6-3
 
 For Love or Crown
 
 'THE NEXT MOMKXT STEIX SPRANG AT HIM LIKE 
 A TERRIER." Page 265.
 
 SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION. 
 
 
 
 
 For Love or Crown 
 
 A ROMANCE 
 
 By ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT 
 
 AUTHOR OF "!N THE NAME OF A WOMAN," "A 
 DASH FOR A THRONE," "By RIGHT OF SWORD," ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY D. MURRAY SMITH 
 
 
 f 
 * 
 
 ** fw* *w* *w 
 
 
 NEW YORK 
 B. W. DODGE & COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 CorancfiT, 1901, 
 BY FMDXMCK A. STOKES COMPANY 
 
 AH right* reserved
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CKAFT88 PAGB 
 
 I. CELIA i 
 
 II. SIR HENRY'S REASONS 11 
 
 III. WAS IT MURDER? 21 
 
 IV. THE FIRST MOVE 31 
 
 V. CELIA LEARNS THE TRUTH 41 
 
 TI. A FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 52 
 
 VII. PLANNING A STATE MARRIAGE 62 
 
 VIII. KATRINE 73 
 
 IX. A GENUINE SURPRISE 84 
 
 X. CELIA'S MOTHER 95 
 
 XL A FAMILY COUNCIL 107 
 
 XII. ATTHE EMBASSY 118 
 
 XIII. THE SHADOW OF A NEW DECISION 130 
 
 XIV. ALMOST THE MARRIAGE EVE 144 
 
 XV. GONE! 155 
 
 XVI. THE SEARCH 165 
 
 XVII. THE LETTERS 175 
 
 XVIII. AT CRUDENSTADT 184 
 
 XIX. NEWS FROM KATRINE 195 
 
 XX. THE CHALLENGE 207 
 
 XXI. THE NIGHT 217 
 
 2137229
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PACK 
 
 XXII. TRICKED 229 
 
 XXIII. A STRANGE DEVELOPMENT 240 
 
 XXIV. THE WORK OF RESCUE 251 
 
 XXV. TOGETHER ONCE MORE 265 
 
 XXVI. NET MAKING AND NET BREAKING 279 
 
 XXVII. THE NET PROVES ITS STRENGTH 289 
 
 XXVIII. SCHWARTZ BRINGS STRANGE NEWS 302 
 
 XXIX. CELIA WRITES 313 
 
 XXX. DEATH TO THE RESCUE ,... 329 
 
 XXXI. AT LAST 345
 
 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CELIA. 
 
 LOVE laughs at locks and bolts and bars and every 
 other kind of obstacle, and so Celia and I were sitting 
 hand-locked on a bit of rock on Moreby Point, watch- 
 ing the waves as they dashed against the cliffs below 
 us, and churned themselves into foam on which the 
 thin April sunlight danced and sparkled brilliantly. 
 
 There were no bolts, or bars, or locks in our case, but 
 there were plenty of other obstacles, and the fact that 
 we had evaded them made the meeting all the sweeter 
 for the spice of defiance to all our authorities that 
 flavoured it. 
 
 " There'll be an awful row, Stanley," said Celia, 
 laughing, as she turned her eyes on me. " Mrs. Col- 
 lingwood will glower and glare at me when I go back, and 
 put on that horrified expression of hers, and promptly 
 write off to Sir Henry. But I don't care," and she 
 laughed rebelliously. 
 
 " And I'm sure I don't. Try the effect of one of 
 those laughs on her and see what it does. It would 
 kill my anger." 
 
 " You're a goose," and she pushed her hand further 
 into mine and nestled closer to my side. 
 
 " I shall get it too. He'll be just mad with me."
 
 2 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 Sir Henry Meredith was my uncle and her guardian, 
 and in both our eyes a somewhat terrifying old man. 
 " But I don't care, either. We're not doing any harm. 
 I'm twenty-five, you're twenty ; quite old enough to 
 choose for ourselves. And if he doesn't like it he must 
 find his own consolation." 
 
 " That's all very well for you. I don't know what 
 he can do to you. I suppose he can't do much, but he 
 can pack me off to the end of the earth." 
 
 " He can't put you where I can't find you, Celia. 
 At least, he hasn't been able to so far. Besides, it's a 
 glaring shame to shut you up in a ghastly place like 
 this Moreby. What does he expect ? He might as 
 well stick a veil on you and shove you into a convent 
 at once." 
 
 "You wouldn't find me there." 
 
 " I would, if I had to pull the place down or break in 
 to carry you off. I'm not the sort of man to be beaten 
 easily when I've set my heart on a thing." 
 
 " Am I the ' thing ' ? " she asked, with another merry 
 laugh. 
 
 I chose to interpret it as a challenge, and I put my 
 arm round her, and drawing her face to me, kissed her 
 on the lips. 
 
 " That's one of the things," I answered, as she strug- 
 gled and drew away, blushing furiously. " And now 
 I've another. It's time you wore this, Celia," and I 
 took out a diamond ring that I had brought with me. 
 " Give me your left hand." 
 
 " I daren't, Stanley." 
 
 " Daren't ! That's a new word in your vocabulary ; 
 and I can't very easily think of anything you daren't 
 do. Give me your hand."
 
 CELIA 3 
 
 " Daren't I refuse ? " she asked, with a glance of 
 witching roguishness in her bright, laughing blue eyes. 
 She was very fair, with lovely colouring, hair a sheen 
 of gold, complexion clear white, with a ruddy glow of 
 health and strength ; and her features regular, clear-cut, 
 and strong. The most beautiful girl in the world to 
 me. 
 
 " Give me your left hand, or " 
 
 " Or what ? " and she put them both behind her. 
 
 " Or I'll say you're afraid and sorry I came to see 
 you." She capitulated then, and gave it me. I held 
 the third finger, and put the ring close to it. " With 
 this ring " 
 
 " Stanley ! " and she dragged it away with a sharp 
 tug. I looked at her and laughed. 
 
 " I mean it," I said. " I mean that if I put that ring 
 on, you're never to take it off until " 
 
 "You're behaving abominably to-day," she cried, 
 covering her blushing, happy face with both hands. 
 Her bosom was rising and falling with the quick breath- 
 ing of emotion. 
 
 " Is it abominable to show you how much I love you, 
 Celia? To make it plain to all the world that I mean 
 you and no other to be my wife? To ask you to wear 
 the proof of our love, that all the world may see it?" 
 
 "I'll wear it, Stanley," she said, instantly; and she 
 slid her hand into mine. " I shall be so proud of it." 
 This last in a whisper. 
 
 I slipped the ring on then, held her hand tight in 
 mine, and kissed her again on the lips. 
 
 " You are mine now for always, Celia," I whispered. 
 
 " For always, Stanley." She drew her hand away 
 for a moment to kiss the ring, and then slipped it back
 
 4 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 into mine, nestled to my side, and leant her head on 
 my shoulder ; and we sat in another delicious silence 
 and watched the waves and the sea-birds and the sun- 
 light. 
 
 Presently she sighed deeply, then laughed merrily 
 and sat up. 
 
 " Now there will be a row; but I shall glory in it." 
 
 " I don't think there will," I said quietly. " I 
 thought of that, and I am going to do something. 
 You don't think I should leave you to bear the brunt 
 of it alone ? " 
 
 " Alone ? " she repeated, with a quick question in 
 her voice and look. 
 
 " Alone," I said, enjoying her puzzlement. 
 
 " Why, what can you do ? I should like it. I should, 
 really. I should like to have to bear something for 
 your sake. I'm not a bit afraid of what any one can 
 say or do now. They can't do anything very terrible. 
 And I should always have this as a consolation," and 
 she fingered the ring, with a look of pride on her face. 
 
 " They might take it away from you." 
 
 " Stanley ! " and a light flashed into her eyes, and 
 such indignation, such pride in her new possession, 
 and such defiance of any interference with it, that I 
 was glad I had put the thought into words. " Do you 
 think I would let anyone touch that? "she asked, 
 when I didn't speak. 
 
 " I shouldn't care to be the one to try, Cclia." 
 
 " I should like to see anyone dare." Then, in a 
 lower voice : " It will be my armour against all their 
 attacks." 
 
 " I mean it to be more than armour. It shall be a 
 key."
 
 CELIA 5 
 
 " A key ? To open what ? Oh, I know the gate 
 of a new life," she cried, her momentary perplexity 
 flashing off into a radiant smile. 
 
 " I meant partly that. A key to open the doors of 
 this prison." 
 
 " There can be no prison where I have that and all 
 that it means." 
 
 It was very intoxicating sweetness to hear this, and 
 for a while we lapsed into that strange lovers' bliss 
 which finds its aptest expression in the rhapsodies that 
 are barely intelligible to any ears save those for which 
 they are murmured. Then, after a long interval, I re- 
 turned to the point from which it had started. 
 
 " But I am going to do something, Celia." 
 
 " I wish there were nothing to do but sit and dream," 
 she murmured, and sighed happily. 
 
 " There is, however. We can't hope to beat my 
 uncle without a fight of some sort, I'm afraid. He's 
 not that kind of man." 
 
 " What are you going to do ? " 
 
 " It's nearly time for you to go back to Mrs. Col- 
 lingwood, for one thing for the sun's very nearly 
 setting." 
 
 Celia shivered. " I dread letting you go. But I 
 don't care what she says. Nothing can matter now." 
 
 " I'm going back with you, for one thing," I said, 
 and she started and sat bolt upright, and looked at me, 
 surprise in every feature. 
 
 " You going to face the dragon ?" she cried. 
 
 "Yes, I'm going to face the dragon. I'm going to 
 tell her point-blank that we're engaged, and that, as I 
 shall one day be the baronet, she'd better be careful 
 how she treats my future wife."
 
 6 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 Celia laughed, happily and unrestrainedly. " Let 
 me be there," she said. " Do let me. She won't be 
 frightened ; but she won't know what to say." 
 
 44 Of course you shall." 
 
 44 I suppose it's very absurd, but I have been so long 
 under her rule, that I believe I could be afraid of her, 
 if I could really be afraid of anyone. I I think you'd 
 better not." 
 
 " But how would you account for that ring?" 
 
 41 Tell her you gave it me." 
 
 44 Well, then, of course, I'd much better do that. 
 There's really nothing to stand in the way of our 
 engagement except Sir Henry's stupid prejudice, or 
 whatever it is; and I'm the proper person to tell her, 
 as I don't suppose Sir Henry will." 
 
 " She'll be mad," said Celia, whose long subjection 
 to the " dragon," as she termed the stern woman in 
 whose care my uncle had placed her, had bred an ex- 
 aggerated conception of her authority and power. 
 
 " We must go in a quarter of an hour," I said, glanc- 
 ing at my watch ; and that the time slipped away rap- 
 idly may be imagined. It was a deliciously unlucid 
 interval. 
 
 Then we rose, glanced for the last time seawards, 
 and walked back along the broken path to the gloomy, 
 solitary village about a mile inland where Celia lived. 
 
 44 W T hen I have settled Mrs. Collingwood, I shall 
 tackle Sir Henry at once," I declared. 
 
 " I should like to be with you then, too, Stanley." 
 
 44 There will be no fun in that interview," I said, 
 drily. " He is not exactly the kind of man to get much 
 fan out of ; and I know he'll be as unpleasant as he 
 can."
 
 CELIA 7 
 
 " I am an awful lot of trouble," she said whimsically. 
 
 " The more for us to laugh at when it's all over." 
 
 " I hope it will be got over. But Sir Henry seems 
 a hard man, although he has done so much for me. I 
 owe everything to him." 
 
 " And he has an awkward habit of requiring payment 
 for any debts in full and at the most inopportune time." 
 I did not like my uncle. 
 
 " Can he do anything to you to stop this ? " asked 
 Celia, with unusual nervousness. " I am not afraid of 
 him, but if he could I should be, I think." 
 
