The young girl threw herself upon her knees before the princess, and her cheeks were bathed in tears. Amelia raised and embraced her.
"Oh!" said she, "I see that God has not utterly forsaken me. He sends me aid and comfort in my necessity. Will you be, indeed, my friend?"
"Yes, a friend in whom you can trust fully, to whom you can speak freely," said Mademoiselle von Haak.
"Who knows but that may be more dangerous for you than for me?" sighed Amelia. "There are fearful secrets, the mere knowledge of which brings destruction."
"But if I already know the secret of your royal highness?—if I understand the reason of your grief during these last few days?"
"Well, then, tell me what you know."
The maiden bowed down low to the ear of her mistress. "Your eyes seek in vain for him whom you love. You suffer, for you know not where he is."
"Yes, you are right," cried Amelia. "I suffer the anguish of uncertainty. If I do not soon learn where he is, I shall die in despair."
"Shall I tell you, princess?"
Amelia turned pale and trembled. "You will not say that he is in his grave?" said she, breathlessly.