I think one of the things which made Belvane so remarkable was that she was never afraid of remaining silent when she was not quite sure what to say. She waited therefore while she considered what all this meant; who Coronel was, what he was doing there, even whether a marriage with Udo was not after all the best that she could hope for now.
Meanwhile Udo, of course, blundered along gaily.
"We aren't exactly, Princess—I mean——What are you doing here, Coronel?—I didn't know, Princess, that you—— The Countess and I were just having a little—I was just telling her what you said about—How did you get here, Coronel?"
"Shall we tell him?" said Coronel, with a smile at Hyacinth.
Hyacinth nodded.
"I rode," said Coronel. "It's a secret," he added.
"But I didn't know that you——"
"We find that we have really known each other a very long time," explained Hyacinth.
"And hearing that there was to be a wedding," added Coronel——
Belvane made up her mind. Coronel was evidently a very different man from Udo. If he stayed in Euralia as adviser—more than adviser she guessed—to Hyacinth, her own position would not be in much doubt. And as for the King, it might be months before he came back, and when he did come would he remember her? But to be Queen of Araby was no mean thing.