 " No, he can't do much. He can't keep me out of 
 the title or the entailed estates. He could leave his 
 private fortune to somebody else, of course ; and I 
 should be rather glad if he did. I shouldn't be very 
 well off for a time I'm not now. But that's all and 
 it's not much." I laughed with the contempt of healthy 
 youth for mere money matters ; and Celia joined in the 
 laugh when I added : " Nothing can keep me from 
 you." 
 
 By this time we had reached the village, and. were 
 near the house. As we walked up the narrow front 
 path to the door, Celia whispered that the dragon was 
 peeping at us from behind the bedroom curtains. 
 
 " If it weren't that other eyes may be watching us, 
 I'd kiss you here in full view of her, Celia, just for mere 
 devilment," I said, and it made her laugh, as I in- 
 tended. 
 
 I gave my card to the servant, and said that I par- 
 ticularly wished to see Mrs. Collingwood at once. We 
 went into the severely furnished drawing-room, and, 
 for all her courage, Celia was looking nervous. The 
 environment affected her.
 
 8 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 The rustle of a stiff, black silk dress on the stairway 
 and across the hall warned us of the enemy's approach ; 
 and purposely I drew Celia to the window, pointed to 
 some object outside and said something to make her 
 laugh. In the middle of the laugh Mrs. Collingwood 
 a tall, bony, hard-featured woman entered. She 
 paused in the doorway, frowned upon Celia, and then, 
 with a very slight and ceremonious bow over my card, 
 which she held in her hand, looked at me. 
 
 " Ah, Mrs. Collingwood, how do you do ? " I said, 
 putting an unusual and unnecessary warmth into my 
 manner as I hastened across the room and held out my 
 hand. She regarded me sternly, and held out two 
 fingers ; but I.captured the whole hand and shook it, 
 while I smiled into her face. " I have something very 
 particular to say to you ; but I shan't detain you 
 long." 
 
 She advanced in her stiff, stately fashion to a chair, 
 and was in the act of sitting down, when she caught 
 sight of the ring which Celia was purposely displaying. 
 
 " What does that mean, Celia ? " she demanded, in a 
 quite angry tone, as though my love were a child and 
 had been detected in some wilful mischief and wrong- 
 doing. 
 
 " Ah, I'm glad you've seen it," I said, readily, in a 
 chatty voice. " I hope you'll like it. Celia, let Mrs. 
 Collingwood examine it closely. It's the engagement 
 ring I've just given Celia. I chose diamonds 
 
 "Take it off at once, Celia. How dare you wear it 
 in my presence ?" broke in the dragon, in a tone of 
 such indignation and command that I was very glad I 
 had come to bring the news myself. 
 
 " My dear Mrs. Collingwood, I assure you that's quite
 
 CELIA 9 
 
 impossible. Please listen to me. Celia is going to be 
 my wife. I love her, and she loves me. You have 
 been young yourself, and will understand these things. 
 Well, as we are engaged, I think it best that Celia 
 should have the usual token of an engagement ; and, of 
 course, she will wear it always." 
 
 " I shall write at once to Sir Henry Meredith, and 
 tell him everything, and that you have been down here 
 and conspired together to meet in this clandestine and 
 secret w T ay, hoodwinking me in the most deceitful man- 
 ner in the world. It is most disgraceful, most deceit- 
 ful, most shameful." 
 
 " Excuse me, madam, but I cannot permit you to 
 apply such terms to my conduct, nor will I hear them 
 applied to Celia. Apparently you forget," I said, put- 
 ting as much authority into my tone and manner as I 
 could, " that after Sir Henry, I shall be the next bar- 
 onet ; that I have a perfect right to choose my own 
 wife, that Celia has an equal right to consent to marry 
 me." 
 
 " Sir Henry Meredith will never consent ; and I 
 repeat " 
 
 " Sir Henry can't help himself," I broke in, not 
 wishing to hear any more of her adjectives ; " and, as 
 you have spoken so frankly, be good enough to hear 
 me in my turn. I am going straight from here to my 
 uncle myself to tell him what I have told you. If 
 he attempts any unreasonable objection, I shall simply 
 disregard it ; and if Celia writes to me that any kind of 
 restraint or unpleasantness is attempted here in conse- 
 quence of this, I shall make arrangements for her to 
 be removed from your care to that of my aunt and 
 sister."
 
 io FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 There was sufficient determination in my manner to 
 convince her that I was thoroughly in earnest, and she 
 made no reply. Then Celia did a clever and character- 
 istic thing. She knelt down by the old lady's lap, took 
 her hand and said gently : 
 
 " You will not be sorry because I am so happy, Mrs. 
 Collingwood ? " 
 
 But the feeling that she had been outwitted hard- 
 ened her. 
 
 " It is nothing to do with me. You have deceived 
 me, Celia. I shall write to Sir Henry. You ought 
 never to have met Mr. Meredith without my knowl- 
 edge. You both know what strict injunctions Sir 
 Henry gave me not to allow you to meet." 
 
 " If I could not see Celia at your house because of 
 my uncle's absurd prejudices, how was I to see her, 
 Mrs. Collingwood ? " I asked. " I should have been 
 only too eager to come here to see her. But, in any 
 case, the matter is settled, and no questions of where 
 and when and how we ought or ought not to have met 
 can unsettle it. That is what I came to tell you, and 
 what I am going to tell my uncle." 
 
 But she would not be appeased. " I shall write to 
 Sir Henry," was ail she would say. 
 
 " As you will ; only please remember what I have 
 said about my aunt and sister, and that I am quite in 
 earnest. Good-afternoon. Celia, will you walk with 
 me a little way ? " and before the dragon could recover 
 from her astonishment at this new development, Celia 
 and I were out of the house again, to say our good- 
 bye in private.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 SIR HENRY'S REASONS 
 
 ALTHOUGH I was thoroughly in earnest in my de- 
 termination to have my engagement to Celia an ac- 
 knowledged fact and had taken the ring down as the 
 result of a carefully-considered plan of campaign, and 
 further, had spoken so resolutely to her of my inten- 
 tion to set my uncle at defiance, I was not without mis- 
 givings at the thought of my coming interview with 
 him as the train carried me back to London. 
 
 I disliked my uncle, and the feeling was mutual. 
 My father's death, some ten years before, had left him 
 my guardian, and he had treated my sisters and my- 
 self with neglect and harshness. He was not only a 
 severe man, but an unjust one, and when I was old 
 enough to understand things, I knew that his life was 
 about as evil, self-indulgent, dissipated, and wrong go- 
 ing as it could possibly be. 
 
 There was, moreover, some kind of mystery attach- 
 ing to it which I could not solve. He would disappear 
 for months at a time, going no one knew whither, and 
 doing no one knew what, except, perhaps, his German 
 valet and confidential man a fellow named Schwartz, 
 whom I detested as cordially as I distrusted. A sly, 
 unctuous man, with a servile manner, who could put 
 insolence even into the waggle of an eyelash. I had 
 thrashed him once when I \vas about eighteen, for
 
 12 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 insolence to my sister, on one of our rare and exceed- 
 ingly unpleasant visits to my uncle's country house ; 
 and I knew that he bore me a grudge, which he would 
 repay if chance ever gave him the opportunity. 
 
 " My uncle and I rarely met without quarrelling, 
 and I knew that he would make this coming interview 
 as unpleasant as he could. And his capacity in that 
 respect was very considerable ; for, with all his vices, 
 no one denied his cleverness." 
 
 Who Celia was, and why he had brought her up, 
 none of us knew. He had certainly taken great care 
 in her education. I had asked him about her, but he 
 always told me to hold my tongue ; and when he had 
 learned once that I had seen her without his knowl- 
 edge, he flew into a great passion, and ordered me 
 never to dare to do such a thing again. More than 
 that, he hurried her and the dragon away, first to the 
 Continent, and then, on their return, to an out-of-the- 
 way place in England, where I should never have found 
 her, had she not written secretly to my sister to de- 
 scribe her troubles. 
 
 His antagonism in this matter baffled me completely. 
 There was no possible reason that I could see why 
 Celia and I should be separated in this way ; and, with 
 my staunch little sister's help, I had systematically 
 evaded his precautions, and outwitted him, and had 
 managed to see her. 
 
 It was late when I reached London, but I drove at 
 once to his house, resolved to see him before any letter 
 could reach him from Mrs. Collingwood. 
 
 His creature, Schw r artz, opened the door to me. 
 
 " I want to see my uncle at once," I said. 
 
 " I am afraid he is not at home, Mr. Stanley. If
 
 SIR HENRY'S REASONS 13 
 
 you will step into the dining-room, I will go and see," 
 he answered, with his customary half-deferential, half- 
 furtive air. 
 
 " I'll go and see for myself," I answered, curtly. I 
 did not mean to give my uncle the chance of denying 
 himself, and I knew I should find him in what he called 
 his sanctum. 
 
 " It is as much as my place is worth to permit you 
 to go in unannounced," said the fellow, putting him- 
 self in my way. 
 
 " Very well, then ; come and announce me," I said, 
 as I pushed my way past him and went towards the 
 room. My height was useful to me then. I was close 
 on six feet, broad, and very tough, and he was a shrink- 
 ing creature, scarcely above my shoulder. He would 
 have stopped me, had he dared ; but he contented him- 
 self with another protest, which I heeded as little as 
 the first. I knew, by the way he hurried to the 
 room, that I had guessed my uncle's whereabouts cor- 
 rectly. 
 
 "Will you wait, sir, while I prepare Sir Henry?" 
 
 He put an emphasis on the word prepare, which 
 made me look at him. He winced under the glance, 
 and opened the door without any more nonsense. 
 
 My uncle was sitting smoking and turning over some 
 papers as I entered ; and, at the mention of my name, 
 looked around angrily at being disturbed. 
 
 " Tell him I can't see him," he said, as though he 
 had not already seen me. 
 
 " Isn't that a little superfluous, uncle, as I am 
 already here? " and without more ado, I went to him 
 and held out my hand. " I want to speak to you 
 particularly."
 
 I 4 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Can't you write it ? I'm very comfortable and don't 
 want to be troubled. Besides, I've something import- 
 ant to think about." 
 
 He did not offer to take my hand, nor did he raise 
 his eyes from the letter he was reading a discourag- 
 ing beginning. However, I drew up an easy-chair on 
 the other side of the fireplace, threw myself into it, 
 and answered cheerfully : 
 
 " I won't interrupt you." I lighted a cigar, and sat 
 waiting for him to finish reading his papers. The 
 silence lasted for nearly half an hour, during which he 
 behaved precisely as if he had been alone in the room, 
 not glancing once in my direction. But if he could be 
 obstinate, so could I, and I would have waited not 
 only half an hour, but half a week, if necessary, to tire 
 him out of his own tactics. 
 
 I began at last to admire his excellent acting, and I 
 watched him closely until he pretended to have finished, 
 packed the papers up neatly, locked them away in a 
 drawer, and, putting his keys in his pocket, got up as 
 if to leave the room. To do this, he had to pass be- 
 tween me and the table, and I drew my chair across 
 the space quietly, and blocked his path. 
 
 He stopped, looked down at me, and said : 
 
 " You're an impudent young beggar ! What do you 
 want with me?" 
 
 " If you've finished that other business, I wish to 
 talk to you about mine. But I'm in no sort of hurry." 
 
 He laughed a short, dry laugh, with no merriment 
 in it, and, sitting down again in his chair, took a cigar, 
 and said : 
 
 " If you were always as impudent, I should like you 
 better. What is it you want ? Money? "
 
 SIR HENRY'S REASONS 15 
 
 " No " I shook my head " I want to speak to you 
 about something quite different." 
 
 " Well, what is it ? What is it ? " 
 
 " I've just come up from Moreby. I have been 
 down to see Celia, to ask her to marry me. We are 
 engaged to be married, and I have given her an en- 
 gagement ring." 
 
