“And that is——?”
“That you will keep it a secret, especially from Lord Courtenay.”
Marie thought it hard that Wilfrid must not be permitted to share this new knowledge with her.
“I should not tell the name, even to you,” continued Pauline, “but that it will prove beyond a doubt that I am not aiming at the affections of Lord Courtenay.”
This remark decided Marie; she consented to observe secrecy as to the name.
“Learn, then, that I am pledged to marry the Czar Alexander!”
If Pauline had said that she was pledged to marry the Archangel Gabriel, Marie could not have been more startled. Her bewilderment was at first too great for words. The fact that Pauline was not of royal blood did not make her statement doubtful, for had not the great Peter mated with a peasant girl? But—but——
“How can that be, when the Czar is already married?”
“An emperor can always find an archbishop willing to pronounce sentence of divorce.”