"I bring you the worst of news. The Prince is dead; and your Highness is master in his stead."
"Dead!" I cried, in the profoundest astonishment.
"He was stricken this morning, and lay dying when we entered the castle. And he was dead before your Highness could be summoned."
A protest leapt to my lips. But I did not give it utterance. The thought of the girl I had seen, the Countess Minna, left helpless in the power of that consummate villain von Nauheim, silenced me. I would wait until at least I had time to think out a course of action.
CHAPTER III
"AS YOUR HIGHNESS WILL"
The perplexing difficulty of my position was extreme. The eyes of both men were fixed on me, noting every expression that crossed my face, waiting upon my lightest word, and eager to show their allegiance to me as the new head of the house.
A career of magnificent promise lay invitingly at my very feet, and I had but to utter a word to step into a position of power and influence.
Moreover, every chivalrous instinct of my nature was stirred with a desire to save the beautiful girl I had seen from the clutch of the man threatening her with worse than ruin; while my red-hot desire for revenge on the man himself was prompting me to stay where I was until at least I could expose and punish him.