Dick. "I must hasten to the Landgravine. Good night! Trust me,—and be on your guard!"
"I trust you," said Dick, kissing her hand again. "But let the Landgrave take care!"
Dick then took leave of Gerard, whose presence in the palace was a matter of duty and not of privilege, and hastened to his inn.
The next day, he went at the usual hour to his room at the Academy of Arts. In the course of the forenoon he received orders to submit in writing his account of his mission to the Düsseldorf gallery. He was glad that he did not have to report to the Landgrave in person, for he had no desire either to meet that sovereign again or to enter the palace. In the afternoon Catherine came to the glover's house, this time attended by old Antoine, who had accompanied the St. Valiers from Quebec. The attendance of a man-servant was part of a lady-in-waiting's pay, and Catherine had been able to secure Antoine's appointment to her service in the palace. Hitherto, other duties had been allowed to prevent his following her to her brother's. Catherine brought the news that Dick's supposition had proven correct,—the belief in the palace was that his outburst had been merely a disappointed lover's.
In the evening, while Dick was alone in his room, there came a discreet knock at his door. Opening, he let in a man cloaked and muffled, who immediately closed the door in a mysterious and secretive manner. The visitor then turned back his cloak and disclosed the face of Count Mesmer, the callous, self-assertive chamberlain. He was unattended.
"Good evening, Count," said Dick, bracing himself for any evil this visit might portend.
The Count took a chair at one side of a small table on which stood a lighted candle. Dick sat at the opposite side.
"My friend," began the Count, in a half patronizing, half overbearing manner, "that was an unwise explosion at the palace last evening."
"What do you mean?" demanded Dick, ruffling up.
"Oh, be calm! I don't blame you, except for bad judgment. You see, I am one of the few who knew what it all meant. I am a man who keeps his eyes open. I have not been blind to what has been going on between you and the beautiful lady-in-waiting. Neither have I been blind to the intentions of the Landgrave. By knowing that two and two make four, I understood last night's little scene perfectly."