TALKING-TALBOT-Chapter-14

The princess turned to Szolnak. “Set him free, since I have given you my promise.”

“No.” cried the duke, “he shall not be freed until after the ceremony has been performed.”

“You see, dear,” said Talbot, “how plain it is that there is no intention of keeping their promise.”

“You have our inviolable oath, highness,”‘ interposed Szolnak, with an impatient glance at the duke. “You can trust us.”

Talbot laughed scornfully. “What does it matter, dear? If you trust them at all, which is folly, why not trust them altogether? Besides, it will not matter in the end.”

“No,” murmured the princess, “in the end it will not matter. Let the ceremony go on then,” she said in a louder tone.

Talbot, always watching the beautiful lace, saw by its expression that Sonia had made a supreme decision. He raged to have to sit there utterly helpless while she fought a hopeless fight for his life.

“Her highness cannot be wedded in that gown,” the archbishop said, pointing to the stains of blood that were on it. “Moreover, such a ceremony should be public, particularly as the guests out there must be wild to know what is going on in here.”

“You are right, monseigneur,” answered Szolnak. after an exchange of glances with the other nobles. “Highness, will you coyer your, gown witfi your coat so that its condition may not be noticed, and then be so good as to make a new toilet?”

“You are wasting time,” said the duke savagely. “What does it matter how her gown looks? As for the guests, half of them have fled, panic-stricken already; those who remain suspect a part of what has happened. They do not know that the princess has degraded herself with that fellow, but they know she was trying to avoid this marriage.”

“The more reason, highness, why the wedding should be as public as possible. Besides, the more witnesses, the more there are irrevocably committed to us.”

“Whatever you do. hurry,” said the duke impatiently^

Talbot, nursing a terrible wrath in

his breast, was nevertheless all the while racking his brains for some plan of action. He had strained at his bonds without effect ; now an idea came to him.

“Since in your mercy you have decided not to murder me,” he cried suddenly, “is there any reason why I should be trussed up like this? It is neither necessary nor agreeable.”

“You’ll do well as you are,” growled the duke.

“He must be unbound,” said the princess passionately, turning to go to him.

Szolnak interposed. “I will see that he is made comfortable, highness, if you will go make a toilet.” –

Sonia, with a look of high resolve that Talbot could not fathom, permitted herself to be led from the room by one of the nobles. Szolnak at once rearranged Talbot’s bonds so that only his hands were tied.

After this the young lieutenant was brought in to guard Talbot, while the others went into the salon to make such explanations as they saw fit, and thus prepare the way for the wedding.

Talbot, on pretense of stretching after the painful stricture of his limbs, put all the pressure he could on the cord at his wrists. He had already tensed his arm muscles, and held his wrists a.- f.ir apart as possible when they were being tied, so that he had hopes of ultimately freeing his hands. That done, he would know what to do.

They had not taken his revolver from him, not knowing that he had it on his person, or having forgotten it.

He was still making quiet but ineffectual efforts to loosen the cord when the door was thrown open, and the lieutenant was bidden to bring his prisoner into the salon.

Many of the guests had gone, but so many remained that there was still a large and brilliant gathering in the greathall: They all looked at him with a new curiosity.

Sonia had not come down yet, but the others were there in full view of Talbot, who had been so planed that any effort to escape could easily be blocked. Besides, a file of soldiers stood at the door leading from the salon to the hall.

The archbishop, in all the robes of his office, stood a little apart, talking with the duke and Szolnak.

Before many minutes, Sonia, accompanied by two ladies, came into the room. She was very unlike the timid girl of the old garden, Talbot thought. Her gown was not unlike the one she had just worn, but was a pale yellow. She wore no jewels at all.

It was her manner that made the great difference. She bore herself with a sort of fierce pride. When she entered the room she stopped and looked imperiously about. Only when her eyes fell on Talbot did her face soften.

Disregarding everybody else, she went directly to him, waving Szolnak aside when he attempted to interpose.

“I will have my way,” she said.

