"Your Highness, it is my hope that some day you will meet a Prince who will be worthy of you, who will respect and honor you as I do."
"Who can say? You have promised the King to become a subject of
Hohenphalia."
"Yes."
"Then you will be a subject of mine. It is my will—I am in a sovereign mood—that you at once proceed to find Hildegarde, and I will give her to you."
We had arrived at the head of the stairs. The departing light of the smoldering sun poured through the stained windows. The strands of her hair were like a thousand flames, and her eyes had turned to gold, and there was a smile on her lips which filled me with strange uneasiness. I kissed her hands again, then went down the stairs. At the foot I turned.
"Auf wiedersehen!"
"Good-by!"
My ear detected the barest falter in her voice, and something glistened on her eyelashes. . . . Ah! why could not the veil have remained before my eyes and let me gone in darkness? Suddenly I was looking across the chasm of years. There was a young girl in white, a table upon which stood a pitcher. It was a garden scene, and the air was rich with perfumes. The girl's hair and eyes were brown, and there were promises of great beauty. Then, as swiftly as it came, the vision vanished.
On reaching the street I was aware that my sight had grown dim and that things at a distance were blurred. Perhaps it was the cold air.