“A prisoner, I fancy, does not resent intrusion, especially if the intruder is—” The old man smiled as he looked at the girl, whose blush grew deeper and deeper; then, seeing her confusion, he added: “There are many things to say. Introduce yourself as the ward of his Lordship of Cologne; reveal that your guardian has confided to you that Prince Roland is to be the future Emperor; ask for some assurance from him that the property descending to you from your ancestors shall not be molested; or perhaps, better still, with the same introduction, tell him the story of Father Ambrose. Add that this has disquieted you: demand the truth, hearken to what the youth says for himself, thank him, and withdraw. It needs no long conversation, though I am prepared to hear that he wished to lengthen your stay. I am certain that five minutes face to face with him will completely overturn all Father Ambrose has said to his disparagement, and a few simple words from him will probably dispel the whole mystery. If someone is personating him in Frankfort it is more than likely he knows who it is.”
They traveled a generous furlong together in silence, the girl’s head bowed and her brow troubled. At last, as if with an effort, she cleared doubt away, and raised her head.
“I will do it,” she said decisively.
The Archbishop heaved a deep sigh of relief. He knew now he was out of the wood.
“Is this Assmannshausen we are coming to?” she asked, as if to hint that the subject on which they had talked so earnestly was finally done with.
“No; this is Lorch, and that is the Castle of Nollich standing above it.”
“I hope,” said the girl, with a sigh of weariness, “that no English Princess about to marry an Emperor lodged there, or no Englishman who was to become an Emperor—”
The Archbishop interrupted the plaint with a hearty laugh, the first he had enjoyed for several days.
“The English seem an interfering race,” she went on. “I wish they would attend to their own affairs.”
“Nollich is uncontaminated,” said the Archbishop, “though in olden days a reckless knight on horseback rode up to secure his lady-love, and I believe rode down again with her, and his route is still called the Devil’s Ladder.”