The only thought which brightened me was that my wife had given proofs of her love, by trying to screen me.
I had seen many terrible sights during the late war, but had never been so affected as I was now, it seemed so useless and unnecessary. I feared, too, that Irma would be quite stricken down by the shock, for it must have been a terrible strain on her nervous system, to be so quiet and brave through the whole affair.
My mother's carriage had reached the Palace some time before I did, so that the confusion, which no doubt existed, had had time to quieten down. This was largely due to the efforts of Zeula, who had forced his way through the crowds, and arrived at the Palace by side streets.
He was terribly upset, but he had the presence of mind to order for me the thing which I badly needed, a stiff brandy and soda. With all the haste that I could make, I went to see my wife, whom I found in my mother's care, and that meeting was a revelation to me; I had had no idea of the extent of her love. I think that the tears she shed were probably the most beneficial way of relieving her pent-up emotion, at any rate she recovered sufficiently to take her place by my side to show ourselves to the crowds which stood anxiously outside. I am not a believer in the adage that "out of evil cometh good," but in this case it certainly did, for the people had been struck by her demeanour, and were proud of their new Queen, a feeling which soon turned to love, as they got to know her better.
I shall never forget the graciousness of her manner to the Head of the Police when he came to tender his resignation. Many people were blaming him for the occurrence, even some of the Ministers. The poor fellow broke down completely, when Irma, having asked my permission to deal with his case, refused absolutely to hear of his resignation, and declared that there should be no one made scapegoat for an incident which could not have been foreseen. She made a point, too, of letting others see her friendly attitude towards the official, with so much grace and tact, that he went away happy, and quite devoted to his new Queen.
I had caused inquiries to be made concerning the two murdered men, one a baker of Karena, the other a peasant from near Bavla; the latter case was extremely sad, for he had walked, with his newly-wed wife, all the way from his village to the capital, to see us; it was their bridal treat, their honeymoon, and what an ending! The only thing I could do, was to provide handsomely for their dependents.
The three Guardsmen, who luckily were only slightly injured, received promotion and a sum of money. As for the criminal, it was never discovered who he was, although everything was done to find out his name, and to know whether he had accomplices. I believe myself that the whole affair was the work of his own disordered brain, and that he planned and executed his project entirely by himself. Mr. Neville, however, advanced a theory, which may have had some foundation, and which led to a confession from him.
It was the same day, only very much later, when, having dined en famille, I went with Prince Zeula and Mr. Neville into my study to talk the affair over. I had given orders that it should not be mentioned before my wife, as the sooner it was forgotten by her the better, a course of conduct which my mother emphatically endorsed, and it was into her care that I had given Irma.
I had waited behind to kiss a last good night to my wife, so that Zeula and Mr. Neville had time to reach my study, where they waited. It was then that I heard Mr. Neville say:
"I think it would be wise to tell him."