“The liquor is all right,” he laughed; “it’s this notion of Her Highness I don’t like.”
Armand had begun to deal solitaire, but he stopped and tossed the cards together.
“I wonder if Mademoiselle d’Essoldé could persuade her to give it up?” he said.
“She wouldn’t try—she, too, wanted to go. I blocked that, however; I told her that one foolish virgin was as much as we could look after in this mess, and that she would best stay home and trim the lamps. It wasn’t a happy remark, I fear, but it did the business—you will have to give me another message for her to-morrow. Meanwhile, I must go over and do a bit of dress changing myself—shall I need a mask?”
“I don’t know; better take one.”
The Archduke was in the uniform of a general officer, dark green evening coat and trousers, with buff waistcoat; and unadorned save for the narrow gold cord on the shoulder, the insignia on the sleeves, and the braid on the leg seam. Because Dehra liked him best in the Red Huzzar dress, he always wore it when he dined with her; for to-night, however, it was entirely too showy and hampering, and he had chosen the one quietest in tone and best suited for quick action.
Left alone, he tried the solitaire again; but it got on his nerves, and after a minute of listless playing, he sprang up, with an exclamation of disgust, and began to pace the floor. Presently Moore returned, in the fatigue uniform of the General Staff, with its easy-fitting jacket, and was immediately sent back to telephone the Secret Police to spread a loose cordon around the Ferida, with a dozen men loitering in close vicinity to every gate. There was no anticipating what they were about to encounter, so it was well to provide for the worst. It was his duty to protect the Regent whether she wished it or not; and though he might not take them inside with her, yet if the occasion arose, a pistol shot would bring them very quickly.
“It’s growing late,” he remarked, as the Adjutant came back; “if we are to be there on time we must start.”
He was going toward the bell when voices in the next room told him the Princess was coming; and she entered—a slender officer in a long military coat, and a soft felt service hat.
The two men mechanically raised their hands in salute, and she acknowledged it with formal motion and a merry laugh.