“Cyril, you don’t think that I would let any one else see that I was displeased with you? My dearest, I would uphold you to the world if we were in the midst of a quarrel. Only try me; and see if anything would make me forsake you. Do you know that I had a letter from my mother this morning, scolding me for having taken you back to your house in my carriage when you were wounded—just as Baroness von Hilfenstein scolded me when she heard of it? How delighted I should have been to be able to tell them the truth! But since you will not allow that, I have written to tell my mother that I should despise myself if I had neglected to do such a small service to a man who had been attacked solely on account of his faithfulness to Michael and to me.”
“You quixotic little person! Don’t defy the proprieties too boldly, or we shall have a commission of inquiry consisting of your mother and aunts coming here to investigate matters, which might lead to alarming discoveries.”
“I should not mind. You cannot say that I should forfeit the regency if it became known that I was engaged to you.”
“No; but my remaining here would be very strongly felt to be an impropriety, and besides, dear, you don’t seem to see that we—or at any rate I—have more in view than simply being able to marry at the end of eleven years or so without damage to Michael and his kingdom.”
“Why, what is that?” she asked, surprised.
“I want our marriage to be recognised. If your cousin Sigismund—who is very strong on these matters—chose to regard it as morganatic, all Europe would go with him.”
Ernestine’s eyes blazed. “Let it!” she said; “I don’t care. You and I know what we mean to do, and when we are married we will go to England and live in a cottage, and be simply Mr and Mrs Mortimer. There are no morganatic marriages there, are there?”
“You would at least be Lady Cyril Mortimer, so there is no need to contemplate quite such a descent,” said Cyril, disregarding the question. “But I think you must see that it would be more satisfactory to me if the marriage was recognised.”
“I would not have you degrade yourself by appealing to Sigismund for any favour—or even any right—whatever.”
“There is no question of appealing to any one. My aim will simply be to establish myself in such a position that either Sigismund or the Emperor of Pannonia will have no difficulty in recognising our marriage—or might even be glad to do it.”