TELL the truth—when convenient; spice with prevarication—when necessary; and never part with the whole truth at one time, since "waste is sinful," might have been the wording of "Iron Heart's" maxim; and he had made the most of that wise policy to-day.
He had told the Emperor no lies—even through the telephone, when carelessness may be admissible; but he had arranged his truths as skillfully as pawns upon a chess-board. It was said by some who pretended to know, that Count Eberhard von Markstein had had a Jesuit for a tutor; but be this as it would, it was certain that, when he had a goal to reach, he did not pick his footsteps by the way. A flower here and there might be trodden down in his progress, a small life 257 broken, a reputation stained; but what was that when the nation's standard was to be set upon the mountain-top? Supposing he had said to the Emperor, after his promise of plain speaking, "Your Majesty is on a wild-goose chase. Those you seek have not left Salzbrück; they are still at the Hohenburgerhof. Otto told me they had left Lynarberg, and I called upon them at the hotel, meaning to frighten them away, as the spider frightened Miss Muffitt, by telling them that I knew all, and they had better flit, of their own accord, if they did not wish to be assisted over the frontier. They refused to see me, alleging as an excuse that some obscure person in their ménage, named Collinson, had been seized with sudden illness, which would prevent their departure from Rhaetia for the present. While I awaited their answer at the hotel, Your Majesty telephoned from the Bahnhof; at least, I was certain that it must be Your Majesty, and no other. Fortunately for my plans, I overheard the person at the telephone communicating the message received to the manager, and ventured to use my influence with 258 the landlord, not only toward obtaining permission to dictate the reply, but a promise that the transaction should be confidential. By the fact that the message came from the railway station, I judged that Your Majesty contemplated following the Orient express, in which the ladies would have gone, had it not been for their companion's illness. I learned that no special had been ordered, and the time of the first train in which it would be possible for you to travel, then I took my place before Your Majesty got in. Had my eloquence convinced you of Miss de Courcy's unworthiness I should have urged you to return with me, thus sparing you the annoyance of a useless journey to Wandeck. As matters stood, however, I was delighted to get you out of the way, that I might hurry back and manufacture the trumps alleged to be kept in my sleeve, before you could return and interfere with my machinations." Supposing Count von Markstein had said all this, it is not probable that Rhaetia would long have rejoiced in so wise, so self-sacrificing a Chancellor.
"Iron Heart" had meekly declared his readiness to resign, but he had 258 counted (as people who risk much for great ends usually do count) on not being taken at his word. He loved power, because he had always had it, and without it life would not have been worth living; but it was honestly for the country's sake—even for Maximilian's sake, rather than his own—that he desired to retain his high position. Without his strong hand to seize the reins, if Maximilian dropped them for a careless instant he conscientiously believed that the chariot of state was lost.
He had said what he could; he had done his best to disillusion a young man in love with an adventuress; now, neither as Chancellor nor as friend could he openly continue to protest, unless favoured by fate with some striking new developments. Privately, however, he had but taken the first step toward interference; and he meant, since worst had come to worst, to go much further. He would not even have considered it sinful to kill a woman of the type to which he assigned Mary de Courcy, if nothing less than removal from an earthly sphere 260 could have kept her from the throne of Rhaetia.
Long before his destination was reached, he had decided upon his next move. Unfortunately, its ultimate success depended upon an outside influence. But as that influence was to be Otto's, and old Eberhard held the power of making Otto a rich man or a beggar, he was not without confidence as to the result.
During the early visit paid by the younger brother to the elder that morning it had been arranged that he should be ready, on the receipt of a telegram, instantly to place his services at Eberhard's disposal. Thus, a message, despatched from the place at which the Emperor and the Chancellor had parted, was supposed to assure Otto's meeting the returning train in an hour's time at Salzbrück.
Still, accidents do happen sometimes, to upset the best-laid schemes, therefore it was a relief to the mind of Count von Markstein to thrust his head from the carriage window on entering the station, and to behold his brother's handsome face looking up from the crowd on the arrival platform.
"Well?" said Otto, as they walked away to the carriage which awaited 261 them outside.
"Well!" echoed the Chancellor. "That is exactly what it is not. But it shall be—it shall be well; and you shall help to make it so."
Otto flushed. "In the manner we talked of the other day?" he asked dubiously.