 I looked for a violent outburst at this ; but nothing 
 of the sort came. Instead, he looked at me with cyni- 
 cal coolness, as though I were a particularly pitiable 
 specimen of a fool, nodded his head, and went on smok- 
 ing, and then made as if he were quite willing to hear 
 more. A most aggravating manner. 
 
 "Well?" he said, when I was silent. 
 
 " I wished to tell you at once." 
 
 "Nothing else to say?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Very well. Good-night." His manner was in- 
 scrutable. 
 
 " Have you nothing to say at the news ?" I asked. 
 
 " Oh, do you want my opinion ? " 
 
 " I hope you will have no objection," I answered, 
 beginning to feel very uncomfortable at his strange 
 attitude. 
 
 " Why do you hope that ? Are you prepared to 
 heed it ? I know the unreasonableness of the average 
 idiot who fancies himself in love." 
 
 " I would rather marry with your consent than with- 
 out it, and, of course, Celia herself is anxious to do 
 what you wish." 
 
 " When are you going to be married ? " he asked, in 
 the casual tone in which he might have asked about a 
 perfect stranger. I began to feel my blood warming
 
 16 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 under what I knew he intended me to regard as his 
 contemptuous indifference to me and my plans. 
 
 " Of course, that's not settled yet," I said. 
 
 " Oh, well, that's all right. You'll make a very 
 striking couple. You're a tall fine fellow, and Celia's 
 certainly pretty. A pretty pair of turtle doves." His 
 sneer and the dry little snort of a laugh with which he 
 pointed it, brought a flush to my cheek. He saw it, 
 but pretended to see nothing. " Oh, by the way, you 
 forgot to drop in and give me a hint of what you meant 
 to do ? How was that ? " 
 
 " I thought you would have done your best to pre- 
 vent my seeing Celia in that case," I answered, 
 bluntly. 
 
 " Very creditable to your perspicacity. But all the 
 same, of all the blundering young fools that ever made 
 a deliberate ass of himself and ruined a girl's life, you 
 are the biggest and the blindest." 
 
 He spoke in just the even tone in which he might 
 have uttered a formal congratulation. Still, open abuse 
 from him was less galling than his tone of sneering 
 indifference, and less dangerous. 
 
 " I don't profess to understand you, although that 
 remark is much more in character than your previous 
 ones. You are the one man I allow to insult me with 
 impunity. But I don't want to hear any more," and I 
 got up to go. I had done my errand. Had told him 
 my news, and he knew I was in earnest. 
 
 " Yes ; I suppose you can't very well thrash me," he 
 said. " But you'd better not go yet. You've done 
 Celia enough harm already, and though I shouldn't 
 mind letting you ruin yourself, I don't want her life 
 wrecked in the process. Of course, this thing can't go
 
 SIR HENRY'S REASONS 17 
 
 any further. Sit down. Take another cigar. You'll 
 need it, probably, to settle your nerves." 
 
 " I don't understand what you mean about Celia's 
 life being wrecked by marrying me," I said. He didn't 
 answer directly, and in the silence I sat down again 
 and lit a cigar. I was now more uneasy than ever. 
 He stared into the fire very thoughtfully. " What do 
 you mean?" I asked, when the pause had lasted some 
 minutes. 
 
 The question seemed to rouse him from a reverie, 
 for he started and his face lost its close, tense expres- 
 sion. 
 
 " Did it never occur to you to ask yourself whether 
 I could not have a good reason for keeping you and 
 Celia apart ? Or again, have you had no curiosity 
 as to who she is? You're one of those thoughtless, 
 dogged young fools who think everything's right if 
 they are only happy but you must have had some 
 sort of intelligent interest in the matter." 
 
 " I set it down to your prejudice against me." 
 
 He laughed sneeringly again. 
 
 " Ah, self again. Everything that suits you is right ; 
 everything that doesn't is motived by spite. When 
 are you going to learn that the world has an even more 
 important axis to run on than you and your likes and 
 dislikes ? " 
 
 " What was your reason then ? " I asked, passing by 
 his taunt. 
 
 " Mainly that you're absolutely impossible as a hus- 
 band for Celia. Yes, even you, Stanley Meredith, and 
 future baronet." 
 
 " Of course you'll give me the reasons for this im- 
 possibility."
 
 i8 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Of course you ought to have come for them be- 
 fore you did this blundering mischief," he retorted 
 angrily. 
 
 " I don't see yet that I have done any mischief. 
 Celia loves me even as I love her." 
 
 " And because two turtle doves coo in the same key 
 the world may go hang. Oh, the unselfishness of this 
 true love ! " and he threw up his hands in mockery. 
 " Well, and who do you suppose Celia is?" He leant 
 forward and looked at me sharply. 
 
 " I don't know, and for that matter don't care. To 
 me she is Celia." 
 
 " Very Arcadian, no doubt. But Arcadia isn't the 
 world we live in. Don't it seem odd to you that, as I'm 
 not exactly a man with any deep mines of affection in 
 my nature, I should have taken all this care about her 
 and spent all this money on her education." 
 
 "You may not always have been so cynically indif- 
 ferent to affection. Mines are emptied by sudden ex- 
 plosions as well as worked out. You don't volunteer 
 much about your past." 
 
 " By Heaven, you're not such a hopeless fool after 
 all ! " he exclaimed with energy. " You've hit it very 
 nearly. Celia is a survival of my past." 
 
 I looked at him quickly and started as a thought 
 occurred to me. He read it, laughed, and shook his 
 head. " No. She's not my child. If she was you 
 should marry her." 
 
 " Who is she then ? " I asked, breathing a sigh of 
 relief. He pursed his lips, set his features, and frowned 
 heavily as he looked into the fire. 
 
 " I'm going to tell you what only one other soul on 
 earth knows that's Schwartz. Celia is an impossible
 
 SIR HENRY'S REASONS 19 
 
 wife for you, because in her own right she stands next 
 but one in direct succession to the Throne of the 
 Duchy of Saxe-Lippe, and the life between her and the 
 succession is only that of a lad little more than a luna- 
 tic in mind, and so feeble and frail in body that any 
 day may see the road clear for her. Now do you un- 
 derstand what a fool you've made of yourself, and 
 what a wrong you've done her?" 
 
 I listened dumfounded in amazement and conster- 
 nation. 
 
 " If you were to marry her and her brother were to 
 die, and she were called to the throne, your marriage 
 would be declared a morganatic one, and would be 
 set aside in order that she might be given to some 
 other man with proper blood in his veins to rear Grand 
 Dukes." He said this with such gloating cruelty that 
 all my senses were impulsed with hate of him, and my 
 hands clenched and my teeth set in impotent rebellion 
 against his words. 
 
 " Nor is that all. You would interfere. Don't blame 
 me. Because of the circumstances under which Celia 
 came into my care, I have been a proscribed man with a 
 price on my head, in that most deadly form of pro- 
 scription a heavy reward for the man whose bullet or 
 knife could reach my heart. By luck I was able to 
 disappear at the time, by luck again your uncle's death 
 gave me the baronetcy, and no one looked for the 
 quondam colonel of the German Lancers in the prosaic 
 person of an English baronet. But at any moment 
 the secret may be known and the end may come. That 
 danger passes to anyone \vho takes Celia from her 
 seclusion with another, and no less a one, believe me 
 the implacable hatred of the family who look to the
 
 20 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 Grand Duke's present line being extinguished with the 
 feeble idiot, Celia's brother, Constans." 
 
 He paused, glanced at me, and laughed. 
 
 "This sounds high falutin' to you, I suppose; pre- 
 posterous in this dull, ugly, foggy, prosaic London. 
 See here, this will tell you what I, cynically indifferent 
 to everything as you deem me, think," and, putting 
 his waistcoat and shirt aside, he showed me a shirt of 
 mail that he was wearing. " I have worn one for 
 twenty years." 
 
 I said nothing. My sudden wonderment bereft me 
 of speech. He stood up and shook his finger warn- 
 ingly at me. 
 
 " You would meddle," he repeated. " I warned you. 
 I tried to keep you apart from Celia and all this mess 
 of intrigue and conspiracy. You would plunge in, and 
 you must take the consequences. May they make you 
 no worse a cynic than they have me. Go away now. 
 Come to-morrow morning and you shall know every- 
 thing. If you think you can take better care of Celia 
 than I can, you shall try your hand." 
 
 I got up without a word other than a hastily- 
 mumbled good-night, and stumbled out of the room 
 and the house, mentally blinded with what I had heard. 
 I drove home in the same dull stupor and lay tossing 
 through the night seeking to find a clearance of the 
 chaotic tangle of my thoughts, till I fell asleep, only 
 to be awakened in the grey light of the dawn by a 
 loud summons on my bedroom door. 
 
 I jumped up and opened it to find Schwartz and my 
 man Wilson there. 
 
 " If you please, Mr. Stanley, Sir Henry has been 
 found dying; will you come at once to the house ?"
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 WAS IT MURDER? 
 
 T HURRIED on my clothes, and in a few minutes was 
 in a cab driving furiously to my uncle's. 
 
 " Tell me all you know," I said to Schwartz. " Has 
 he been taken suddenly ill, or what ? " 
 
 " I do not know precisely, sir. I sleep next my 
 master, and, as I always did in the night, I got up and 
 went to him. To my consternation I found him lying 
 on the bed with his clothes on in a state of collapse. 
 ' I'm done for, Schwartz,' he said. ' Fetch my nephew 
 at once. Go ! ' I insisted upon rousing the other 
 servants, sent for Dr. Marston, and then came for you." 
 
 " What is the cause of it ? " 
 
 " I know nothing, sir." 
 
 " And suspect nothing? Make no guess?" 
 
 " I know nothing, sir," he repeated, and I questioned 
 him no more. 
 
 I may say at once the mystery of my uncle's death 
 was never cleared up. To the doctor he gave no ex- 
 planation whatever except that he had been taken ill 
 and felt a pain in his heart. He had before been 
 treated for heart disease, and the doctor was satisfied 
 apparently that that was all the matter. 
 
 To me, however, my uncle told a very different story, 
 and what his motive may have been I cannot divine. 
 It may all have been an hallucination ; or it may have 
 been that, feeling himself at the point of death, he 
 
 21
 
 22 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 wished to produce a startling impression upon me to 
 confirm the extraordinary story which he had outlined 
 to me on the previous evening, and the further details 
 of which I was to learn from his papers ; or, on the 
 other hand, all that he said may have been true. Wild, 
 high-strung, improbable and far-fetched as it sounded, 
 I am inclined to believe that he told me only what had 
 occurred, and that his death was due to murder and 
 not to natural causes. There was one curious item in 
 confirmation which made a great impression upon me. 
 A servant who had been recently taken into service 
 had disappeared on the following morning, and in 
 her room was found a pair of peculiarly-shaped forcep- 
 pliers. 
 
 Let me give the events in due sequence, however. 
 
 When I reached my uncle's room the doctor had 
 finished with him, and Sir Henry, who had been wait- 
 ing eagerly for my arrival, at once motioned me to the 
 bedside. 
 
 " Pack 'em all off," he said, speaking slowly and 
 with great difficulty ; and I cleared the room promptly. 
 
 " I'm done for. Marston says heart. Let that be 
 the public reason. No one need know the truth but 
 you." The effort to speak exhausted him greatly, and 
 there were long gaps between his words, many of which 
 only came after much gasping and striving. 
 
 " Hadn't you better lie quiet ? You will only ex- 
 haust yourself." 
 
 His white face gathered in a frown at this, and his 
 lips muttered something I could not catch. It would 
 not have surprised me, even at such a moment, to hear 
 an oath. He looked it. 
 
 " Listen. They found me. I woke up. Two men
 
 WAS IT MURDER? 23 
 
 were in my room. They told me their errand first, 
 threatened to shoot me, and then forced something 
 down my throat poison. I didn't tell. But you 
 must look out." 
 
