Cyril shook his head solemnly. “Princess, Princess, if you have got a clergyman concealed in the next room, and want me to let my secretary marry Phil on the spot, I must tell you frankly I won’t do it. It wouldn’t be fair to Caerleon and Nadia.”
“As though I should dream of such a thing!” Princess Soudaroff was more nearly angry than Cyril had ever seen her. “A clandestine marriage for my darling Phil, and under my auspices! Lord Cyril, you should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting it. No, Philippa’s anxiety, and mine too, is all on your account.”
“Ought I to be more flattered by your interest, or grieved for your anxiety, Princess?”
“You are incorrigible, Lord Cyril. I assure you I am absolutely in earnest. Phil is making herself miserable with the notion that you are in love with the Princess of Dardania, although I have done my best to show her its absurdity. No man who had loved Queen Ernestine, however imperfectly, could transfer his affections to the woman who wrecked her happiness.”
“Your sentiments are mine, Princess.”
“Then what are you doing? Your passion for the Princess has become a by-word in her household. Even Princess Lida amused herself with it in talking to Phil. You cannot profess to be ignorant of this, Lord Cyril. You are not the man to drift into such a position blindfold, and I can only judge that you have some object in pursuing this course.”
“See what it is to have at hand a critic acquainted with all the follies of one’s youth! I must congratulate you upon your clear-sightedness, Princess.”
“But you and she have been enemies too long to work together with any confidence. It must be in the hope of improving your political position that you are trying to induce her to marry you.”
“No, Princess; there you are wrong.” Cyril spoke with a firmness that carried conviction. “Nothing on earth could make me marry the Princess of Dardania, or any woman in the world but Ernestine. I don’t know why I should tell you this, except that I suspect you to be in communication with Ernestine, and I don’t want to add to her troubles.”
“Then you still love Ernestine?”