“Why create a scandal?” he asked in a low tone.

“Any scandal is of your making,” sh.e said, and passed on.

She looked wonderfully beautiful as she approached Talbot, but he could see that her resolve, whatever its nature, had only hardened in the interval. How happy he and she might have been, he thought, but for these meddlers! Oh, if only the cord would give!

”Sir,'” she said to the lieutenant, “retire a few paces!” And when he had done so her face relaxed in a sad, sweet smile. “Dear one.” she murmured to Talbot, “this is my farewell. I am sure I am doing the only thing I could do. But do not doubt me. No other kiss but yours shall ever touch my lips. I am a coward now only in my inability to see you suffer. In other things I know I shall be brave. I am glad you

came to me. Love is worth everything. Let me press your lips once more.”

She bent forward, and with her hands on his shoulders pressed his lips with hers.

There was a cry of rage from the duke, and a murmur of wonder went through the whole assemblage.

“Good-by, sweetheart!” he said. “It may be for a long time or for a short one. I can see that you have some desperate plan in your mind. Wait two days at least. Give me that much time.”

“I will if I can,” she answered.

They exchanged one more look, in which it seemed to both of them as if the whole religion of love was revealed. Then she turned and went to where the archbishop stood.

“I am ready,” she said to him. To the duke she said : ‘”You may win a crown by this; you will not get a wife.”

He looked her over with a glance at once wrathful and appraising. “I will take the risk of that,” he said.

They took their places side by side, and a hush fell on the room. It was as if the strangeness of the wedding oppressed their spirits. The prelate took his place in front of the couple, and looked about him as if he would call attention to the fact that to him there was nothing unusual in the situation.

At that moment there was a commotion in the hall. The duke looked toward the door in annoyance.

“Hurry, monseigneur !” said Szolnak in a low tone.

Talbot, who by reason of his stature, and because of where he stood, could see better than any of the other principal actors into the hall, started in surprise, and stared.

The archbishop cleared his throat, and started to speak. A movement at the doorway, and then a clear, rich, mocking voice rang out :
“Come then, prince ! We are among good friends.” —

Szolnak leaped from where he stood, and pushed aside the guests, who had made an involuntary movement to see from whom the voice came. When he was beyond them, and could see the doorway, he stopped with a muttered oath.

Prince Szchymsl and a beautiful woman stood there, side by side. He knew without being told that the woman was the Countess Elsa.

“Count Szolnak !” said the prince.

“Are we in time for the ceremony, count?” demanded the countess; then, closely followed by the prince, who bore himself fiercely, while she was all radiant smiles, she swept forward through the throng that parted to let her pass, and came into view of the wedding party.

“Ah I” the prince cried.

“I’m afraid we interrupt,*’ said the countess, her lips smiling, but her eyes flaming. “Do we interrupt Count Szolnak?” she demanded, turning to him.

He bowed low. “Tt has just begun,” he said in a low voice.

The Princess Sonia turned her head indifferently. The duke had been staring at the newcomers. The prince lie knew too well to look at twice ; the woman he did not know, but he guessed who she was as readily as Szolnak had done; so it was no surprise to him when the princess cried out:

“Countess Elsa !”

The archbishop changed color, and stepped back. It was amazing how the personality of the countess dominated them all.

“What a charming couple they make, prince!” the countess said. “But, dear me. Princess Sonia, is this the way you keep your word? You were to take no further part in the revolution. Which reminds me. Where is our friend, Sir Chester?”

“1 lere, countess,” he answered; “here, awaiting your kindly help.”

The countess looked in his direction, and such persons as had crowded between moved away. It seemed that every one knew of the mysterious woman who had been the very soul of the contemplated revolution.

The countess laughed with real merriment. “What! They actually haveovercome the invincible hero!” She laughed again, and then turned and looked at the princess.

There was something so sinister in this look that fear woke in the unhappy girl, and with a cry she ran to Talbot’s side.

“If only I were free!” he panted.

