“As we have finished dealing with State affairs, perhaps the Princess will allow you to withdraw to my room. I shall be with you in a very few minutes.”
Herr Moritz promptly retired, and the Count turned to Hermengarde.
“I thought you might possibly intend to mention some matter on which I have not yet taken Herr Moritz into my confidence,” he explained. “I do not consult him about everything, though he is a very worthy man. I believe he is much attached to my daughter.”
Hermengarde gave a slight inclination of her head. She understood why the younger Minister had been dismissed.
“Your discretion is perfect, my dear Chancellor,” she said, falling into a more familiar tone. “I was about to refer to your daughter. Since I last spoke to you on the subject my son has manifested a decided partiality for her, and I am inclined to think she is not quite indifferent to it. Supposing the arrangements we have just been discussing are successfully carried out, is there any reason why we should stand in the way of these young people’s happiness?”
It was the second time that the tempting suggestion had been held out to the old courtier. And this time he did not reject it.
“Madam, I should be unworthy of the great honour you do me if I pretended any longer that such an alliance would not be the greatest gratification to which I could possibly aspire. My daughter’s feelings are known to me, and I can only say that if the Prince should honour her with his hand he will find in her a wife whose devotion to him may perhaps atone in some measure for her inferiority in rank.”
He kissed the Princess’s hand with every demonstration of respect, and withdrew.
“At last,” muttered Hermengarde to herself, as she rose and feverishly paced the room. “At last the goal is within reach. All along I have felt a lurking distrust of that old man, but now, thanks to his daughter, I have conquered him, and my triumph is secure.”
The Chancellor took his way thoughtfully to his own apartments. The part he had to play became more difficult at every moment. He was not blind to the secret of Herr Moritz’s devotion to his interests, and he was not ill pleased to find his daughter bearing Moritz company when he arrived on the scene. He even affected to joke with the young Minister on the subject. In truth, the old Count felt a real affection for his protégé, and, in spite of his plebeian origin, had secretly destined him for his own successor in the Chancellorship.