Silence and thick darkness; then her voice:
“I do not understand.”
“I was in the gallery with you and the czarevna,” I said quietly. “I heard you say you would rather die than wed Kurakin.”
“You were there?” in a tone of amazement.
“Yes, madame.”
A long pause; then her voice; through the gloom, with its disdainful note:
“And you thought I preferred you—a stranger—to death?”
“To Kurakin—possibly, my Princess.”
“Then,” I heard her draw her breath before she went on, “then—you—you married me—to save me from that miserable wretch?”
“Nay,” I replied slowly, “I married you because I loved you.”