“They will shadow you when you leave his house.”
“Then their industry will be rewarded by an enjoyable terminus; in other words, the drinking cellar of the Rheingold.”
“Be assured, your Highness, that ultimately you will be traced to the Royal Palace.”
“Again not so, my Lord. They will be led across the bridge into the mechanics’ quarter of Sachsenhausen, and if the watch continues, they must make a night of it, for I shall enter my humble room there and go to bed.”
“I see you have it all planned out,” commented the discomfited Archbishop.
The young man laughed.
“I anticipate an interesting life, my Lord, because it is my habit to think before I act, and I notice that this apparently baffles the Electors. The truth is that you three are so subtle, and so much afraid of one another, so on the alert lest you be taken by surprise, that a straightforward action on my part throws all intrigue out of gear. Now, I’ll warrant you cannot guess why I came here to-night.”
“Oh, I know the reason very well.”
“Do you? That astonishes me. What is the reason?”
“You came to see the Countess von Sayn.”