‘Parliament!’ echoed the Emperor, while his face turned very white. ‘Surely not: this trifle is unworthy serious consideration. It would ill become our wise Senate if it occupied itself with the consideration of a woman’s silly nonsense. I will, myself, settle this matter with Mistress Mercia. I promise that, gentlemen, so do not trouble yourselves further about it.’
‘It shall not end in this way;’ returned Geometrus firmly; ‘I shall see that this matter is not hushed up.’
‘So shall I!’ came from a voice from behind a screen in the room; when therefrom emerged an old man named Sadbag, a leading Radical politician, who was dead against Royalty, and affected reform, advocating strongly a Republican form of Government.
‘The Emperor’s conduct is a disgrace to our civilisation,’ he continued, ‘I have seen the beginning and end of the whole affair; for I was seated reading in that corner yonder, awaiting an audience of Mistress Mercia, when the Emperor was ushered in unnoticed by me; I continued reading until I dropped asleep and was aroused by the Emperor’s passionate tones when making his love-appeals to the obdurate Mistress Mercia. She scorned him, and he got furious. I saw it all! I will never forget the scene if I live to the age of Methuselah!’
‘My stars, but Kate will make it hot for thee! She will have good cause for her jealousy this time, old man! I wouldn’t be in thy shoes for a kingdom; fancy, the virtuous Felicitas caught corrupting his astronomer! Oh, my, this is funny!’ cried the light-minded prince, who laughed heartily, at the thought of the scrape his cousin had got into.
‘Funny isn’t the word for it—it is atrocious—abominable! It hath been ever the custom of idle monarchs to fill up their time with seducing good women. The hunting is more keen when the lady is virtuous, and thereby the game made all the more delightful. Let’s do away with such good-for-naughts—they are a disgrace to our country!’ cried the old man excitedly addressing Geometrus.
‘So then, wouldst thou trump up a story to lose me my crown in order to establish thine own political absurdities? Thou, and the woman Mercia are in league against me! You twain have hatched this conspiracy to work my disgrace. But I will scatter it to the winds—I will prove its utter falsity. I will show how futile are your plans to bring about a revolution: Mercia and thou shall die for your crimes; for it is nothing short of high treason.’
‘High bunkum, thy Majesty talkest!’ retorted Sadbag sarcastically; ‘thy blundering only equals thy blustering. Thy cousin, the prince, and Geometrus are witnesses of the truth of my statement, for they saw for themselves the fag end of the affair; they caught thee forcibly detaining the lady, and heard her threaten to kill thee.’
‘That of itself makes high treason! To threaten the life of the Sovereign is enough—the law still holds good in my realms to punish such crime with death. This one charge alone against Mercia is sufficient! She must die the death of a felon, and pay for her temerity,’ returned Felicitas, who thus interpreted the law with much assumption of dignity, to suit his own convenience.
‘The nation will not see Mercia die for such a dastard as thou!’ exclaimed Geometrus, suddenly awakening from the stupor of surprise that had overtaken him, as the matter developed itself. ‘I saw thee last week philandering around her, but at that time I understood not its meaning; neither did she; otherwise she would have taken more precaution in receiving thee. Even then, she requested me to remain in the room when she gave thee an audience. She surely had some instinct that thou wert not to be trusted—ah—now I see it all!’