His voice took on a new, almost a fanatic note. He spoke as well to the other shrouded figures as to his comrades. No mean orator this. He seldom raised his voice, he made no gestures. Almost, while she listened, the Countess understood.
They had watched the gradual decay of the country, he said. Its burden of taxation grew greater each year. The masses sweated and toiled, to carry on their backs the dead weight of the aristocracy and the throne. The iron hand of the Chancellor held everything; an old King who would die, was dying now, and after that a boy, nominal ruler only, while the Chancellor continued his hard rule. And now, as if that were not enough, there was talk of an alliance with Karnia, an alliance which, carried through, would destroy the hope of a republic.
The Countess stared.
“No wall is too thick for our ears,” he continued. “Our eyes see everywhere. And as we grow in strength, they fear us. Well they may.”
He grew scornful then. To gain support for the tottering throne the Chancellor would unite the two countries, that Karl’s army, since he could not trust his own, might be called on for help. And here he touched the Countess’s raw nerves with a brutal finger.
“The price of the alliance, madame, is the Princess Hedwig in marriage. The Committee, which knows all things, believes that you have reason to dislike this marriage.”
Save that she clutched her cloak more closely, the Countess made no move. But there was a soft stir among the figures. Perhaps, after all, the Committee as a whole did not know all things.
“To prevent this alliance, madame, is our first aim. There are others to follow. But”—he bent forward—“the King will not live many days. It is our hope that that marriage will not occur before his death.”
By this time Olga Loschek knew very well where she stood. The Committee was propitiatory. She was not in danger, save as it might develop. They were, in a measure, putting their case.
She had followed the speaker closely. When he paused, she was ready for him. “But, even without a marriage, at any time now a treaty based on the marriage may be signed. A treaty for a mutually defensive alliance. Austria encroaches daily, and has Germany behind her. We are small fry, here and in Karnia, and we stand in the way.”