"Go, and thank my Imperial cousin!" continued Henry. "This divorce must be pronounced, even should it insure my own ruin! Still, beg his Majesty not to carry the matter further than I wish myself."
CHAPTER XVIII.
CONFIDENTIAL SECRETS.
Rinaldo took his way towards the Imperial pavilion, for he was anxious to report the result of his interview with the Duke of Saxony. He was informed by one of the chamberlains that Frederic had gone to the apartments of the Empress, and Dassel decided to await his return in an adjoining room. He had taken but a few steps in a hall littered with cuirasses and swords and lances, when he heard the Emperor's voice, speaking in an angry tone. It was scarcely calculated to produce a reassuring effect upon the statesman, but he approached the partition and listened attentively.
Upon leaving the Empress, Frederic had met Count Rechberg in the antechamber. For some time the young man had been thinking seriously of asking the Emperor's consent to his marriage with Bonello's daughter, and the uncertainty of the result of his application produced a state of painful anxiety. He was seated in a corner, his head resting on his hands and his elbows on his knees, when the monarch entered, and was so absorbed in his reflections that he was unconscious of his presence. Frederic looked at him with some surprise, and shook his head. At this moment Erwin sighed deeply, and the Emperor involuntarily shuddered.
"Erwin!" said he, with a loud voice.
The young count sprang up hastily, and stood, with heightened color, before his sovereign.
"What is the matter, my boy? For some time past you seem out of spirits. Can nothing amuse your sad thoughts? Tell me what ails you."
Erwin only answered by a still deeper blush. The man who by a word could render him happy, was before him, and yet, trembling like a criminal, he did not dare to speak.
"Are you dumb? Ah! now I begin to be really curious to learn the secret which saddens your young heart."