The officer uttered an exclamation of surprise, but Sir Gavin’s face remained quite impassive. No one but the officer heard him, and the next moment there was a general movement of the privileged bystanders as the royal party turned toward the palace. Then an aide-de-camp rode up to the cart, and after a few words St. Arnaud and Gavin descended, and an orderly led the equipage away.
Gavin and St. Arnaud followed the aide, Captain Count Derschau, into the courtyard of the palace, and to a small door in a wing of the vast building. Entering, he showed them the way to a small anteroom, saying:
“You will remain here until Her Majesty sends for you, which will be within half an hour;” and courteously excusing himself, he left them.
CHAPTER VI
Gavin and St. Arnaud remained in the little anteroom awaiting the summons to the Empress Queen. Gavin sat quite silent. A resolve that had taken possession of him filled his heart as well as his mind. He dared not mention it to St. Arnaud, for fear of his disapproval—and Gavin loved St. Arnaud so much that he could not bear to oppose him—but his resolution was unshakable. St. Arnaud, brought up in palaces and inured to royalty, yet felt something like agitation at meeting the celebrated woman whose courage and constancy had withstood the greatest captain of the age, Frederick of Prussia, for more than sixteen years. But he, too, remained silent, and in a short half hour the aide returned, and after leading them through a maze of splendid corridors and noble apartments, he showed them into a small and simply furnished room, where the Emperor Francis sat alone.
The Emperor rose at once; for it was the custom of Francis of Lorraine to observe a charming simplicity toward all with whom he was brought in contact. As consort of a great and popular sovereign in her own right, he chose rather to give her all precedence, and took but little ostensible share in the government. He adopted the rôle of the husband and father only, well knowing that the jealous and varied peoples composing the Austro-Hungarian empire would resent any open share in the government; and although the Empress Queen relied much on his excellent sense and judgment, she was herself the ruler of her people.
Gavin watched St. Arnaud’s way of responding to the approaches of royalty, and followed him closely. There could have been no better example, as St. Arnaud, while perfectly respectful, was far from servile. The easy affability of the Emperor put them entirely at their ease, and in a few moments the door opened and the Empress Queen walked in.
The nearer view of Maria Theresa was still more pleasing and impressive than seeing her at a distance. Her commanding talents, and the lofty dignity which she naturally acquired as a reigning sovereign in her own right, were adorned by a beautiful feminine softness. The woman who was not afraid to face Frederick the Great, with his warrior army, was likewise gentle, considerate, and engaging.
Unlike Frederick, who valued men solely for their intellectual qualities, Maria Theresa trusted much to the excellence of their hearts, and, consequently, where one was feared, the other was loved.
The Emperor, who scrupulously observed the deference due his wife’s rank, rose and remained standing until the Empress Queen had seated herself. Then turning to St. Arnaud, as the eldest, she said: