The baron bit the ends of his mustache.
"Suppose that?" the chancellor pressed relentlessly.
"In that event, the affair is no longer in our hands but in God's."
"As all affairs are. Is there no way of changing the king's mind?"
"Read the letter, Count," said the ambassador.
Herbeck hunted for the postmark: Bavaria. He read the letter. There was nothing between the lines. It was the work of rather an irresponsible boy.
"May I take this to her highness?" asked the chancellor.
"I'm afraid—"
"I promise its contents will not go beyond her eye."
"I will take the risk."