Domiloff looked up quickly.
“I see. But Klipper, who is in command there, is incorruptible.”
“Klipper must be removed then. Now what about the Duke of Reist, Domiloff? He is on our side, is he not?”
“He is on our side,” Domiloff answered, slowly, “but unfortunately he has quarrelled with the King. He is in the house at this moment.”
“Quarrelled? What folly. Domiloff, you seem to have bungled everything you have touched lately. What is the good of Reist to us when he sits here sulking?”
“The good of him,” Domiloff repeated. “Why he is to be our puppet King—for a month or so. He is simply invaluable. Besides, his absence from the army has set people talking about the King. It has created dissatisfaction.”
“That is all very well, Domiloff,” Hassen said, “but have you ever considered how very much more useful Reist would be to us if he were outwardly on friendly terms with the King, near him now and at the head of his men—and all the time ours?”
“It is without doubt true, but you do not know Nicholas of Reist,” Domiloff said, dryly. “He is not of the stuff from which conspirators are fashioned. This quarrel with the King has cost me endless trouble. He would never play a traitor’s part, as he would call it, secretly.”
Hassen smiled grimly.