“It all goes to prove what I say,” he went on. “Any morning you may expect to hear that Austria and Germany have received an ultimatum.”
“I wonder,” she remarked, “what became of Streuss.”
“He is hiding somewhere in London, without a doubt,” Bellamy answered. “There’s always plenty of work for spies.”
“Don’t use that word,” she begged.
He made a little grimace.
“You are thinking of my own connection with the profession, are you not?” he asked. “Well, that counts for nothing now. I hope I may still serve my country for many years, but it must be in a different way.”
“What do you mean?” she demanded.
“I heard from my uncle’s solicitors this morning,” Bellamy continued, “that he is very feeble and cannot live more than a few months. When he dies, of course, I must take my place in the House of Lords. It is his wish that I should not leave England again now, so I suppose there is nothing left for me but to give it up. I have done my share of traveling and work, after all,” he concluded, thoughtfully.
“Your share, indeed,” she murmured. “Remember that but for that document which was read to the Czar at Windsor, Servia must have gone down, and England would have had to take a place among the second-class Powers. There may be war now, it is true, but it will be a glorious war.”
“Louise, very soon we shall know. Until then I will say nothing. But I do not want you altogether to forget that there has been something in my life dearer to me even than my career for these last few years.”