“I had forgotten about that,” he said.
Then Miss Braithwaite rose, and the Prince put his heels together with a click, and bowed, as he had been taught to do.
“Good-night,” he said.
“Good-night, Your Highness,” replied Miss Braithwaite.
At the door Prince Ferdinand William Otto turned and bowed again. Then he went out, and the door closed behind him.
He washed himself, with Oskar standing by, holding a great soft towel. Even the towels were too large. And he brushed his teeth, and had two drinks of water, because a stiffish feeling in his throat persisted. And at last he crawled up into the high bed that was so much too big for him, and had to crawl out again, because he had forgotten his prayers.
When everything was done, and the hour of putting out the light could no longer be delayed, he said goodnight to Oskar, who bowed. There was a great deal of, bowing in Otto’s world. Then, whisk! it was dark, with only the moon face of the cathedral clock for company. And as it was now twenty minutes past seven, the two hands drooped until it looked like a face with a cruel mouth and was really very poor company.
Oskar, having bowed himself into the corridor and past the two sentries, reported to a very great dignitary across the hall that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Ferdinand William Otto was in bed. And the dignitary had a chance to go away and get his dinner.
But alone in his great bed, the Crown Prince was shedding a few shamefaced tears. He was extremely ashamed of them. He felt that under no circumstances would his soldier father have behaved so. He reached out and secured one of the two clean folded handkerchiefs that were always placed on the bedside stand at night, and blew his nose very loudly. But he could not sleep.
He gave Miss Braithwaite time to go to her sitting-room, and for eight o’clock to pass, because once every hour, all night, a young gentleman of the Court, appointed for this purpose and dubbed a “wet-nurse” by jealous comrades, cautiously opened his door and made a stealthy circuit of the room, to see that all was well.