“She is quite safe, mademoiselle,” I responded, “and also her husband.”
Catherine laughed. “Her husband,” she repeated slowly; “it seems strange that we accomplished that marriage in the face of such difficulties. It has been in my mind often, and you, M. l’Ambassadeur, you saw the czar.”
She looked at me questioningly, and in an instant I divined her object. She desired to fathom the matter, and to know just how much the czar had cared for her rival; here, at least, I could be a match for her.
“I had the honor to bid his Majesty farewell but yesterday, mademoiselle,” I replied gravely, “I leave Moscow on the morrow.”
“Ah! but I intended to say that you saw the czar immediately after Najine’s flight and while his Majesty was still angry,” she said simply, searching my face with her dark eyes. “Is it true that he threatened to seize them, declare the marriage illegal, and throw M. de Lambert into prison?”
I raised my brows in feigned surprise. “Mademoiselle astonishes me,” I remarked; “I do not hear all these rumors.”
She cast an indignant glance at me, but smiled at the same moment.
“M. l’Ambassadeur, you never forget to be a diplomat,” she said archly; “do you ever speak with candor?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Frequently, mademoiselle,” I returned, smiling also; “but an old fellow like me cannot wear his heart upon his sleeve.”
“Alas!” she cried with feigned surprise, “have you a heart? It seems to me that courtiers have none.”