"I believe, sir," he said, "that it is customary for the princess, when she wants the counsel of any individual, to send for him, and for none to intrude themselves upon her without such a summons. I, having been so honoured this morning, and having received her commands, shall now leave her, doubting not that she will be well pleased that we both retire."
"School not me, Sir Citizen," replied the Duke of Gueldres, fiercely; "for, though you fly so high a flight, by the Lord! I may find it necessary some day to trim your wings."
Albert Maurice replied only by a glance of withering contempt, which might have stung the other into some new violence, had not Mary interposed. "I did not think to see such wrangling in my presence, gentlemen," she said, assuming at once that air of princely dignity which became her station; "I would be alone. You may retire!" and for a single instant the commanding tone and the flashing eye reminded those who saw her of her father, Charles the Bold.
The rude Duke of Gueldres himself was abashed and overawed; and, having no pretence prepared for remaining longer, he bowed, and strode gloomily towards the door, satisfied with having interrupted the conversation of the princess and Albert Maurice, of which he had from some source received intimation. The young citizen followed, not sorry to be relieved from entreaties which had nearly overcome what he believed to be a virtuous resolution, although--with that mixture of feelings from which scarcely any moment in human life is exempt--he was pained and angry, at the same time, to be forced to quit the society of one so beloved, however dangerous that society might be to his well considered purposes. He bowed low as he departed; and Mary, dropping the tone of authority she had assumed, with clasped hands, and an imploring look, murmured, in a low tone, "Remember! oh, remember!"
The Duke of Gueldres proceeded down the stairs before him, with a heavy step and a gloomy brow. Nevertheless, that prince, whose cunning and whose violence were always at war with each other, only required a short time for thought, to perceive that he could not yet, amidst the bold designs which had been instilled into his mind, dispense with the assistance and support of the young citizen; and he determined, as speedily as possible, to do away any unfavourable impression which his rude insolence might have left upon the mind of the other.
"Master Albert Maurice," he said, as soon as they had reached the vestibule below, "i'faith I have to beg your pardon for somewhat sharp speech but now. Good sooth, I am a hasty and a violent man, and you should not cross me."
"My lord duke," replied Albert Maurice, gravely, but not angrily, "your apology is more due to yourself than to me. It was the Duke of Gueldres you lowered: Albert Maurice you could not degrade; and as to crossing you, my lord, that man's violence must be a much more terrible thing than I have ever met with yet, that could scare me from crossing him when I felt it my duty to do so."
The Duke of Gueldres bit his lip, but made no reply; for there was a commanding spirit about the young burgher, which, supported by the great power he possessed in the state, the other felt he could not cope with, at least till he had advanced many steps farther in popular favour. He turned away angrily, however, seeing that conciliation was also vain; and, flinging himself on his horse, rode off with the few attendants whom he had collected in haste to accompany him to the palace.
Albert Maurice returned more slowly to the town-house, clearly perceiving that the coming of the Duke of Gueldres, in the midst of his conference with the princess, had not been accidental, and endeavouring, as he rode on, to fix with certainty upon the person who had given that prince the information on which he had acted.