"So was I," said the king. "Was it with the countess, my lord?"
Count Sergius's eyes twinkled demurely; but he answered:
"I take it, sire, that it must have been with the countess."
"And I take it," said the king, "that it must have been with the queen."
Then they both laughed, and then they both sighed; and the king, touching the count's elbow, pointed out to the terrace of the palace, on to which the room where they were opened. For Princess Osra and her lover were walking up and down together on this terrace. And the two shrugged their shoulders, smiling.
"HE LEANED FROM HIS SADDLE AS HE DASHED BY, AND ... SNATCHED THE KING'S SWORD AWAY FROM HIM, JUST AS THE KING WAS ABOUT TO THRUST IT THROUGH HIS SISTER'S LOVER."
"With him," remarked the king, "it will have been with—"
"The countess, sire," discreetly interrupted Count Sergius of Antheim.
"Why, yes, the countess," said the king; and, with a laugh, they turned bank to their wine.