"Does he need nothing?"
"Nothing; we are lucky enough to place not merely life but wealth at your Majesty's feet."
As he spoke, the Queen thrilled with this delicate probity; a moan from the next room aroused them.
Rising, the Queen ran to the door, opened it and screamed loudly. She saw a woman writhing on the carpet in dreadful spasms.
"It is the countess, your wife," she faltered. "Can she have overheard us?"
"No," said he, "otherwise, she would have let us know that she could hear us."
He sprang towards Andrea and caught her up in his arms. Two paces off, the Queen stood, pale and cold, but trembling with anxiety.
[CHAPTER XX.]
THE TRIO OF LOVE.