CHAPTER XV
"I AM NOT THE DUCHESS!"
A long, low-built limousine kept passing and repassing the Ministry, and taking excursions to the parks, in an evident effort to kill time. At last, the street being well clear of pedestrians and vehicles, the car drew up in front of the house, the door of which was quickly thrown open. The chauffeur descended and opened the door of the car, but said nothing. A man stepped out backward.
"We have arrived, Your Highness," he said to someone within. "Will you walk across the path to the door, or will you force us again to be disrespectful in carrying out our orders?"
From within a girl's voice answered:
"You need not fear; I shall make no outcry."
"The word of Your Highness is given. It would be painful for us to be disrespectful again. Come."
The girl who stepped out of the car was unmistakably Ruth Atheson. Behind her came a raw-boned, muscular woman, and a powerful-looking man.
As she was hurried between the tall stone gateposts and up the cement walk, Ruth had but little time to observe her surroundings; but her eyes were quick, and she saw that the house she was about to enter was set some twenty feet back in quiet roomy grounds bordered by an ornamental stone wall. Distinguishing the house from its neighbors was a narrow veranda extending for some distance across the front, its slender columns rising to such a height that the flat roof, lodged with stone, formed a balcony easily accessible from the second floor. To one side, between the wall and the house, was a large tree whose foliage, loath to leave the swaying boughs, defied the autumn breeze.
Before she had time to observe more, the party entered the Ministry; the door was closed quickly, and Ruth's companions stood respectfully aside. His Excellency was already coming down the steps, and met her at the foot of the stairs. Bowing low, he kissed the white hand before Ruth could prevent.
"We are highly honored by the presence of Your Highness."
With another low bow he stood aside, and Ruth passed up the stairs. His Excellency conducted her into the room wherein the conference regarding her had been held only a few days before.
"Your Highness—" he began.
But Ruth interrupted him. "I do not understand your language."
The Minister rubbed his hands, smiled, and, still using the foreign language, said, "I am surprised that Your Highness should have forgotten your native tongue during such a short sojourn in America."
Ruth spoke somewhat haughtily.
"I think, Your Excellency, that I know who you are—and also why I am here. Permit me to tell you that you have made a serious blunder. I am not the Grand Duchess Carlotta."
The Minister smiled again, and started to speak. But Ruth again interrupted him.
"Pardon me, Your Excellency, but if you insist upon talking to me, I must again request that you speak a language I can understand. I have already told you that I do not understand what you say."
The Minister still kept his smile, and still rubbed his hands, but this time he spoke in English.
"It shall be as Your Highness wishes. It is your privilege to choose the language of conversation. We will speak in English, although your own tongue would perhaps be better."
"My own tongue," said Ruth, "is the language that I am using; and again I must inform Your Excellency that I am not the Grand Duchess. You have simply been guilty of abduction. You have taken the wrong person."
For answer the Minister went over to the mantel and picked up a portrait, which he extended toward the girl.
"I know," said Ruth, "I know. Many times in Europe I have been subjected to annoyance because of the resemblance. I know the Grand Duchess very well, but my name is Ruth Atheson."
The tolerant smile never left the face of the Minister.
"Your Highness shall have it as you wish. I am satisfied with the resemblance. Since you left San Sebastian there has been scarcely a minute that you have not been under surveillance. It is true that you were lost for a little while in Boston, but not completely. We traced you to Sihasset. We traced him there also finally—unfortunately for the poor fellow."
Ruth started: "You have not—"
The Minister looked sad. "Alas! Highness," he said, "he is no more—-an unfortunate accident. We do not even know where his body is. I fear he may have been drowned, or something worse. At any rate he will trouble you no more."
The face of the girl showed keen distress. "Poor child!" was all she could say.
"He was not, Highness, exactly a child, you know," suggested the Minister.
"I was not referring to him."
The Minister's smile returned.
"Then, Highness, perhaps you were referring to the Grand Duchess."
"I was referring to the Grand Duchess."
All this time His Excellency never lost his air of respect, but now a somewhat more familiar tone crept into his voice.