She began to tug at his bonds, but her little hands were quite inadequate to the task. “1 can do nothing,*’ she moaned.

Talbot raged, but was helpless. He had strained at the cord until his wrists were raw. There was nothing to do but await the issue.

“Countess,” said Szolnak, who had been exchanging glances with some and whispers with others of the nobles, “with your permission we will go on with the wedding. As you know, it is the one wise thing for us to do. The whole country demands it.”

“And if I refuse this permission you demand?” she cried.

“I should be sorry if you did, since your services to the country have been so great; but, with or without your permission, the wedding must go on. Monseigneur, continue ! Princess, I beg you to return.”

The countess flashed a glance at the prince, another at Szolnak, and then rested her eyes on the princess, who was nestling close to Talbot, and who only drew the closer to him at the words of Szolnak.

“Do you defy me. then. Count Szolnak?” she cried fiercely.

“I do not defy you, countess: but I must act in accordance with the welfare of the country. Princess!”

Hut. swift to decide and to act, the countess caught the prince by the sleeve and whispered : “Keep by me ! I will spoil their game yet.” And in another moment she had reached the side of the officer who stood apart with his drawn sword in his hand.

He had no notion of what was going to happen and was staring wonderingly at this beautiful woman who had come to turn everything into a turmoil ; so she had no difficulty in snatching his sword out of his hand.

Sonia saw her coming with her glittering weapon, and feared at once for Talbot. She cried out and threw herself in front of him. “No, no!” she cried. “You shall not !”

The countess laughed aloud. “It really is so. then,” she said. “Sir Chester, if I sot you free and the little princess, too. will you stand by me?”

Talbot understood the instant the words were spoken. “With all my heart, countess,” he answered, and lurned his back to her.

In a moment the cord was cut. W ith a grim laugh, Talbot turned. “We can’t fail, countess,” he said.

“We need only a few minutes,” she said in a low tone. “Do anything to keep them occupied. There will be a regiment of hussars here in a few minutes. Take the sword.”

“I have my revolver,” he answered.

He asked no questions because he understood the whole plan. Now that he was free he knew how to act. He saw that the nobles had been so taken aback by the act of the countess that they were unable to do anything. They simply stared at each other.

It was not a situation to be thrown away. With a leap he was by the side of the duke, his revolver at his head.

“One movement.” he said threateningly, “and I will put a bullet in your

brain. And,” he added ominously, “I would like nothing better.”

Sonia was by his side immediately ; the countess, followed by the prince, was there almost as soon.

“I think,” said the countess in her mocking way, addressing Szolnak, “that we are masters of the situation. What fools you are ! Do you think this child is fit to lead a revolution? Do you want to lose your heads? Do you think you can win because you marry these two ? Where would you be without the money I bring and the regiments the prince contributes?”

“It is the logical thing to do, countess,” answered Szolnak, recovering from his stupefaction at finding the tables so suddenly turned.

The duke sullenly said something in Hungarian. The countess burst into a good-tempered laugh, and answered in German : “Sir Chester, do you know what his highness says? He tells me that if he had first seen me he would not have been so warm for the other alliance. Are you not angry with such poor judgment?”

Talbot smiled grimly. “I had sworn to myself to kill him, countess, and I would have done it.”

“I am sure you would. Sir Chester,” she interrupted.

Talbot went on : “But if he will marry you I shall be satisfied.”

The countess at that laughed more merrily than before. ”Ah. Sir Chester,” she said, “you and I would be the ideal couple; but, much as I admire you, in the same degree I detest you. You are much too masterful for me. We would never get on together. The little princess is a much fitter mate for you.”

“He may have her,” growled the duke. “Put down your pistol, fellow ! I ask nothing better than to make the countess my wife. What do you say, Countess El=a? Shall it be a match? Now that I have seen you I will have no one else.”

There was a sudden noise of many hoofs trampling the turf and the gravel of the driveway.

“Put your revolver away. Sir Chester,” the countess said. “We are masters now. There is our regiment.’*

Almost as she spoke there was an irruption into the hall of several men, followed hy screams from the women in the salon and a crowding of the men together.