 I listened to the incoherent, rambling, impossible 
 tale with astonishment and incredulity, and I suppose 
 he saw I did not credit it, although I said, quietly : 
 
 " It is very terrible. It must be looked into. But 
 if you try and rest quietly it'll be much the best thing. 
 Quiet is what you want." 
 
 My impression was that he had suddenly gone clean 
 out of his mind. 
 
 His irritation with me at this seemed to give him 
 strength, for he surprised me with the vigour of his 
 next words : 
 
 " You're a fool, Stanley. What I say is true," and 
 then the spasm of strength passed, and he lay quite 
 still and white on the bed. 
 
 I waited some time in silence when, thinking the 
 doctor should be in attendance, I bent over and asked 
 him : 
 
 " Have you anything else to say to me ?" 
 
 " Remember about Celia. They are looking for her. 
 Be careful. Her papers and fortune at bank. You'll 
 be her guardian. Look out for for Kronheims " 
 
 At that point he fainted and I called in the doctor 
 to restore him. 
 
 The fact that he was dying affected me, and in many 
 respects softened me towards him. I would have done 
 anything in my power to alleviate his sufferings and 
 ease his last hours ; but my prevailing thought was 
 that his mind had given way under some strain or 
 other, and that it would be better for him to die than
 
 24 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 to live on a madman. I could not bring myself to feel 
 any deep grief at his death, and it was thus with some- 
 thing of surprise that I saw his servant, Schwartz, man- 
 ifestly overcome with a passion of sorrow. 
 
 My uncle did not rally from the fainting fit, and in 
 less than an hour from the time of my entering the 
 house he was dead. 
 
 Although I did not at the first attach any importance 
 to the extraordinary statement he had made about his 
 having been poisoned secretly, I questioned Schwartz 
 as soon as he had sufficiently recovered from his pros- 
 tration. 
 
 " When you went to my uncle in the night, did you 
 see anyone in the room or any signs of anyone having 
 been there ?" 
 
 He looked much surprised at the question. 
 
 " No, Sir Stanley," he answered, readily. " My 
 room, as you know, adjoins his, with a double door 
 between. The outer door of my room and that of his 
 room were always locked by his orders, but the doors 
 of communication were never locked." 
 
 " Did you hear, and would you have heard anyone 
 in his room?" 
 
 " Not unless there was some rather loud noise made, 
 sir. I heard nothing until I was going in. It was my 
 invariable practice to go into the room at least once in 
 a night." 
 
 " Did he say anything to you about anyone having 
 been in his room ? " 
 
 " No, sir, but I seemed to read it in his face, and 
 believed it for a moment until I found the outer door 
 of his room locked with the key inside. I knew then 
 it was impossible."
 
 25 
 
 " You were deeply in his confidence, Schwartz. Had 
 he any enemies ? " 
 
 " He is dead, sir, and I don't know whether he would 
 have wished me to speak of such things." 
 
 " He had told me something of the old Saxe-Lippe 
 business. Could it be possible that anyone would 
 make an attempt upon his life for any reasons con- 
 nected with that ? " 
 
 " He lived in constant expectation of it, sir. We 
 were always on our guard, always prepared against 
 some form of attack." 
 
 " And the cause of this ? " 
 
 " Are matters that he never permitted me to discuss, 
 sir." 
 
 For a moment I considered whether to tell the man 
 my uncle's extraordinary story of the secret attack 
 upon him, but I reflected it could do no good. He, like 
 the doctor, was convinced that death was due to heart 
 failure. Why start a scandal which seemed to have its 
 only origin in my uncle's mental failure and the ground 
 for which appeared to be effectually disposed of by the 
 locked door with the key inside the room ? 
 
 But when I was alone I made a point of examining 
 the key closely. I knew of the burglar's trick of turn- 
 ing a key from* the outside by using a particularly 
 powerful pair of forceps to grip the small end of the 
 key which protrudes through the lock. I found on it 
 certain marks just at the spot which might have been 
 caused by such use, and the discovery made me 
 thoughtful. 
 
 In the morning when I heard of the departure of 
 one of the servants I made a point of personally ex- 
 amining her room. Then it was that I found the pliers
 
 26 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 and made a little experiment. I carried them to my 
 uncle's door, and, having locked it, tried if the pliers 
 were strong enough to turn the key from the outside. 
 I did it without any difficulty, and a very short exam- 
 ination showed me that the lock had been most care- 
 fully oiled in order to admit of its turning smoothly 
 and readily. 
 
 It was now quite clear that if anyone had really been 
 minded to get into my uncle's room and out again, 
 locking the door securely after them, here were the 
 means ready to hand. It might not be more than a 
 coincidence ; but, on the other hand, it might ; and, 
 with this in my mind I sent for the police, told them 
 that the servant who had left hurriedly had committed 
 a theft of some particular valuables, and desired them 
 to raise the hue and cry everywhere for her. At the 
 same time I put private inquiry agents on her track 
 and spent much money in the search. 
 
 But it was all to no purpose. The woman vanished 
 as completely as though she had been a wraith ; and 
 thus, although nothing was ever proved, or even prov- 
 able, I could never think of my uncle's death as other 
 than a baffling mystery. 
 
 It had one marked effect upon me. I was young, 
 strong, confident and self-reliant; able to see very 
 clearly any end I desired to gain, and quick and reso- 
 lute, not to say obstinate, in getting to it by my own 
 way. But the completeness with which this stroke had 
 been dealt, supposing my uncle's story to have been 
 true, forced home upon me a conviction of secret dan- 
 gers and undercurrent sources of violence and conspir- 
 acy which I should have dismissed with a jeer as 
 impossible a few hours before. The thought of that
 
 WAS IT MURDER? 27 
 
 coat of mail worn for twenty years under the frock coat 
 of irreproachable fashion and cut, and the weird story 
 whispered between the laboured gasps of the fast dying 
 man, were enough in the future to give me a chill and 
 to set me looking for the chief dangers anywhere but 
 on the surface. 
 
 I found my uncle's affairs in complete confusion. 
 He had left no will, and his papers were in absolute 
 disorder. But this did not trouble me, as I left every- 
 thing for the lawyers to settle. But what did trouble 
 me greatly was the problem of Celia's affairs. 
 
 At the bank I found the papers which my uncle had 
 mentioned, together with instructions for them to be 
 given to me ; and I set to work on them at once. They 
 told me an extraordinary story. 
 
 They were all the papers necessary to prove her 
 parentage. She was unquestionably the daughter of 
 the reigning Grand Duke Constans of Saxe-Lippe 
 and of his wife, the Duchess Marie ; and with the 
 proofs of this were a number of documents of a private 
 character, forming a chain of confirmatory testimony. 
 There were, further, between twenty and thirty photo- 
 graphs of Celia taken at various ages from babyhood 
 up to within the last few months, and I saw at once 
 that my uncle had hit upon this unusual but shrewd 
 method of establishing her identity beyond question, 
 when and if the need should arise. 
 
 In addition there were letters from her mother, the 
 Grand Duchess, to my uncle, showing that it was she 
 who gave Celia to his charge ; and through them and 
 a statement in my uncle's handwriting, I came upon 
 the secret history of an intrigue which was at the bot- 
 tom of the whole extraordinary case. The part which
 
 28 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 he had played in it occasioned me more surprise than 
 I can describe. 
 
 I had known him always, as I have before said, for 
 a man utterly self-indulgent, cynical and wrong-living ; 
 and yet these letters showed him to me as the one 
 right-thinking, level-headed character in all the mess 
 of intrigue, wrongful love and crime. He had fought 
 with all his power and strength to protect the Duchess, 
 and to keep her from the consequences of her wild, 
 wilful nature ; and when he had failed, had taken upon 
 himself the whole blame that should have fallen upon 
 another man, her lover, and had shattered his career 
 and placed his very life in jeopardy to save her. 
 
 I need give no more details of the affair than will 
 suffice to make clear its effects upon my own life and 
 Celia's. The Princess Marie was deeply in love when, 
 at the age of eighteen, she was forced to marry the 
 Grand Duke Karl, nearly thirty years older than her- 
 self, a morose, stern, harsh tyrant, without an atom of 
 sympathy for any one of her girlish tastes, and yet so 
 much in love with her beauty that he was consumed 
 by the maddest jealousy of any man on whom she 
 ever chanced to look. He shut her up in his gloomy 
 palace, vetoed the slightest attempt at gaiety, surrounded 
 her with a lot of psalm-singing Lutheran parsons and 
 soured old women, and made her life one long round 
 of monotonous misery. 
 
 Driven in upon herself in this way her neurotic tem- 
 perament sought relief in morphia, with most disas- 
 trous results. The habit became a curse, and when 
 her first child was born, the doctors, in hope of a cure, 
 ordered her change of scene and circumstances. This 
 checked her mania, but unfortunately produced such a
 
 WAS IT MURDER? 29 
 
 feverish longing for excitement that she broke through 
 all the restraints of Court life and began to indulge in 
 wild, but generally secret, dissipation. 
 
 At this point my uncle intervened. He was at the 
 time high in the confidence of the Grand Duke himself, 
 and was entrusted with the task of effecting a reconcil- 
 iation. He soon found that the Duchess was on the 
 very brink of ruin. 
 
 She was in touch with her old lover, was endeavour- 
 ing to bring him to the capital, Crudenstadt, and was 
 hopelessly involved in the coils of her passion. My 
 uncle succeeded in warding off the crisis for some time, 
 until the second child was born, Celia. But, unhap- 
 pily, the Grand Duke's jealousy then fastened upon 
 him, with the terrible result that the Duke charged 
 him with having an intrigue with the Duchess, sought 
 to have him assassinated, and declared that Celia was 
 not his child but my uncle's. To cover her real lover, 
 the Duchess only laughingly and partially denied the 
 truth of the charge, and the matter stood thus when 
 an event occurred which provoked a tragic crisis. 
 
 My uncle was in the act of flying the country. He 
 had agreed with the Duchess to take Celia away with 
 him, and she had placed a considerable fortune in his 
 hands for Celia. At that juncture the Duchess's real 
 lover was killed in a duel, and the news being told her 
 suddenly, the poor girl she was then barely one-and- 
 twenty lost her reason under the shock. Her mad- 
 ness took the form of refusing to'believe that her lover 
 was dead ; but her poor jangled brain was possessed 
 by the craze that my uncle was he, while the chance 
 similarity of their Christian names gave an apparently 
 complete confirmation of the Grand Duke's madly
 
 3 o FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 jealous blunder. The unfortunate girl filled the air 
 with her cries for her lover, and in this miserable con- 
 dition was put under restraint. 
 
 My uncle fled taking Celia with him, and though 
 absolutely innocent of a single harmful thought to- 
 wards her and as loyal and honourable as a man could 
 be, both to her and the Grand Duke, he was every- 
 where accepted as guilty, and drew upon himself, not 
 only the hot anger of the Duke and those about him, 
 but also the vengeance of the members of the Duch- 
 ess's family who vowed to take his life as that of her 
 betrayer. 
 
 The feud had never died out. Among my uncle's 
 papers the only ones which he had kept with any sys- 
 tem and regularity he had included several proofs 
 that the most exhaustive efforts had been made to 
 trace him, and that on the occasion of secret visits to 
 Saxe-Lippe, two attempts had been made upon his life. 
 The second of these had been made within the past 
 few months, in Crudenstadt, where he had been 
 recognised. 
 
 I was thus left to speculate whether, after all, his 
 strange story to me on his death-bed was true, and that 
 these sleuth hound enemies had tracked him at last, 
 or whether that idea was no more than the fancy of a 
 brain and nerves worn out at length by that relentless 
 fight against the fear of assassination. 
 
 I could not determine it. But what might it not 
 mean to Celia? The thought disturbed and harassed 
 me sorely. 
 
 What ought I to do in her interest ?
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE FIRST MOVE 
 
 MY uncle's death produced one noteworthy change 
 in me in regard to Celia. While he lived and had 
 sought to keep me from her I had rebelled heart and 
 soul against his interference, Jiad delighted in using 
 every means in rny power to thwart him, and had 
 longed for the moment to come when I could marry 
 her. 
 
