I thought it a proper time for me to be very quiet.
"In the meantime, however, I shall send that infernal woman packing over the border by the quickest route," he said vehemently.
"I trust not, Sire," I said. "As Governor of Dornlitz, I gave orders, this morning, that she be not permitted to leave the Capital."
"But, she's an American subject!" he exclaimed. "She can't be held prisoner."
"If she's my wife, she's a subject of Your Majesty."
"True! But why do you want to keep her here?"
"To give time to investigate her doings since I became an Archduke," I said. "I may not marry Dehra in the face of that certificate and old Henry's Decree; and, since the Alderman is dead, only through Madeline Spencer herself can the falsity of her claim be shown. Every moment here she must act her part and be under our constant surveillance. Sometime, she is sure to make a slip or forget her lines. But, let her be at large and, with plenty of funds at her command, she will be a will-o-the-wisp, to be followed over the world for years—and her slips will be few and very far between, and with no one there to note them."
"Very good," said Frederick; "keep her or send her, as you see fit—only, don't embroil me with America, if you can avoid it."
"There is no danger," I assured him. "Courtney says he will not interfere, so long as she claims to be my wife."
Frederick laughed. "Courtney's a friend," he said heartily.