Nigel's eyes were full upon her, for there was a solemnity in her voice, a note of strong appeal as from one high spirit calling to another and conscious of the other's attuning. He drew his sword and pressed the hilt to his lips in token of his fealty.
Then it pleased the Archduchess to pace to and fro for a while beneath the trees in silence. She was in truth full of emotion, which was all but too strong for her. The nearness of Nigel, who walked beside her, was one cause of trouble. She had told herself that she loved Wallenstein, the dark, inscrutable organiser of armies, that she had always loved him. But did she sway the spirit of Wallenstein, the heart of Wallenstein, so that it vibrated, if heart or spirit can vibrate, to her touch? She did not seek to answer it. She knew that this stranger Scot with the eagle eyes and bearing was nearer to her in the spring of his years and of his intelligence, albeit one of her father's mercenaries, who might perchance become another Tilly, never a Wallenstein. "And why not?" she asked herself. Then she answered it. "Too much heart!"
Of a sudden she broke the silence again—
"I like you, Colonel Nigel! I trust you! I am perhaps going into a nunnery for a season; perhaps for always!"
"Your Highness! Into a nunnery!" Nigel's astonishment and his sorrow were racing for the mastery.
"They wish me to marry Maximilian of Bavaria!"
"The Jesuits? Your Highness will not?"
"I have told them that asked, 'Sooner a nunnery, or to wed a private gentleman who is not of the blood royal.'"
The blood coursed like a river through the young officer's veins. If—— He put the thought away sternly.
"Many things may happen. I must gain time. Some other league or bond may be formed and other interests may thwart it! I tell you so that if I be not here when you return, after you have driven Gustavus back to the Baltic, you will know. 'Tis the fate of princesses who cannot control their own destinies." She had stopped in her walk as if to say a word or two before dismissing him.