ' It is a pity you advised me to come to see the Princess Palladia before my presents had been sent to her Highness. Perhaps it is on account of the absence of the usual diamonds that I am received in this very strange manner. She seems to forget that we are engaged to be married.' ' Engaged ? I ? ' Palladia turned on him in angry amazement. She looked him over from head to foot and then took a step towards Mouravieff who was watching her. ' You trespass on our poor hospitality, Count Mouravieff. My father's house is not a lunatic asylum.' Her dark eyes were full of angry light and her voice rang cold and scornful. Count Mouravieff was paralysed. What trap had been laid for him ? What did it all mean ? Countess Dirckheim broke into the room panting with hurry and trouble. ' Oh my dear Princess,' she began, ' it is all my fault, at least ' and here she caught sight of the Grand Duke and executed a curtsey such as had not been required of her stiff limbs for many years.

She had not forgotten what was due to reigning Princes. As she slowly recovered her balance, Palladia came to her side. ' Will you please explain to these gentlemen that we have no provision for lunatic visitors, Dirckheim ? ' she said. ' That person calls himself the Grand Duke of Carinthia and imagines that I — am engaged to be married to him.' And away she swept to the door with her head in the air, like an offended goddess. The Dirckheim rushed after her and they both almost cannoned against Captain Fuggera who entered at the moment. ' The Prince,' he began, ' is deeply sensible of the honour ' Even as he spoke the report of a shot thundered through the still house. All started violently except the Grand Duke, who stiffened CHAP. 10 PALLADIA and stood quiet, his eyes on the door. Mouravieff was before him in an instant covering him with his own body.

Were there socialist assassins in this eagle's nest ? Palladia's quick brain divined the truth. 'My father,— his gun has gone off!' she cried, and in a moment she had run down two long corridors and reached the study. Captain Fuggera was close on her heels. The door was locked, but they heard something like a groan within. Palladia wrenched at the handle and the old lock gave way. Then they saw the Prince leaning back in his leather arm-chair, looking rather grey in the face, holding his right hand tightly over a spot on the left arm just above the elbow. Something dark was staining his thin brown fingers. Palladia was beside him on her knees in an instant trying to draw his hand away and trembling a little. ' It is nothing, I think,' he managed to say with a queer attempt at a smile. ' That confounded hair trigger betrayed me, I believe.' Captain Fuggera went and poured out a glass of brandy from an ancient decanter on a side table.

As he brought it to the Prince, his quick eye noticed that the gun which the Prince had been cleaning lay away from him, but that on the floor under his chair was an old pistol, just dropped there apparently, for when he picked it up it was warm and smelt powdery. The Prince would have none of the brandy, and said he would be all right when Fuggera had tied up his arm. He would walk to his room, please. So, very shakily, he got up, leaning heavily on Palladia, whose late wrath had died out in the face of this sudden calamity. She was terribly troubled, for she loved her grim-looking, kind-hearted father, and she knew nothing of illness and had never seen a wounded man before. The aide-de-camp had rapidly bound a handkerchief round the Prince's arm and kept close to him on that side. He looked very grave.

In ten minutes the Prince was lying on his bed and a man had been despatched to seek the village bone-setter, for no doctor lived near. When the Grand Duke was informed of what had taken place he insisted upon being taken to his host's room. Mouravieff accompanied him. They found Palladia's father looking very white and evidently in pain. He apologised, in gasps, for the unceremonious manner of the guests' reception, and turning to Palladia, who was tryin" gallantly not to cry, he took her hand and dragged it across to where that of the Grand Duke lay. Palladia would have resisted gently, but the wouuded man's fingers seemed very strong in spite of his loss of blood, and they would take no denial. As he placed her hand in the young man's he said feebly — 'There, my dear, he wants you to marry him.

God bless you.' Carolus and Palladia were very young, and not spoiled by the world, though Carolus tried to believe that it had nothing left to teach him. They were stirred and touched by the old gentleman's sad plight and kind words, and as their fingers met there was something like a friendly pressure exchanged, and to Palladia, through her tears, Carolus looked now like a good, kind-faced boy. She did not care what became of her unless papa got well, and engagement and marriage seemed to be nothing very important compared to that. The Grand Duke had quite an honest lump in his throat by the time she drew her hand away, and then he looked at her and thought that Mouravieff had been right after all. She really was a stunner, especially when she looked at her father. It would be nice to have her look at him like that !

He had never seen eyes that could say so much. Captain Fuggera manœuvred tho guests out of the room and got them finally seated at a fairly abundant meal in the stiff dining room, whose corners were swallowed up in darkness away from the ring of light made over the table by the wrought-iron chandelier. The massive silver, and heavy, homespun linen embroidered armorially at all corners ; the excellent home-grown wine, served in wonderful antique beakers also decorated with the Schaumburg arms ; the feudal look of the old chasseur as he stood stiff behind the Grand Duke's chair in his grey and green uniform and many medals, impressed young Carolus in 6pite of himself. It was all so different from the banal splendours and cheap-at-the-price luxuries of his Sombrudja Palace. He could appreciate an artistic effect, and all this struck him as a very good kind of setting for his dark-eyed Princess with her luminous pale face, and her figure straight as a palm, and strong and graceful as a cypress in his own Palace garden.

After all, though, he would have liked the little one best. Golden hair, and shy little ways, and eyes like forget me-nots ! He would not have minded waiting till she grew up. Oh well, it was all settled now, so there was no use in going over the ground again. He would have another glass of that excellent Strohwein ; it really warmed a man up after that beastly cold drive and all these shocks. The Strohwein was nearly as strong as brandy, and smooth as velvet, so he drank a good deal of it, and became rather more communicative than Count Mouravieff had CHAP. 12 PALLADIA intended. Captain Fuggera, who did the honours, and who had been carrying out a curious train of thought of his own, bowed and smiled, and appeared to take great interest in the Grand Duke's conversation. That confiding gentleman was beginning to tell him how bored he had been at the prospect of matrimony and of how his chamberlain had suggested that he should come and have a look at his bride. 'Which accounts for our sudden arrival,' chirruped young Carolus. ' I think I like this wine.