“A truer and more loyal servant the Emperor never had, but his ears were poisoned; the apparent proofs of an assassination plot were laid before him; a trap had been set for my father, and by it he was ruined. He was kidnapped and held a secret prisoner; the tale being spread that he had fled the country; and in his absence the decree of banishment was signed. As foul a crime as was ever committed.”
“You have the proofs of this?”
“That is not the worst. By an even fouler stroke an order for his execution as a Nihilist was obtained. Many men were put to death at that fearful time, and one of the orders with a name written in pencil was signed by the Emperor. This name was afterwards erased and my father’s substituted; and then another lying tale was carried to the Emperor that a mistake had been made and my father had been put to death.”
“By Heaven, what consummate infamy!” I exclaimed. “But the proofs of this! What and where are they?”
“I was scarcely more than a child at the time, barely eighteen, but I was included in the scheme. I should have been arrested had not my friends hidden me and then hurried me from the country. Otherwise, I should have gone to Siberia. As it was, I was proscribed and banished, and all our possessions were seized in the name of the Emperor. Do you wonder if I live but for revenge?”
She paused, but I made no comment.
“I took up the task eagerly. Two years afterwards I returned to Russia in another name, and, girl as I was, I set myself patiently to hunt down the powerful minister who had planned this crime and risen upon it to higher honours. Bit by bit, a fraction here, a fraction there, I collected the proofs, working always secretly, until a stroke of fortune came my way, and a witness, who had been first a tool and then a victim of the same powerful villain, laid the whole truth bare to me. Meanwhile, by the death of a relative, I had become once more rich, and could pay well all who helped me and promise them protection. It was a terrible life for a young girl, monsieur, and in those few years I lived a lifetime. But I had gained what I sought, the proofs and witnesses to support me.”
Triumph as well as anger was in the look she gave me.
“I set myself then to gain your—to gain the Emperor’s ear and to get my father’s case re-opened. But there I was baffled by the man who stood between me and him. I had to fly the country, or my fate would have been as my father’s had been; and those who worked for me were no match for this man’s power and vigilance and cunning. I would not accept failure, and I returned to Russia secretly to seek some other avenue, and at that crisis I met M. Boreski.”
“Had you better tell me his affairs?” I asked warningly, but she waved the warning aside.