 But now I repented my haste and contumacy. The 
 biting sneers with which he had shown me the effects 
 of my rashness and secrecy rang like a warning bell in 
 my ears, and I was torn with perplexity and harassed 
 by regret. 
 
 What I had regarded as the only obstacle to our 
 love was removed by death, but the obstacles between 
 us were greater and vastly more real than ever. My 
 clearer knowledge and authority showed me the diffi- 
 culties, and my freedom riveted the fetters upon my 
 action more firmly than ever. The mantle of responsi- 
 bility had fallen on my shoulders, and I found it heavy 
 and cumbersome enough to impede me at every 
 step. 
 
 The one great act of my uncle's life had resulted in 
 his unmerited ruin and overthrow, and had involved 
 a life of threatening peril, until in his revolt against
 
 32 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 the sheer injustice of it he had developed into a cynic 
 and a rout. So this great love on which I had fixed 
 the hopes of my life threatened an issue to the full as 
 sad and perilous for both Celia and me. 
 
 Look at the case as I would, with all the infatuated 
 casuistry and special pleading of a lover, I could not 
 bring myself to decide or to believe that we could 
 marry. Not, at any rate until she knew everything 
 and until we both knew more of how the matters of her 
 destiny as a possible ruler of the Saxe-Lippe Duchy 
 would shape themselves. 
 
 I did not work my way laboriously and painfully 
 to this conclusion without estimating carefully the 
 chances of deliberately destroying all the evidence of 
 Celia's history and letting the secret of her identity 
 die with my uncle. But to this there was one fatal 
 obstacle. 
 
 My uncle's man, Schwartz, knew all the facts about 
 Celia's infancy, and knew also Celia herself. 
 
 I sent for him a day or two after my uncle's funeral 
 to question him. 
 
 "You are aware, Schwartz, that my uncle has left 
 no will," I said, " and we can find nowhere among his 
 papers any mention of his wishes concerning either 
 family, friends, or servants. I desire, however, to try 
 and interpret his wishes so far as I can. What are your 
 plans ? Do you wish to remain in my service or have 
 you other intentions?" 
 
 " I have scarcely had time to think, Sir Stanley. 
 The death of my dear master is such a blow to me. 
 By his generosity I have enough to make me independ- 
 ent for my life, if need be, but I would like to devote 
 myself to furthering his plan."
 
 THE FIRST MOVE 33 
 
 I did not like the ring of this at all, and his tone 
 suggested more than the words. 
 
 " And what does that mean in plain terms ? " I asked. 
 
 " His great object, Sir Stanley, was to clear himself 
 in the eyes of his old master, the Grand Duke of Saxe- 
 Lippe, to see Miss Celia acknowledged as the rightful 
 daughter of the Duke and Duchess, and, considering 
 the weak health of her brother, probably succeeding to 
 the throne. Anything that interfered with that, sir, 
 always met with his bitterest antagonism and opposi- 
 tion." 
 
 I knew what he meant. He was fully aware of our 
 love, for he had constantly been employed by my 
 uncle to put obstacles in the way of our meeting, and 
 there was an implied threat in his words that he would 
 continue to do so. 
 
 " You mean that you wish to bring about that re- 
 conciliation ?" 
 
 " If you are taking up the task, Sir Stanley, I shall 
 be only too glad to work with you faithfully and serve 
 you as I may claim to have served your late uncle, 
 otherwise " He paused. 
 
 " Well, otherwise ? " I asked. 
 
 " I shall respectfully ask you to allow me to resign 
 my position in your household." 
 
 "You are a free agent, Schwartz. Do as you think 
 best." 
 
 I was not going to be drawn into committing myself. 
 
 In the pause that followed he glanced at me very 
 searchingly as if to read my meaning, shuffled about 
 in some hesitation, half-turned as if to leave the room, 
 then stopped, looked at me again, and, facing round, 
 stood as though waiting for me to speak. 
 3
 
 34 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Well, have you anything you wish to say ? " I 
 asked. 
 
 " I am only waiting to know your commands, Sir 
 Stanley." 
 
 " I have told you you are a free agent and can please 
 yourself. I have nothing to add to that, except that 
 if you decide to leave I shall make you some substan- 
 tial present in place of the legacy which I have no 
 doubt my uncle would have included in his will had 
 he made one. I shall give you five hundred pounds." 
 
 " That is very generous, Sir Stanley," he answered, 
 with a bow. " Do I understand, however, that I should 
 have your countenance in carrying forward the work I 
 have named ? " 
 
 " That is not a question I can discuss with you at 
 present. It will make no difference in the sum I have 
 set aside for you." 
 
 " No amount of money would make any difference 
 to me, sir, in that respect." 
 
 " I was not trying to buy you, Schwartz," I an- 
 swered, irritably. "Take a couple of days to make up 
 your mind and let me know." 
 
 " I did not wish to suggest you were bribing me, Sir 
 Stanley," he answered, quickly. " I meant only to as- 
 sure you that it will be the one purpose of my life for 
 the future. I have nothing else left to live for. If 
 you could tell me that you are going to work for the 
 same end it would be such a help, sir ; that's why I 
 said what I did." 
 
 " Very well, I accept your explanation. Come to 
 me when you have decided," and I sent him away feel- 
 ing that the interview had only increased the difficulties 
 of my position.
 
 THE FIRST MOVE 35 
 
 Schwartz knew everything, and was clearly resolved 
 to use his knowledge to restore Celia to her birthright, 
 and this meant, in other words, her final separation 
 from me. 
 
 It became obvious that I had only one course. I 
 must tell Celia herself the whole story and then lay 
 plans in concert with her as to her future. I had 
 written to tell her of my uncle's death, and once since 
 to explain that I was very busy, but would run down 
 to see her as soon as practicable. I resolved to try 
 and get away on the following day, and I wrote to her 
 a letter saying this and telling her there was strange 
 news for her to hear. 
 
 I was writing this letter in the afternoon when my 
 man, Wilson, brought me the card of a Captain von 
 Weimar, and as the name was strange to me and I was- 
 in a mood to be suspicious of all strange Germans, I 
 scanned my visitor very curiously when I went to him. 
 
 " Sir Stanley Meredith ? " he asked, rising and smil- 
 ing as he offered me his hand. 
 
 "Yes," I replied, rather formally, for I did not care 
 for his looks. 
 
 " I am the bearer of a letter of introduction to you 
 from my friend, Major Von Haussmann, the husband 
 of your charming sister," and he gave it me. 
 
 My sister Alice had been married about three years 
 before to this Saxe-Lippe Captain, and as I had the 
 worst possible opinion of him the letter did not much 
 increase my cordiality. But I could not do less than 
 welcome him to London and express my readiness to 
 be of such service to him as lay in my power. 
 
 He thanked me very warmly and chatted glibly, 
 telling me that he had come to London partly because
 
 36 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 a wealthy relative of his, the Baroness Borgen had 
 taken up her residence here with her daughter, and 
 that he hoped to present me to her. 
 
 I did not encourage this advance, using my uncle's 
 death as a reason. Then he surprised me. 
 
 " Your uncle was Sir Henry Meredith, I think, at 
 one time playing a prominent part in Saxe-Lippe 
 affairs? " 
 
 How could he know this ? Alice knew no more than 
 1 had known. 
 
 " I do not know the incidents of my uncle's career," 
 I said, coldly. 
 
 " Indeed, is that possible ? Yet perhaps so ; it has 
 only just become public knowledge in Crudenstadt. 
 You know he was in the Saxe-Lippe Army in his 
 younger days. A magnificent officer, held in the high- 
 est honour and esteem. But he was not then ennobled, 
 I mean he had not his title. Everyone thought he had 
 died years and years ago. It is only quite recently 
 that the facts have leaked out, although there was a 
 whisper, I remember, that he had been seen and rec- 
 ognised in Crudenstadt some few months ago. But 
 no one believed it." 
 
 " What you say is very interesting, but you must 
 excuse me if I say it is a subject I do not wish to dis- 
 cuss." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, I am sure, if I have been in- 
 discreet," and he turned away to other matters. 
 
 And while he chatted I sat watching him and wonder- 
 ing whether there was more in his words and visit than 
 mere coincidence, and whether I was to regard it as 
 having some sort of connection with the strange in- 
 tricacies which were now developing in my life.
 
 THE FIRST MOVE 37 
 
 I answered him somewhat disconnectedly, and he 
 noticed my abstraction. I wished he would go, but he 
 appeared very anxious to make a favourable impression 
 upon me. And when at length he rose to leave he 
 said, with an air of great frankness : 
 
 " I am afraid I have intruded upon you at a time of 
 much trouble, and have really been very selfish, but 
 you can understand how great a stranger a man can 
 feel coming to your huge city and knowing no one. I 
 did not refer to your uncle's affairs without a reason, 
 believe me. I had hoped to have been in London 
 earlier and to have seen him, because there was a 
 matter of great importance I wished to see him about. 
 I will not say anything now, as you do not wish it, but 
 perhaps you will permit me to return to it at another 
 time." 
 
 " If there is anything I can tell you pray ask me 
 now." 
 
 While he was hesitating as if uncertain how to an- 
 swer someone knocked at the door of the room and 
 entered. 
 
 It was Schwartz. He stood as if waiting for orders. 
 
 " What do you want ? " I asked, sharply. 
 
 "You rang, Sir Stanley?" 
 
 " I did nothing of the kind. Be more careful in the 
 future," I said, in a sharp tone, annoyed at the inter- 
 ruption. 
 
 As he bowed and went out I saw him shoot a quick, 
 searching glance at my visitor. 
 
 " I will ask you some other time, Sir Stanley, when 
 you are less occupied. Once more let me apologise 
 for this intrusion, and express a hope that we may 
 meet during my stay."
 
 38 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Perhaps you will dine with me, say, on Tuesday 
 next. Of course, you will understand that we shall be 
 quite alone." 
 
 I gave the invitation unwillingly, but I did not wish 
 the man to carry away with him the impression that I 
 was a churl in hospitality. 
 
 " I shall have the greatest pleasure," he answered, 
 effusively; "and I am not without hope that I may 
 be able to be of much use to you in a way we can then 
 discuss. I know Saxe-Lippe politics very thor- 
 oughly." 
 
 Again he surprised me into thinking there was some 
 secret purpose in his visit, but I shut out the evidence 
 of this from my face. 
 
 As we shook hands I heard voices and some signs of 
 commotion in the hall, and when I opened the door 
 for the Captain to leave there was a surprise that filled 
 me at once with delight and embarrassment. 
 
 Celia was in the hall declaring vigorously to Schwartz 
 that she must see me at once, and was protesting 
 against not being shown in to me. She was in the act 
 of entering the room opposite when I opened the 
 door. 
 
 " Celia ! " I cried, in my astonishment, and with a 
 laugh she turned and came to me with outstretched 
 hands, her eyes dancing and her cheeks flushed ; but 
 seeing a stranger with me she stopped suddenly half- 
 way. I took her hands warmly. " Just a moment," 
 I whispered. 
 
 Captain von Weimar had his eyes fixed upon her 
 beautiful face, while old Schwartz tossed up his hands 
 as though in dismay and looked steadily at the German. 
 
 The Captain recovered himself in a moment, bowed
 
 THE FIRST MOVE 39 
 
 to Celia as he passed her and then to me, and was 
 shown out by Schwartz. 
 
 As the door closed behind him Celia laughed. 
 
 "Who is that, Stanley?" she asked. 
 
 " I don't know. His name is Captain von Weimar, 
 and he came to me with a letter of introduction from 
 Alice's husband. But what is much more important 
 is, how came you here ? " 
 
 She laughed again at the question, pressed my 
 hands, looked into my eyes, her own lighting with 
 love and dancing with mischief, while she bit her lip 
 and tried to appear afraid. 
 
