“One moment, Count,” said the Princess, lifting her hand. “I have something I should like to say to you.”
“As you please, Madam,” he responded, hardly veiling his unwillingness. “Perhaps, Doctor, you will be good enough to wait on the stairs till I join you.”
Dr. Krauss signified his consent with a nod, and left them. The Count remained standing.
Hermengarde gazed at him steadily for a few seconds.
“May I ask what you propose to do now?” she inquired.
“Madam, my first task is to keep my head on my shoulders. After what we have just heard, I am compelled to remember how perilously near I stand to the ground of high treason. Your Royal Highness cannot be expected to enter into my situation. The worst that can happen to you is a retirement to Schwerin-Strelitz, but a poor Franconian Minister is in a very different position.”
“True. I do not forget what you have said. I have no wish to ask you to take any step involving real danger.”
“Then, Madam, I implore you, let us abandon this affair for the present.”
“For the present, yes. But there is one other factor in the situation. Do you recollect who has announced his intention of visiting Franconia?”
“You mean the Kaiser?”