"Well, sire," said Porporina, "for my part, I thank your majesty for this just and generous act."
"Thank you for the compliment, signora! What think you of the matter, my dear sister."
"Of whom are you talking now?" said the princess. "I was going to sleep, and did not hear you."
"I speak of your protegé, the handsome Trenck, who escaped over the walls of Glatz."
"Ah, he was right," said Amelia, with great coolness.
"He was wrong," said the king. "An examination of his case was about to be made, and he might perhaps have been able to prove himself innocent of the charges which rest on him. His flight is a confession of his crime."
"If that be so," said Amelia, "I give him up." She maintained her calmness.
"Porporina would persist in his defence," said Frederick. "I see it in her eyes."
"The reason is, that I cannot believe in his guilt," said she.
"Especially when the traitor is a handsome young fellow. Do you know, sister, that the signora is very intimate with Trenck?"