 " Are you very angry? I I'm a rebel and a runa- 
 way, and awfully wicked and wilful. But I couldn't 
 be exiled any longer. It's your fault," and she 
 shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " Don't I look very angry?" I answered smiling, 
 and was only kept from putting my arm around her 
 and kissing her by the fact that we were still in the 
 hall, and I saw Schwartz watching us gloomily and 
 furtively while he pretended to busy himself at the 
 hat-rack. " Come into my room and tell me all about 
 it," I said, going towards the door. 
 
 Then Schwartz came forward and intercepted me. 
 His look was very dark and almost threatening. 
 
 " Can you give me one moment, Sir Stanley? " 
 
 " Well, what is it ? " I asked, carelessly, over my 
 shoulder, impatient at the interruption. 
 
 " May I speak to you alone, sir ? It is important." 
 
 " Oh, the worries of authority," I cried lightly to 
 Celia. " I'll be with you in a moment," and I turned 
 back to Schwartz \vhile she went on into my room. 
 " Now, my good fellow, what on earth is it ? "
 
 40 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 He looked at me with an expression of aggressive 
 reproach. 
 
 " Do you know who your visitor was, sir? " 
 
 " No, except his name." 
 
 " I don't think you quite understand all that 
 has happened, sir. There is very grave and serious 
 news. I have heard to-day that the young Duke 
 Constans lies dangerously ill at Crudenstadt. The 
 Kronheims are moving Heaven and earth to find the 
 missing sister, and he who has just gone out is the 
 younger brother of the man who hopes and means to 
 get the throne for himself when the young Duke dies. 
 He has now seen Miss Celia, heard you call her by her 
 name, and recognised her. I saw the recognition in 
 his eyes." 
 
 The news sobered me instantly, and I bit my lip in 
 dismay. 
 
 Then Celia put her head out of the door and called 
 to me impatiently : " Are you coming, Stanley ? " 
 
 As I turned to go to her I caught sight of my face 
 in a mirror, and was startled to see how the colour had 
 left my cheeks.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 CELIA LEARNS THE TRUTH 
 
 THE change in my face startled Celia, and for a 
 moment her eyes looked troubled. 
 
 "Have I done very wrong in coming like this? 
 Does it trouble you ? I am afraid I was born to be a 
 rebel." 
 
 I felt very serious and am afraid that I looked as I 
 felt. The sense of my responsibilities had been forced 
 home upon me with such sudden completeness, that 
 for a moment I could neither say nor do anything that 
 my sweetheart had a right to expect. I crossed to my 
 table and she followed me wondering. Then the un- 
 finished letter to her caught my eye. 
 
 " I was writing to you, Celia. See, here is the 
 letter," and I handed it to her. She took it but looked 
 at me instead of reading it. Our eyes met, and hers 
 were full of astonishment, wonder and reproach. She 
 looked down at her engagement ring and she drew my 
 attention to it by twisting it, and then glanced at me 
 again. 
 
 I understood the little action. It was the first time 
 we had met since our engagement, and my manner was 
 a sore puzzle to her. I had not kissed her. 
 
 " You have not read the letter, Celia," I said. 
 
 " I don't want to read it," she cried, tossing it down 
 on the table and turning away to the window. I 
 thought her lips quivered slightly as she spoke, and 
 
 41
 
 42 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 her whole attitude was certainly a protest against my 
 strange conduct. 
 
 I stood by the table playing nervously with some 
 papers, perplexed and still undecided. I longed to 
 take her in my arms and tell her again and again what 
 she already knew, that I loved her. But between us 
 two the barrier that must keep us apart, and of which 
 I must tell her before another word of love passed my 
 lips. Before I spoke, she turned round. 
 
 " I will go back again, Stanley. I am sorry I came. 
 You are angry. I will make my peace with Mrs. Col- 
 lingwood, if you wish it. Schwartz can go with me. 
 Good-bye," and she held out her hand. All the pleas- 
 ure was out of her face, which was wistful and very 
 sad. 
 
 " Don't look like that, Celia. I " I stopped my- 
 
 self on the brink of a sentence, drawn by her sorrowful 
 looks. " If you had read the letter you would have 
 seen that I was going down to Moreby to-morrow to 
 see you." 
 
 " Then " she began eagerly, her face brighten- 
 ing, but dulling again as she saw no change in mine. 
 " I will read it, please." I gave it her and she read it 
 through quietly. 
 
 " You are cultivating a very formal style, Stanley," 
 she said, drily, as she put it in her pocket. " What is 
 the news you have to tell me ? " 
 
 " When you know, you will understand how difficult 
 I found it to write to you." 
 
 " You mean as my guardian?" she cried, with a half 
 mischievous smile. " I am ready to hear it. Does it 
 account for all this change in you?" 
 
 " The change in my manner, you mean? " I could
 
 CELIA LEARNS THE TRUTH 43 
 
 not resist saying-, and she was quick to understand 
 me. The woebegone expression passed and she 
 laughed. 
 
 " My new guardian's manner, I suppose it is. I 
 don't like it, please. Besides, it's so so unexpected. 
 I always looked for it in Sir Henry, but in Sir Stan- 
 ley " she ended with an expressive and pretty ges- 
 ture of dismay. " Remember I am a rebel and very 
 hard to drive and coerce. Can you get the lecture 
 over soon ? " 
 
 I could not resist a smile, and, seeing it, she made a 
 step nearer me, but drew back and stood with an as- 
 sumption of demure humility and obedience. She was 
 very lovely in my eyes, and the temptation to fling 
 everything but our love to the winds was almost over- 
 powering. In truth, I was longing to kiss her quite as 
 keenly as she was looking for some sign of love from 
 me. 
 
 " Will you sit down here, Celia ? " and I drew up an 
 easy-chair close to the table. 
 
 " Please. I've had a long journey and should like 
 some tea. Even criminals must eat and drink," she 
 said, as she sank into the chair and looked up to me 
 piteously. She refused to take the situation seriously. 
 I rang the bell and Schwartz answered so quickly that 
 I knew he must have been in waiting close to the door. 
 He eyed us both closely. 
 
 " Bring some tea, Schwartz," I said, and as it was im- 
 possible for me to begin what I had to say while the 
 servants were bustling in and out, I sat drumming my 
 fingers on the blotting-pad in perturbed silence. 
 
 " Are you going to keep that horrid man about you ? 
 I have always had a fear of him."
 
 44 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " I believe he is to be trusted, Celia. But nothing is 
 settled yet." 
 
 "He looked so angry when he saw me arrive that I 
 think he'd have given me in charge to a policeman if 
 he could, and he made such a fuss of hurrying me out 
 of your way." 
 
 " I wish he had succeeded," I said, involuntarily, and, 
 while her eyes were asking the meaning of this, the tea 
 was brought, Schwartz again coming in to superintend. 
 
 Celia insisted upon pouring it out, and made much 
 of the task, asking me how much sugar and cream she 
 was to give ; whether I liked this and that, and took 
 such pleasure in it all, and looked altogether so charm- 
 ing and bewitching, that I watched her with delight. 
 
 " I always think one is more human after a cup of 
 tea ; do have some more," she said, holding the teapot 
 in readiness, and looking at me with her head prettily 
 poised on one side. 
 
 As I handed her my cup our fingers touched. I 
 think she did it designedly, but as I glanced at her she 
 begged my pardon for her clumsiness, and when she 
 had filled one cup, she said with a smile I had better 
 take it up myself. 
 
 She was making my task much harder, for it seemed 
 difficult to plunge from this atmosphere of flirtatious 
 trifling into the ugly business of telling her the new 
 position of things. Suddenly she seemed to read this 
 thought in me, for when she had finished her tea she 
 said : 
 
 " There, I think I have been very good. I have not 
 teased you much and I have not -punished you at all. 
 I can hold that over. But I can see you have some- 
 thing really grave to tell me, and I will try to make the
 
 CELIA LEARNS THE TRUTH 45 
 
 telling as little difficult as possible. What has hap- 
 pened, Stanley ? " and her tone and manner were both 
 serious. 
 
 "You have done wrong in coming up like this, Celia ; 
 but not for any reasons that you can see yet." 
 
 " What does that mean ? That you are not angry ? 
 Then I don't mind. I was really afraid I had vexed 
 you." 
 
 " It is rather difficult to explain things, and for a 
 moment you must try and think of me only as as 
 guardian and friend. Of course I can see," I said, 
 plunging on and paying no heed to her round-eyed 
 look of consternation, " that my reception to-day has 
 surprised you. It was bound to but the truth is things 
 are so changed from what they were that that I couldn't 
 do anything else." 
 
 "What is changed, Stanley?" and her face told 
 me the only change that could chill her heart with 
 dread. 
 
 " No, it's not that," I said, feeling I must reassure 
 her. " I'm not made that way," I smiled, and her eyes 
 told me she did not care for anything else. " But it's 
 a most extraordinary story, Celia, and it's bound to 
 make to alter everything." I wasn't getting along 
 very glibly, but she sat with her face turned towards me, 
 a look of deep, close interest on it. She was earnest 
 enough now. 
 
 " Try and tell me shortly, Stanley, if it is bad news, 
 as it seems to be." 
 
 " It is news which many would consider the very 
 reverse of bad, for it may mean great things for you. 
 Did my uncle ever drop you a hint about your past 
 your parents, I mean ? "
 
 46 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " No. I have often wondered and wondered till 
 sometimes my heart ached." Her eyes grew tender 
 and very grave. " Are you going to tell me ? Is 
 it that which has caused all this difference in you ? " 
 
 " Yes," I nodded, and then I blurted it out with a 
 rush. " You are by birth one of the great ones of 
 the world, Celia, the daughter of one of the reign- 
 ing Continental Dukes r the Grand Duke of Saxe-Lippe, 
 and it may soon be the case that you will have to 
 sit on a throne." 
 
 She caught her breath and the blood ebbed from her 
 face leaving it very white. 
 
 " Sit on a throne?" she repeated, under her breath. 
 
 "Yes, a throne, Celia. It came about in this way. 
 My uncle, at the time you were born, stood high in 
 the confidence of the Grand Duke and the Duchess 
 Marie, your mother, and, in consequence of a serious 
 difference between them, she entrusted you to my 
 uncle's charge, and he brought you to England. It 
 was agreed that you were to be kept in ignorance of 
 your birth until the time when, if it ever came, your 
 claim to the succession might have to be made." 
 
 " My mother ! " She was learning forward in her 
 chair now, and the words slipped from her lips like a 
 sigh. A long pause followed, and then she asked 
 wistfully : " Is she alive? " 
 
 " I don't know, Celia." I did not. 
 
 She buried her face in her hands, and sat there for 
 some time. 
 
 " I can't realise it, Stanley. What will it mean to 
 us?" 
 
 She sat up and looked intently at me. I smiled, but 
 no smile of hers answered me.
 
 CELIA LEARNS THE TRUTH 47 
 
 " I only learnt it the night after I left you at Moreby." 
 She put her hand up and kissed her engagement ring. 
 " Yes, just after I had given you that. It was because 
 of this secret that my uncle had endeavoured to pre- 
 vent my seeing you. He knew the impossibility," I 
 said, as gently as I could utter the words. 
 
 She frowned at them and locked her ringers together. 
 
 " Do you mean " she began. 
 
 " He saw that a man in my position, a private Eng- 
 lishman, could never be regarded as a fit match for 
 the daughter of the reigning Duke of Saxe-Lippe, and 
 he tried in his rough and ready way to prevent what 
 happened, Celia. He should have told us. You will 
 need now to be very brave." 
 
 For a moment a flush of anger and indignation ' 
 warmed her cheek and her eyes glowed. 
 
 " Do you want this back ? " she cried, holding out 
 the hand on which the ring glittered. 
 
