“If you were to die,” she said; “Humphry would be King. And as King, he is quite capable of making Gloria Queen!”
He looked at her very strangely.
“Madam, in the event of my death, all things are possible!” he said; “A dying Sovereignty may give birth to a Republic!”
The Queen smiled.
“Well, it is the most popular form of government nowadays,” she responded, carelessly moving slowly towards the door; “And perhaps the most satisfactory. I think if I were not a Queen, I should be a republican!”
“And I, if I were not a King,” he responded, “should be a Socialist! Such are the strange contradictions of human nature! Permit me!” He opened the door of the room for her to pass out,—and as she did so, she looked up full in his face.
“Are you still interested in your new form of amusement?” she said; “And do you still expose yourself to danger and death?”
He bowed assent.
“Still am I a fool in a new course of folly, Madam!” he answered with a smile, and a half sigh. “So many of my brother monarchs are wadded round like peaches in wool, with precautions for their safety, lest they bruise at a touch, that I assure you I take the chances of danger and death as exhilarating sport, compared to their guarded condition. But it is very good of you to assume such a gracious solicitude for my safety!”
“Assume?” she said. Her voice had a slight tremor in it,—her eyes looked soft and suffused with something like tears. Then, with her usual stately grace, she saluted him, and passed out.