"Which brings me to the second condition," said he; "that, until the present wife, which some one seems to have provided for Armand, has been eliminated, not only may there be no marriage, but the betrothal, itself, must remain a secret with us three."
"But she's not his wife!" Dehra exclaimed.
"No," said the King, "she is not his wife. If I thought she were, there would be no betrothal."
Dehra's small foot began to tap the floor.
"I have told Armand I don't care a rap for that woman," she answered. "And if, as Your Majesty admits, she is not his wife, why should she be permitted to control the situation to her own liking?"
The King looked at me with an amused smile.
"There, sir," said he, "you see what an unreasonable little woman you're seeking to marry."
I leaned forward and took Dehra's hand.
"I think I rather like this particular sort of unreasonableness," I said. Then, to her, I added: "But I must endorse His Majesty's second condition."
She frowned; then seated herself on one end of the high writing table.