"The offending man must wed the maid if he be a fit mate for her. If not he may choose between exile or death," pronounced the "pope" in chanting tones.
"Such defilement has been thrust upon my daughter," shouted the King so loudly that his voice reached every ear within the vast Cathedral.
The Prince within the altar turned his head slightly, as if to catch the eye of his father. The Duke had been watching, and returned the look as if to say, "Fear not, my child, this has naught to do with us."
"There must be witnesses," droned the Patriarch.
"Speak, Nokolovitch," commanded the King of his Prime Minister.
"I am witness," said the Prime Minister.
"There must be another," said the Church.
"Speak, Palmora," cried the King.
"I am witness," said the General as if the words were being dragged from him. He cast a despairing look at his beloved Nicholas, who stood with bowed head. The scene in the Garden of the Palace came vividly back to us all. How serious are jests when viewed through sober eyes. What a scurvy trick the King was playing upon Nicholas and his daughter in thus publicly disgracing them. The law which he had invoked must have been one of the old forgotten "blue laws" of the country which even the General had not remembered when he searched for some explanation for the King's show of delight in the Garden. But it still seemed in force if the King chose to wield it.
"Another! There must be a third," said the Patriarch.