 " Don't, Celia," I exclaimed, wincing in my pain and 
 distress. I leant my head on my hand and sighed, but 
 recovering instantly and remembering that it was I who 
 had to be strong, I said: " I have tried very hard to 
 see the right thing to do. Don't make it harder." 
 
 " If you wish it back I will give it you," she said, 
 stubbornly, and in a tone that seemed hardened by 
 pride and resentment. " If you think that of me you 
 had better have it back," and she half-drew the ring 
 from her finger, but stopped, caught her breath again 
 as if in pain, bit her lip hard, and then with a moan 
 bowed her head right down and sat crouching with her 
 face hidden in her hands. 
 
 " I don't think you would wish to recall your words 
 because of any change in your position, Celia," I
 
 48 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 said, understanding vaguely what she meant, and lov- 
 ing her the more for her resentment of the suspicion. 
 
 Then lifting her head suddenly, she said vehemently 
 and almost passionately : 
 
 " Then it is your own pride. You are afraid of what 
 the world would say." 
 
 " No, I am not afraid of a few jeers at my looking 
 too high. I am only trying to look the facts in the 
 face for what they are." 
 
 " You are able to look very coldly." 
 
 Even the injustice of the taunt drew no protest from 
 me. 
 
 " I have been face to face with them for more than a 
 week, and they were first impressed on me with the 
 pungent sharpness of my uncle's bitter tongue. You 
 are only in the first stage of suffering." 
 
 " Oh, forgive me, Stanley. I am so selfish, and I 
 love you so," she cried, in a passion of remorse and 
 despair. 
 
 " No, my dear, you are only natural. We must both 
 suffer." 
 
 " Oh, I cannot lose you, I cannot." She stretched 
 out her hand and thrust it into mine. " I cannot ! " 
 
 My fingers closed on hers, and the touch stilled us 
 into silence. Suddenly she slipped from her chair to 
 the ground, and kneeling by me she threw her arms 
 about me and clung to me, nestling her head against 
 me and caressing me with her hands till my great love 
 for her threatened to burst all the bonds of my self- 
 control. 
 
 I felt that her love must have its course, and for a 
 time made no effort to break the silence or move her 
 from where she knelt. I sat fighting down my intense
 
 CELIA LEARNS THE TRUTH 49 
 
 and absorbing desire to press my lips to hers as a 
 pledge that, come what might, nothing should ever 
 part us, while I strove to think out some means of 
 softening the pain I knew was tearing at her heart. 
 
 When she grew somewhat calmer I lifted her to 
 her feet and we stood up. She wound her arms round 
 my neck and put her face close to mine and whis- 
 pered : 
 
 " You said you loved me, Stanley." 
 
 " I shall love you to my life's end," I answered, 
 with a sudden rush of passion I could not control. 
 She smiled then. 
 
 " Say that again. It sounds like the only kind thing 
 you have said since I came. Do you really mean it? " 
 
 " You must be braver than this," I answered. 
 
 " If you will say that again I will do whatever you 
 wish." 
 
 Then I grew once more weak and unstable as water. 
 I drew her face to mine and kissed her passionately on 
 the lips, repeating the vow with all the energy of my 
 love. Her face lighted and her eyes shone as she 
 smiled radiantly at me. 
 
 " Whatever must happen I shall know that," she 
 said, and drew away with a sudden movement and sat 
 down again. 
 
 The moments that followed were full of embarrass- 
 ment for me, but Celia was now calm. It was as if 
 she had feared to lose my love, but being now assured 
 of that was prepared to face anything. 
 
 " What do you wish me to do, Stanley? I promise 
 to do it." 
 
 " There is still a good deal to tell you and much to 
 be decided." And I told her so much as I thought 
 4
 
 50 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 necessary of the details of the quarrel between her 
 father and mother, of her own fortune, of the later 
 news about her brother's breakdown in health, and then 
 of the efforts the Kronheims were likely to make to 
 thwart her chances of the succession. 
 
 " Why should I do anything to keep them out of 
 it ? " she asked. " I do not want it. If I had to 
 choose between you and a throne at this moment, do 
 you think I would hesitate? If my mother is alive 
 why has she never sought me ? If my father cares for 
 me why has he done nothing to show it all these years ? 
 They want me when I may be of use for their own 
 plans." 
 
 I framed my answer to try and make her realise the 
 duties and obligations which her birth imposed ; but I 
 was no very ardent advocate and she remained utterly 
 unconvinced. 
 
 li I would rather let the whole matter remain a 
 secret," she said. 
 
 " That is impracticable, because Schwartz knows the 
 facts and is resolved to tell them." 
 
 " Then let us destroy the proofs that you say Sir 
 Henry kept at the bank. They could do nothing then, 
 could they? " 
 
 " I don't know what they could or would do, but we 
 must not destroy the proofs. What I have to see to 
 is your safety until these matters are decided. I think 
 you should return to Moreby." 
 
 " To Moreby and the dragon ? " she cried, with a look 
 of dismay. " I should be more rebellious than ever." 
 
 " You will be safer there than in London," I said. 
 
 " I will go," she agreed, readily. " When shall I 
 go?"
 
 CELIA LEARNS THE TRUTH 51 
 
 I smiled at the sudden change to submission. She 
 looked at me curiously. 
 
 " You are surprised that I agree so easily ? Don't 
 be misled, Stanley. I shall be submissive only to a 
 point. I will never agree to do anything that shall 
 part you from me. There shall be as much comedy as 
 you will but no tragedy. I will pretend anything 
 anything. But you understand the limit even of pre- 
 tence, and it will never be more than pretence." 
 
 " You mean ? " I asked. 
 
 " That I will do anything on earth you ask or tell 
 me except the one thing that means I must lose you." 
 
 Her tone was firm and resolute and her face full of 
 energy and determination as she spoke, and I felt she 
 would keep her word whatever happened.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 ' A FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 
 
 IF Celia was resolved not to see the tragedy in the 
 perplexing complications that had come into our lives, 
 Schwartz was equally determined to see nothing else. 
 His gloom was chronic and his long association with the 
 real or imaginary feud which had shadowed and soured 
 my uncle's life, had bred in him a readiness to see in- 
 trigue and conspiracy everywhere. I began to think he 
 was disappointed when the days passed and nothing 
 occurred to give a tangible foundation to his fears. 
 
 Celia did not go back to Moreby. She pleaded so 
 earnestly against the dulness of the place that I agreed 
 upon Brighton as a compromise. I took her to my 
 aunt and sister for a couple of days while I made the 
 arrangements for Mrs. Collingwood to go to Brighton, 
 and when a house had been found I took Celia down 
 there. 
 
 Our relations during those two days were somewhat 
 peculiar, and puzzled my sister Flora considerably. 
 We had called Flora Blossom as a child, and the name 
 clung to her always. She had been weakly, and on 
 this account was a good deal spoilt by my aunt and 
 the rest of us. She had taken considerable interest in my 
 love affairs, and now that Celia and I were free to be 
 together as much as we pleased, she could not under- 
 stand why we seemed to hold aloof from one another 
 by mutual consent. 
 52
 
 A FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 53 
 
 " Why doesn't Celia come to Cromwell-road to live, 
 Stanley ? " she asked me when I had explained that 
 Aunt Margaret and Blossom were to come to the big 
 house with me. 
 
 " Sea air is so much more bracing," said I. 
 
 " As Celia is ten times as strong as I am what does 
 that mean? Don't you wish her to live with us?" 
 
 " Brighton is very close now ; such a short run by 
 train." 
 
 " Have you changed to her? I don't understand 
 you." 
 
 " A good many problems are not worth all that 
 trouble." 
 
 " But you're engaged, aren't you ? What's that 
 ring on Celia's finger ?" 
 
 " Has shea ring?" 
 
 " ' Has she a ring ? ' I like that. As if you hadn't 
 seen it ! " 
 
 " Oh, yes, I have seen one, of course. Rather a 
 pretty ring too, now you mention it. Where did she get 
 it?" 
 
 " Where do girls generally get engagement rings : I 
 suppose someone gave it her ? " 
 
 " Yes, if it is an engagement ring, I suppose someone 
 did." 
 
 " Why do you want to make such a secret of it ? And 
 why do you two go on in such an odd fashion ? You're 
 not a bit like an engaged couple. 
 
 " There may be a very good reason for that, Blossom, 
 mayn't there? " and I smiled. 
 
 " I think you're very horrid to laugh about it in that 
 way," replied my sister, quite irritably. " If you're not 
 engaged I think you're behaving abominably to her.
 
 54 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 You don't suppose girls' hearts can be dangled on strings 
 and made to follow at heel like lap dogs. You'll go 
 too far," she added, oracularly. 
 
 At that moment Celia came into the room and 
 Blossom turned the fire upon her. 
 
 "We were talking about your engagement ring, 
 Celia," she said. 
 
 " Do you mean this one? " holding out her hand to 
 Blossom and glancing swiftly at me. 
 
 She was quite collected and straightened the ring 
 unconcernedly. 
 
 " Of course I do. Stanley's ring, isn't it ? " 
 
 Celia laughed merrily. " Did Stanley tell you he 
 gave me this ring ? " as if in great surprise. 
 
 " No, but he did, didn't he ? " 
 
 " Blossom, dear, how can you ask ? Why, if Sir 
 Stanley had given it to me I should be engaged to 
 marry him, of course, shouldn't I ?" 
 
 " Oh, but you are, you must be," protested my 
 sister. 
 
 " You make a mistake about the ring. Blossom. 
 This is not an engagement ring, at least in the ordi- 
 nary sense. Do you want to know about it ? Well, I 
 once took part in a play, a comedy, not a tragedy, 
 and this ring was used in the course it and became 
 my property. As I would not part with it of course 
 it became mine, and it is thus more a memorial ring 
 than anything else. In fact, that's how I regard it." 
 
 " But you wear it on your engagement finger." 
 
 " It fits that finger best dear. Indeed, I couldn't get 
 it off without both trouble and pain." 
 
 My sister frowned and looked up in Celia's smiling 
 face with perplexity written on every feature.
 
 A FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 55 
 
 " I don't understand you two a bit," she said pet- 
 tishly. 
 
 I laughed. " I'm not sure that we understand our- 
 selves," said I. 
 
 " There's nothing to puzzle over," said Celia. " It's 
 just the memorial of a comedy, Blossom. But I prize 
 the ring none the less. I couldn't prize it more if it 
 were actually an engagement ring." 
 
 " We shall have a memorial of a tragedy if we keep 
 the horses standing much longer," I said, and then we 
 went for our drive and the next day Celia went to 
 Brighton. 
 
 But tragedy was always plucking at my sleeve in the 
 gloomy form of Schwartz ; and as soon as Celia had 
 left, my own heartache and inner fear that, for all her 
 resolution an ultimate separation was inevitable, made 
 me yield a ready ear to his forebodings. And some- 
 thing occurred a couple of days later to increase my 
 uneasiness. 
 
 I called to see Blossom, and when I went into the 
 drawing-room I found there a handsome woman, richly 
 dressed in the height of fashion. She was a stranger 
 to me, but my sister appeared to be on friendly terms 
 with her, and I observed with some surprise that they 
 were bending together over an album of photographs 
 as I entered. 
 
 " O Stanley, I am so glad you have come," cried 
 Blossom, getting up quickly and coming to me. " The 
 Baroness Borgen, one of Alice's friends from Cruden- 
 stadt, is so anxious to know you. This is my brother, 
 Baroness." 
 
 She gave me her hand, lifted her eyes to me, and 
 let them rest there just long enough to express a
 
 56 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 little emotion of pleasure, and then dropped them dis- 
 creetly. 
 
 " I am so pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir 
 Stanley. I have heard much of you from your 
 sister." 
 
 The voice was very soft and pleasant, and the man- 
 ner more than cordial. But the name had already put 
 me on my guard. She was the " relative " of whom 
 Captain von Weimar had spoken to me, and her 
 presence here might mean another thread of the 
 web which these people had come to weave round 
 Celia. 
 