“Have no fear, friends,” cried the countess in her full voice. “The prince has merely brought a regiment of hussars to show you a small part of his contribution to the cause.’*

Count Maurus strode into tin salon and looked for his sister. When he saw her standing by the side of Talbot and the princess with smiles on her face he stopped where he was.

“Allies now. Maurus.” laughed the countess in good humor. “What do you say to a compromise. Count Szoluak?”

“You are generous to offer a compromise when it is in your power to dictate terms,” he answered, with no little dignity.

Talbot looked down at the princess, who stood by him trembling with apprehension. She had not understood as well as he had.

“It will all come out right, little Sonia,” he whispered. “It will be to the interest of the countess to help us. You will see.”

“Compromise or terms ; what does it matter?” she cried in a voice to be heard by all. “I suppose we all think first of our country. We all are agreed that the Duke of Jankovacz shall be our sovereign. What need of terms or compromise or controversy? I think and I say that such an alliance as the one about to be made was a mistake. Tf I know the mind of the princess —

and if I don’t she is here to set me right — she wishes nothing so little as the throne.”

“Nor would I ever occupy it,*’ cried the princess, lifting her head proudly* “If this marriage had been forced on me by the threat of the murder of the man I love I would have killed myself.”

“Why. Sir Chester,” murmured the countess, “you actually have made her over from a coward into a brave woman. My congratulations !” Then in a louder voice she took up the talk again: “But it is not only the wishes of the princess that are to be considered. In her heart she is more Slav than Magyar, and already that has affected the feelings of those whose aid we most want. If you do not believe me ask that regiment of hussars who have come here to honor their future king.”

The applause at this was unmistakable. Indeed it was plain that the countess had completely captured the fancy of the high-spirited Hungarians.

Count Szolnak was quick to see that it would be foolish to strive against one who held the treasures, the men, and the power of persuasion. His blood quickened at the thought of having such a queen to serve, for he saw that the duke would soon be no more than a figurehead.

“Countess,” he said, “let me be one of the first to acknowledge the superiority of your wisdom and judgment.”

The high nobles and all the others in the room hastened to make their peace with the woman in whom they saw their future queen, and in a few moments they were crowding about her and treating her as if already she occupied the throne of the Magyars.

The countess, intoxicated by the easy triumph, turned smilingly to Talbot, who had watched the progress of her affairs, doubtful and prepared for the worst. “Confess, Sir Chester,” she said, “this is worth making a struggle for, isn’t it?”

“That depends entirely,” he answered, “upon what it holds for me.”

She laughed. “Oh, we are allies now, and I am as faithful to my friends as I am bitter toward my enemies. You may safely put your revolver away. You will have no use for it.”

“And the princess?” he said.

“Is in no danger from me. As long as I am in no danger from her she has nothing to fear from me. What a good friend you are! I was unfortunate in being unable to win your good will.”

“You never tried. You set out to make a tool of me from the first.”

“I didn’t know you as well then as I do now. Sir Chester. I thought of you as an exceptional gun fighter. That’s all I knew of Talking Talbot then; I know better now.”

“Well,” he said, “it doesn’t matter now. If you had come to me and told me frankly what you wanted I might have refused, but it would have saved you all that trouble and waste of time in Paris.”

She laughed. “It wasn’t wasted. You brought to my friends here all the papers they needed. You didn’t know it, but you carried them nicely hidden in your bag. They were taken out in your hotel in Budapest. As long as you refused to bring me in with you I let you bring my valuable papers.”

“You are a hard adverasary to get the better of,” he said.

“You are a harder.” she retorted. “You could have ruined all my plans if you had wished. I mean,” she added, “if you had not fallen in love. You did, didn’t you?” And she laughed.

“Yes,” answered Talbot serenely, “I fell headlong.”

“Good !” cried the countess. “I don’t need to ask the princess if the same calamity happened to her. I knew that the first time we met.”