“‘The Princess Aline of Hohenwald,’” he read. “She’s probably engaged to one of those Johnnies beside her, and the Grand-Duke of Hohenwald behind her must be her brother.” He put the paper down and went in to luncheon, and diverted himself by mixing a salad dressing; but after a few moments he stopped in the midst of this employment, and told the waiter, with some unnecessary sharpness, to bring him the last copy of the St. James Budget.
“Confound it!” he added, to himself.
He opened the paper with a touch of impatience and gazed long and earnestly at the face of the Princess Aline, who continued to return his look with the same smile of amused tolerance. Carlton noted every detail of her tailor-made gown, of her high mannish collar, of her tie, and even the rings on her hand. There was nothing about her of which he could fairly disapprove. He wondered why it was that she could not have been born an approachable New York girl instead of a princess of a little German duchy, hedged in throughout her single life, and to be traded off eventually in marriage with as much consideration as though she were a princess of a real kingdom.
“She looks jolly too,” he mused, in an injured tone; “and so very clever; and of course she has a beautiful complexion. All those German girls have. Your Royal Highness is more than pretty,” he said, bowing his head gravely. “You look as a princess should look. I am sure it was one of your ancestors who discovered the dried pea under a dozen mattresses.” He closed the paper, and sat for a moment with a perplexed smile of consideration. “Waiter,” he exclaimed, suddenly, “send a messenger-boy to Brentano’s for a copy of the St. James Budget, and bring me the Almanach de Gotha from the library. It is a little fat red book on the table near the window.” Then Carlton opened the paper again and propped it up against a carafe, and continued his critical survey of the Princess Aline. He seized the Almanach, when it came, with some eagerness.
“Hohenwald (Maison de Grasse),” he read, and in small type below it:
“1. Ligne cadette (régnante) grand-ducale: Hohenwald et de Grasse.
“Guillaume-Albert-Frederick-Charles-Louis, Grand-Duc de Hohenwald et de Grasse, etc., etc., etc.”
“That’s the brother, right enough,” muttered Carlton.
And under the heading “Sœurs” he read:
“4. Psse Aline.—Victoria-Beatrix-Louise-Helene, Alt. Gr.-Duc. Née à Grasse, Juin, 1872.”