“Probably. If it was so, I have been punished for my folly. My husband came to me again the next morning, and said that he was about to make a proposal to me which he begged me to consider calmly and without prejudice, since he was convinced that the happiness of our married life depended upon it. Nothing would induce him, he said, to dismiss Count Mortimer; but Count Mortimer himself was prepared to retire from the Court in the hope of restoring peace between us. Only, the King said, he would not accept this sacrifice except upon one condition—that my mother also should leave Thracia. He would not mince matters, for he was convinced that our unhappiness was due to her, since I had shown no dislike to Count Mortimer before her arrival. Once rid of the two elements of discord, we would start afresh, and try to be as happy as such an ill-assorted couple could be. Well, you do not need to be told that I rejected the proposal with horror. I told the King that it was an outrage and an infamy, and that I would suffer anything rather than yield. He left me again, and we resumed our double life, the King and Count Mortimer against my mother and me. I would not quit Thracia, as my mother advised, for I could not endure to let Count Mortimer triumph in the idea that he had driven me away; but it could not be expected that I should assist in any of his schemes. He and the King had the idea that Thracia was for the Thracians, and should be kept as Thracian as possible, and my mother and I did what we could to introduce German customs and habits instead.”
“You can scarcely expect me to agree with you there,” said the Princess, “since my husband and I have always aimed at carrying out in Dardania the methods which the King thought best for Thracia.”
“We were not thinking of what was best for the country,” explained the Queen innocently. “We wanted to have everything as it ought to be—as it is in Germany—and also to make the King angry.”
“Well, it is quite evident that you were successful in that part of your wish.”
“Yes; we were all very unhappy. Then, as you know, my mother was forced by the intrigues of the Ministry to leave Thracia, and I was so lonely and miserable that once or twice I even tried to make friends with my husband; but he either pretended not to notice my attempts, or he laughed at them, so that I left off trying. And then Count Mortimer went to England for a holiday, and I thought there might be some chance for me, but I saw even less of the King than before, and he would scarcely speak to me. Then he was taken ill, and you know that on his death-bed he made me promise not to dismiss Count Mortimer, and so he was left to tyrannise over me still. Can you wonder that I hate him?”
“You do hate him?” asked the Princess, with interest.
The Queen’s face flushed hotly. “You would hate him in my place,” she said. “He thwarts all my plans, and he is always justified by the result. He is continually putting me in the wrong, and no one who sees it can have a doubt but that he is right. I make a great effort to take him by surprise, and it is evident that he knew of my intention as soon as I did. I would give anything to be able to turn the tables on him!”
“I don’t wonder you get into trouble if that is your feeling.”
“At any rate, I can do one thing. I know that after to-day Count Mortimer will try to make me return to Bellaviste, for neither he nor M. Drakovics wished us to come here, but I will not go.”
“What a rebellious little person you are, Ernestine! But I do most earnestly advise you to get rid of Count Mortimer before your boy is old enough to marry, unless you want your own story repeated.”