She could hear them speaking in English at first with difficulty, but presently her husband spoke. The words he uttered were clear. In an instant they revealed to her an awful, unexpected truth.
She held her breath, her left hand upon her bare chest above her corsage, her mouth open, her white face drawn and haggard.
Scarce believing her own ears, she again listened. Could it really be true?
Her husband again spoke. Ah yes! of the words he uttered there could be not the slightest doubt. She was doomed.
With uneven steps she staggered from her hiding-place along the corridor to her own room, and on opening the door she fell forward senseless upon the carpet.
Chapter Ten.
The Peril of the Princess.
That night, six hours later, when the great palace was silent save for the tramping of the sentries, the Princess sat in the big chair at her window, looking out upon the park, white beneath the bright moonbeams.