When Moore had gone, the Archduke took up the letter and envelope and again examined them; looked for a water mark—there was none; went over the writing—man’s or woman’s he could not decide; postmarked at the main office in Dornlitz at ten P.M. of yesterday; not a scintilla any place to indicate the origin. Well, it did not matter; he would accept the offer; and there was an end of it, now—the solution could come this afternoon at four. So he put up the letter, and pushed the button for his secretary, quite forgetting to telephone the Princess as to borrowing her Adjutant. Then, after a while, she, herself, called him; and as they finished their talk, the bell sounded the first stroke of noon.
He arose, and hooking the frogs of his dark green jacket, the gold braid of his marshal’s insignia heavy on the sleeve, he went over to the large window, and raising the sash stood in full view of the avenue.
It was the hour when it was busiest; on the sidewalks a pushing, hurrying, good-natured crowd, at their mid-day recreation; in the road-way, a tangled mass of vehicles—not of the society folk, they came three hours later, but the wagons, and drays and vans of trade and traffic. He recognized an occasional face in the throng, usually some officer hurrying to Headquarters for the reception he always held for half an hour at noon. To-day it would have to start five minutes late.
Presently some one caught sight of him, and saluted with raised hat; others looked up, and did the same; and in a moment the crowd was passing in review, the men uncovering, the women greeting him with smiles. He answered with bows and hand-waves; and if a bit of satisfied pride stirred his heart and warmed his face, small wonder. He was still new in his royalty; and even if he were not, at this critical period, such demonstration of esteem by the general populace would have been very gratifying and particularly welcome. And he stayed a trifle longer than the required time; then, with a last bow and a wave of especial graciousness, he turned away, and rang for the doors to be opened.
It was the Archduke’s rule that entire informality should be observed at these affairs, and he emphasized it by sauntering around, speaking to everyone, and not obliging them to go up to him, for a stiff bow and a word. He laughed with this group, joked with another, argued with a third, until not a man but had come under his eye, at least for an instant, and he under theirs. He had begun the receptions soon after he became Governor of Dornlitz, more particularly for the purpose of getting acquainted with the officers on duty under him; but it was not limited to them—any one was welcome—and the result had been rather more satisfactory than even he had hoped for. There was not an official in his district to whom he had not given a hearty hand-shake and a pleasant word; and as he happened to have a truly royal knack of remembering faces, and the names that went with them, many a young lieutenant—and indeed, not a few higher in rank—had gone away with a flattered heart and an ardent enthusiasm, openly proclaimed, for the Marshal-Prince who would condescend to remember an unimportant subordinate, and seem glad to see him again, and to tell him so. And the contrast it offered to the Duke of Lotzen’s ungracious and domineering ways was little to the latter’s advantage; and the fruit of it had been ripening fast, within these last few weeks.
So, to-day, the room was crowded, and the welcome the Archduke received was such as might have made even Lotzen pause and think, had he seen it. And this thought occurred to Armand; and he ran his eyes over the many faces, wondering which of them belonged, to-day, to the Duke’s spy; for that there usually was one present he had no doubt.
And presently he found him; and, catching his eye, motioned for him to approach.
“I am glad to see you, Monsieur le Comte,” he said, relieving himself from offering his hand by readjusting his sword. “When was it I saw you last?”
Count Bigler’s lips twitched with suppressed amusement.
“Here, Your Highness?” he answered, “I am ashamed to confess I haven’t been here for many weeks.”