“Leafe my secretary out off account for de moment, and pity my curiosity,” said the financier, lowering his voice. “How iss it det you turn up at Vienna in goot health when we hear from de papers you are in a dyink state at Bellaviste? Are we to imachine it a miracle, or iss it only a ruse de guerre?”
“The latter, I fear.”
“Den you are enxious for secrecy, off course? Come into my cabinet here. Now it iss impossible for us to be oferheart. It iss a metter off money, neturally?”
“It is, like most of the matters that are brought to your notice, no doubt. You have not forgotten the last time I paid you a visit?”
“I hef not, my frient. It cost me too much,” and the Chevalier laughed encouragingly. “But you are always welcome, ess I told you at det time.”
“My errand then was connected with the marriage of my sovereign. You had been good enough to intimate that you were willing to pay the debts which King Otto Georg had contracted before being called to the throne, and which, while he could not well ask the country to discharge them, hampered him in his negotiations with the Court of Weldart. It fell to me to bring you the schedule of the various amounts, and otherwise to arrange the matter with you, and you were so kind as to express approval of my methods.”
“So!” observed the Chevalier assentingly. “I said det if you hed defoted yourself to de high finence instead off politics, you would be wordy to belonk to de Nation.”
“I know. I have never forgotten the compliment, for it struck me as overpoweringly flattering, coming from you. Now I want to ask a rather impertinent question. Do you mind telling me your reason for paying Otto Georg’s debts?”
“My reasson?” the Chevalier raised his eyebrows and looked at his visitor with a whimsical smile. “Perheps I wished to preserfe de belance of power in de Balkans—Thracia wass anti-Scythian den, you know—or perheps to place de house off Schwarzwald-Molzau under an obligation to me. Or perheps I wass concerned only in throwink away my money—in makink sure det so many hundret thousand florins at least should not return to me doubled. But why do you ask?”
“Because I am interested in knowing whether your kindness for Otto Georg extends to his widow and child.”