"Highness," he said, "you will pardon me, I know, if I issue orders in your regard. All is being done by your father's commands, given to me through His Majesty. You know as well as I do that your marriage to this Italian adventurer was impossible. You know that you are next in line of succession, but you do not know something else. You do not know that your father is even now dangerously ill. Your escapade has been hushed up to avoid scandal, for you may be sitting on the throne within a month. You must return to Ecknor, and you must return at once. The easiest way, and the best way, would be to notify the Washington papers that you have arrived on a visit to America incognito, and that you are now a guest at the Ministry. Though it is already midnight, I have prepared such a statement. Here is it." The Minister pointed to a number of sealed envelopes on the desk. "If you consent to be reasonable, I shall have these dispatched by messenger at once, and to-morrow make arrangements for your entertainment. We shall send you to see some of the cities of the United States before you leave again for Europe. In this way your presence in America is explained. Nothing need ever be said about this unfortunate matter, and I can promise you that nothing will be said about it when you return home."
It was Ruth's turn to smile.
"You are overlooking one thing, Excellency, and that the most important. I am not the Grand Duchess."
"Of course, Highness. You have explained that before. It would not become me to contradict you, and yet you cannot blame me for carrying out my orders. If you do not agree to the plan I have suggested, I must put you under restraint. No one will be permitted to see you, and proper arrangements will be made to have you transferred secretly to one of our warships, which will be making a cruise—for your especial benefit—to America in the course of a month. A month, Highness, is a long time to wait in restraint, but you must see that there is nothing else for me to do."
Ruth was obliged to smile in spite of herself at the mixture of firmness and respect in the suave Minister's tones. He was encouraged by the smile.
"Ah," he said, "I see that Your Highness will be reasonable."
Ruth looked him straight in the eye.
"But what if I should convince Your Excellency that you have made a mistake, that I am telling you the truth when I say I am not the Grand Duchess Carlotta?"
The Minister bowed. "It would be easy to convince me, Highness, if you could produce for me one who is more likely to be the Grand Duchess than yourself. But, alas! could there be two such faces in the world?" Admiration shone out of the little man's eyes.
"There is no doubt, Excellency," said Ruth, still smiling, "that His Majesty was wise in appointing you a diplomat. We shall be good friends even though I have to stay. You are making a mistake, and I am afraid you will have to pay for it. I shall, however, be a model boarder, and possibly even enjoy my trip on the warship. But I certainly shall not receive your friends at a reception, nor will I permit you to give me the honors due the Grand Duchess. Neither can I produce her. She is probably far away by this time. I will tell you my story, and you may judge for yourself."
His Excellency bowed profoundly.
"Your Highness is most gracious," he said. "Will you permit me to be seated?"
"Certainly, Your Excellency."
The Minister drew up a chair and sat down, with a low bow, before his desk; but not before he had placed Ruth in a chair where the light would shine full on her face. He seemed now to be a changed man—almost a judge; and the fingers thrummed on the glass as they had done during the conference with Wratslav and Ivan.
With a half-amused smile, Ruth began.
"Excellency, my name is Ruth Atheson. You may easily verify that by sending for my uncle, Monsignore Murray, of Sihasset, with whom I made my home until he went to college in Rome to study for the priesthood. I was left in Europe to receive my education. Afterward I came to America to be near my uncle, but I made frequent trips to Europe to visit friends. It was during one of these visits that I first met the Grand Duchess Carlotta, four years ago, at San Sebastian. The remarkable likeness between us caused me, as I have already told you, a great deal of annoyance. Her Highness heard of it and asked to meet me.
"We became close friends, so close that in her trouble she turned to me. I was with relatives in England at the time. She wrote asking me to receive her there, telling me that she intended to give up her claim to the throne and marry Luigi del Farno, whom she sincerely loved. I sent her a long letter warning her against the step—for I knew what it meant—and advising her that I was even then preparing to leave for America. Unfortunately, she knew my address and followed me to Sihasset, directing her lover to wait until she sent for him.
"I knew that the best means of concealing her would be to play upon the likeness between us, and never go out together. For extra precaution, when either of us went out, a veil was worn. She was taken for Ruth Atheson; and Ruth Atheson, by your detectives, was taken for the Grand Duchess Carlotta. Indeed," and here Ruth smiled, "she was very much taken—in an auto, and as far as Washington. You propose now to take her still farther. The Grand Duchess would know, ten minutes after it happened, of my abduction, and she would guess who was responsible. So you may be certain that she is no longer at Sihasset. The picture you have, Your Excellency, is the picture of the Grand Duchess, not of me. It happened that, as I was walking outside the gates of my home, your friends appeared. The mistake was quite natural."
