Apafi looked at Monsieur Reverend with amazement.
"And I not to know the artistic hands which work such beautiful things!"
"But your Highness does know them. The name of the fair artist will be found embroidered in gorgeous Gothic letters on the hem of the handkerchief."
Apafi carefully examined all the corners of the handkerchief one after the other. Each had a different device embroidered on it—here a wreath of oak-leaves, there a trophy, in the third a Turkish scimitar, an Hungarian sabre, and a French sword bound together by a ribbon. At last he came to the fourth corner, where, beneath a princely coronet, was embroidered the word Apafiné.[27]
[27] Apafiné = Lady Apafi. The "né" is a feminine suffix.
The Prince read the name aloud. All who stood around looked at Apafi's face with fearful suspense, as if they expected an explosion of wrath. To every one's surprise, however, the Prince only smiled, stuck the pocket-handkerchief into Monsieur Reverend's kalpag, cocked it rakishly on the ambassador's head, and said to him with peculiar bonhomie—
"So you have succeeded in seducing my wife, eh?"
Reverend laughed awkwardly at what was a rather ambiguous jest so far as he was concerned.
"Me, however, you shall not seduce," added Apafi, smiling.
Reverend bowed deeply; then, throwing back his head, he observed archly—