“What is that?”
“Jeneski told me they had offered him half a million dollars to renounce the throne, and he refused it—said that no king could renounce his throne, any more than he could renounce his right hand or the colour of his hair—not those words, of course, but that was the idea. Good old mediæval, divine right stuff!”
“I like him for that.”
“So do I, and I’m going to try to see him. He’s staying somewhere along the Riviera, isn’t he?”
“Yes, at Nice.”
“Jeneski spoke also of the former prime minister—a very able man.”
“Yes—the Baron Lappo. He is with the king, I believe.”
“So Jeneski said. He tried to detach him, but it was no use. Lappo is devoted to the dynasty. And of course they have some plot in hand. Well, if it amuses them,” and Selden shrugged his shoulders. “But they would better make haste. In six months it will be too late—Jeneski will have his people with him. Does the king keep up a court over here?”
“I do not know, but I have been told he lives very simply.”
“Do you happen to know his grandson, the crown prince Danilo?”