The Minister had listened respectfully while Ruth spoke, but he was not convinced.
"It would be discourteous in me, Highness," he said, "to doubt your word. But it would be worse than discourteous were I to accept it. I am sorry; but you must offer me more than statements. My men could scarcely have been deceived. They followed you each time you came out. Two people do not look so much alike—especially outside of families—"
His Excellency's eyes opened as he flashed a keen look at Ruth. The name "Atheson" had suddenly commenced to bother him. What was it he should have remembered—and couldn't? The intentness of his gaze disconcerted Ruth. The Minister changed it to look down at his thrumming fingers, and continued in his suavest tones, following that scarcely perceptible pause.
"—as to deceive men trained in the art of spying. I can only repeat what I have already said: there are two courses open, and it is for you to determine which you prefer."
"You may be sure, then, Your Excellency," said Ruth, "that I shall not select the course that would put me in a false light before all the world. I am not the Grand Duchess Carlotta, and I must refuse to be taken for her. My uncle will not be long in deciding who is responsible for my abduction, and I can assure you that you will have explanations to make before your warship arrives."
The Minister arose promptly as Ruth stood up, her hand resting lightly on the desk.
"I am tired, Your Excellency," she continued, "and—since you insist on my being the guest of your government—I will ask to be conducted to my apartments."
The Minister bowed. "If Your Highness will permit." He touched a bell. The raw-boned woman was in the room so quickly that Ruth wondered if she had been all the time just outside the door. At a signal from His Excellency, the woman picked up Ruth's wrap and gloves. His Excellency meanwhile, with a low bow, had opened the door. Ruth passed into the broad corridor and, accompanied by the Minister, proceeded to a handsome suite of rooms.
The Minister turned to Ruth. "I am sorry, Your Highness, but I have strict instructions in the event of your refusal to comply with my suggestion, that you are to remain in strict seclusion. I cannot permit you to see or speak to anyone outside, so I hope you will not embarrass me by making any such request." He pointed toward the windows. "You will notice, Highness, that there is a balcony in front of your apartments. In the next room, which also opens upon the balcony, is a guard. There will be a guard also at your door and another on the lawn below. Your windows will be under constant surveillance, though you will never see the guards unless you venture forth. Your guards will be changed constantly, and it will be—" the minister's pause was significant, the tone of his voice even more so "—unwise—to attempt to gain their friendship. They might find it—disastrous." Again the smooth significance of the voice. He paused for a moment, then spoke more lightly.
"If Your Highness will permit, Madam, my wife, will call on you and be at your disposal at any time, as also my daughters. Since you have no maid with you, Madame Helda," His Excellency called the raw-boned woman from the next room as he spoke, "will wait upon you. Everything to make your stay pleasant and comfortable has been arranged. But you are an important personage and if we are firm, Your Highness, it is not because we wish to be, but only because of duty to your country, and to yourself. If you decide, at any time, that you should like to see America, you have only to summon me. Your Highness will permit me to retire?"
"Certainly, Your Excellency, and thank you."
With a profound bow His Excellency left the room. Ruth examined her apartments with a pleased smile of gratification—for they looked anything but a prison. The Minister knew how to make rooms pleasant.
The diplomat went slowly downstairs. He had lost his smile, and his face was contracted with worry. The girl's story had impressed him more than he had cared to own, and there was much of the human in him, in spite of the diplomat's veneer. Then the name "Atheson" sounded insistently in his ears and, momentarily, he felt that he was almost grasping the clue as he strove to remember.
As he entered the library, his secretary stood up, a yellow paper in his hands.
"I have been waiting to hand this to you personally, Excellency."
The Minister took the paper. It was a cablegram translated from code, which read:
"The Duke is dead. If Her Highness has arrived do everything possible to bring her to understand that there must be no scandal. Be absolutely firm and have her return at any risk without delay. The Caspian has been dispatched from the coast of France and should arrive in ten days. We have given out that the Duchess is traveling incognito, but has been notified to return."
The worry on the Minister's face deepened.
"This complicates matters, Wratslav," he said, "and makes it more imperative that Her Highness be kept most strictly secluded. Go to bed now. We shall have enough to keep us awake for the next ten days."
Wratslav left, but the Minister sat down at his desk. Morning found him there asleep.