‘Ah! umph! I understand,’ Anna muttered thoughtfully. ‘Then I suppose that is where the rooms will be?’ and she placed her finger in the centre of the plan.
‘Yes.’
Catherine made a movement to remove the weights from the corners of the paper, when Anna exclaimed:
‘Stop a minute. I just want to look at something. All right. Thanks. It’s most interesting. I wish I were a rich person, that I could have a steam-yacht like that, and go where I liked.’
‘You should marry an emperor; then you would have all you could desire,’ said Catherine with a laugh, as she rolled the draft plan up and restored it to the safe.
‘No; I wouldn’t be an empress if I had the chance,’ Anna replied tartly. ‘Kings, queens, emperors, empresses, and the like, are all tyrants. There should be no crowned heads. I don’t believe in ’em. They are a curse to the world.’
‘Anna, you surprise me!’ said Catherine with a frightened look. ‘I knew you were peculiar, and held remarkable views, but I had no idea you were disloyal.’
‘Hadn’t you, dear?’ answered Anna, with a laugh. ‘Well, well, don’t take me too seriously, you know. I say some queer things sometimes.’
Then, suddenly throwing her arms round her friend’s neck, she kissed her on both cheeks and sped out of the room.