 " Do you know my sister well ? " I asked. 
 
 " I cannot say very well. She lives rather a retired 
 life, you know, but she is very delightful," a reply 
 whose equivocation did not escape me. 
 
 I hoped Blossom had said nothing about Celia, but 
 I did not like this apparent interest in the photographs. 
 The Captain had seen Celia herself, and this handsome, 
 dashing German woman might very well be anxious to 
 get all the information she could from Blossom and 
 my aunt. I resolved to stay on guard until she left 
 and then warn them both. 
 
 ** I had the pleasure of a visit from a relative of 
 yours, I think Captain von Weimar." 
 
 "Yes, he told me how courteously you received him, 
 Sir Stanley. He finds London a little dull at present, 
 knowing no one." 
 
 " It may be dull for a stranger, of course. Still, he 
 need not stay long enough to be bored, and it must be 
 a great change from Crudenstadt." 
 
 " Do you know Crudenstadt?" she asked. 
 
 " Oh, yes, I have been to my sister's house and know
 
 A FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 57 
 
 a great number of the officers there. I think Captain 
 von Weimar's regiment is there. I wonder I have not 
 met him." 
 
 " His regiment is not quartered there," she said 
 quickly, with a smile that I thought was intended to 
 cover her uneasiness at my reference. 
 
 " Crudenstadt is a delightful little city. You would 
 revel in it, Blossom. Have you been long resident 
 there, Baroness? " 
 
 " I am rather a bird of passage," she replied, parrying 
 the question adroitly, but not so adroitly as to hide 
 the fact that it was a parry. " Since my dear Baron 
 died, Katrine that is my daughter, you know and I 
 have scarcely lived at my home. And now we are 
 trying London." 
 
 " I shall hope to see much of you while you are 
 here," said I, with a bow, thinking that the closer I 
 kept them under observation the better. 
 
 She looked at me very keenly as she murmured : " I 
 shall be delighted. I am at home on Tuesdays." 
 
 It was obvious that my words pleased her, although 
 my tone and the drift of my questions had puzzled her. 
 She turned then to Blossom, and holding up the album, 
 which I noticed she had kept in her hands, said : " You 
 were showing me a photograph, dear." 
 
 " That reminds me," I broke in, quickly. " There 
 will be some people there you will know. Allow me 
 one moment," and I held out my hand for the album, 
 which, as I knew, contained more than one of Celia's 
 photographs. 
 
 Our eyes met as she seemed to hesitate an instant, 
 and then gave it me reluctantly. I think she under- 
 stood me
 
 58 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " That is not your album, Stanley, it is mine," cried 
 my sister, laughing. 
 
 " How stupid of me. Then mine must be on the 
 table there," and I took it away and fetched my own 
 in its place. " These will interest the Baroness much 
 more, Blossom," and I opened it at a protrait of the 
 Grand Duke Constans and handed it to her. 
 
 She accepted the defeat smilingly, and chatted and 
 laughed as she turned over the pages and recognised 
 several of the people in the book until she rose to 
 leave. 
 
 " I shall do myself the pleasure of calling to-morrow 
 if I may," I said, as I shook hands, " and if Captain von 
 Weimar should be with you it would be an excellent 
 opportunity for the discussion of our mutual Cruden- 
 stadt associations." 
 
 " He will be thereabout four o'clock," she answered, 
 and her look and tone told me I had set her wondering. 
 
 " How odd you were about that album," said 
 Blossom, when she had gone. " I was going to show 
 her Celia's photograph." 
 
 " I knew you were, and I wished to prevent it just 
 yet. Had you told her much about Celia ? " 
 
 " No, only that being my dearest friend I wished she 
 was in London instead of Brighton." 
 
 " Oh, is that all ? I am afraid it's more than enough. 
 I ought, perhaps, to have warned you before, but for 
 a time don't speak of to Celia anyone. I can't tell you 
 why, but it's very important." 
 
 " How mysterious }/ou are, Stanley," she cried, 
 pettishly. 
 
 " I haven't time now to be plainer. I'm overdue as 
 it is for an engagement."
 
 A FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 59 
 
 I drove back without an instant's delay to Crom- 
 well-road. As Blossom had disclosed Celia's where- 
 abouts I must see to it at once. I sent for Schwartz. 
 
 " By a mischance, Schwartz, the fact that Miss Celia 
 is at Brighton has come into the knowledge of that 
 Captain von Weimar. Tell me quickly what there is 
 to know about him and why he is dangerous." 
 
 " The danger cannot be exaggerated, Sir Stanley. 
 The Kronheims stand next in succession after the 
 Duke and his children, and they are thus particularly 
 and directly interested in preventing any discovery of 
 the missing daughter of the Duke and Duchess. They 
 are a wild, reckless, daring, evil lot, and would stop at 
 nothing, Sir Henry believed and he knew much about 
 them not at kidnapping or even violence to make 
 away with Miss Ceclia's claims. That was why her 
 whereabouts were always kept such a secret." 
 
 I listened very attentively and perceived that if 
 there were really anything in these fears of his and of 
 my uncle's, measures of precaution must be adopted 
 instantly. 
 
 " Get ready to go to Brighton by the next train.* I 
 am writing to Miss Celia and Mrs. Collingwood. They 
 must leave there to-night without fail, and it must be 
 your business to see that it is done in such a way as to 
 give no trace of their movements. Go for to-night 
 anywhere along the coast there, to Hastings, or 
 Eastbourne, or somewhere, and to-morrow make another 
 move to another town, and on the following day clear 
 right out of the district to Bath, or Cheltenham, or up 
 to Leamington. Miss Celia can settle that." 
 
 I wrote my letters quickly, promising explanations 
 later, and in a few minutes Schwartz had left. I sat
 
 <5o FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 thinking out a plan that had occurred to me in connec- 
 tion with these people. 
 
 I was not much of a diplomatist, and if there was to 
 be much intriguing and plotting they would probably 
 get the better of me. But I could at least hit out straight 
 from the shoulder, and I resolved to face them both the 
 next day and tell them plainly that I knew their object. 
 Meantime, I would get to know what I could. I tele- 
 graphed a description of both to my sister Alice, told 
 of the letters of introduction, and asked her to wire me 
 as fully as possible all she knew of them. 
 
 Her reply reached me the next day, just before I 
 was starting to pay my visit to the Baroness, and was 
 pretty much what I had anticipated. The Captain von 
 Weimar whom she knew did not answer at all to the 
 description I had sent out. This man was thus evi- 
 dently masquerading in another's name. The Baron- 
 ess was an adventuress with a very unsavoury charac- 
 ter, with certainly no right to mention Alice as one of 
 her friends. 
 
 Armed with this telegram, which I read over several 
 times in the brougham, I anticipated an interesting in- 
 terview, and was much amused by the reception which 
 both accorded to me. It was excessively cordial, and 
 intended to make me feel that the two regarded my 
 visit as an especially friendly and welcome act. And 
 yet it was not difficult to perceive that they were both 
 ill at ease, although the Baroness acted better than 
 her companion. I chose him, therefore, for my open- 
 ing attack. 
 
 I asked him generally as to the object of his visit 
 to London, and when he had made a roundabout, 
 clumsily-worded answer I said, quietly :
 
 A FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 61 
 
 " By the way, you told me you knew the Saxe-Lippe 
 politics very well, and that you could probably assist 
 me in certain matters. I think you can. Will you 
 tell me, in the first place, why you, a member of the 
 Kronheim family, are travelling under an assumed name 
 and have used another man's letter of introduction to 
 make my acquaintance ? " 
 
 His astonishment was complete. He jumped to his 
 feet, turned fiery red, his eyes blazed with anger, and 
 he seemed on the point of making a very hot reply,. 
 when with an effort he recovered himself, threw him- 
 self back in his chair, and, assuming an air of offence, 
 answered : 
 
 " I really don't understand you, Sir Stanley." 
 
 " The object of my visit is that you shall do so, I 
 assure you, and also that I shall understand you. The 
 interview promises to be very interesting," and I 
 looked at him steadily as I waited for his reply. 
 
 It was, in truth, a very pretty situation, and I en- 
 joyed it,
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 PLANNING A STATE MARRIAGE 
 
 THE discomfiture of " Captain von Weimar " was 
 complete, and he sat frowning heavily and biting his 
 nails in confusion, at an utter loss what line to take in 
 answer to my questions. 
 
 The embarrassing silence was broken by an incident. 
 I heard a girl's voice singing the refrain of an old Ger- 
 man folk song, and the door opened and the song 
 ceased suddenly as the singer entered and caught sight 
 of me. I looked at her in surprise. She bore a strong 
 resemblance to Celia, was of about the same age, and 
 had similar colouring of eyes, complexion and hair. 
 
 " My daughter, Katrine, Sir Stanley," said the 
 Baroness, apparently welcoming the interruption. The 
 girl regarded me with interest quite equal to my own, 
 and as she gave me her hand looked straight into my 
 eyes, as I thought, anxiously and nervously. But I 
 am not quick at. reading expressions. 
 
 She murmured some commonplace, and sat down by 
 her mother. 
 
 " Katrine is very charmed with London," said her 
 mother. " It is all so strange and fresh to her," and, 
 taking this cue, I talked to them both for some min- 
 utes about what they had seen and where they were go- 
 ing. All this time the Captain did not speak and had 
 taken no notice of the girl's entrance, but after some 
 
 minutes I saw him exchange a signal with the Baroness 
 62
 
 PLANNING A STATE MARRIAGE 63 
 
 to send her daughter away. I gathered two things 
 from this ; that he was commander-in-chief in that 
 household, and that he had at length made up his mind 
 as to what course to take with me. 
 
 Katrine's likeness to Celia was limited strictly to out- 
 ward appearance. Despite her mother's assurance 
 that she was charmed with London, I could get noth- 
 ing from her that showed more than a precociously 
 cynical indifference to everything. She was dull, 
 heavy, and preoccupied in manner, and the impression 
 the short interview left on my mind was that there was 
 some overpowering influence in her life, grief or fear, 
 or love trouble perhaps, which blunted her sensibilities 
 and deadened her interest in everything that went on 
 about her. She appeared to be greatly in fear of her 
 mother, and scarcely less so of the Captain, at whom I 
 saw her now and again shoot quick, furtive glances. 
 
 No word was spoken, or sign given that I detected 
 to send her away, but she appeared to understand in- 
 tuitively that she was to go, and voluntarily invented a 
 pretext and left us. 
 
 " Poor Katrine has always felt her father's death so 
 keenly," said the Baroness, as if she felt some explan- 
 ation of her manner were necessary. 
 
 " Never mind Katrine, now," interrupted the Cap- 
 tain, brusquely. " We have serious matters to discuss." 
 It was not only bad manners, but bad tactics for him 
 to show his predominance in this way, and the Bar- 
 oness looked at him with surprise and concern, and I 
 thought she was going to protest, but she did not. 
 
 " I owe you an apology, Sir Stanley," he said to me, 
 " and I tender it to you. I am not Captain von Wei- 
 mar, and I did use a letter of introduction given by
 
 64 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 your brother-in-law to the Captain. I am travelling 
 incognito, and I am, as you have said, a member of the 
 Kronheim family. I am the Graf Karl von Kronheim. 
 I made a mistake, and should have come to you 
 openly and in my own name. There was no need for 
 any such secrecy. My mission to London is a per- 
 fectly open and honourable one. I wish to find a 
 daughter of the Grand Duke Constans of Saxe-Lippe, 
 who was committed to your uncle's care by the Duch- 
 ess many years ago. I should have told you the ob- 
 ject of my visit. had I dined with you to-night." 
 
 " On whose behalf are you searching for her ? " 
 
 " On my own. I wish to marry her." 
 
 " To marry her ? " I repeated, surprised in my turn 
 at his pithy frankness. 
 
 " To marry her," he insisted. " I presume you can 
 have no objection to that?" he added, superciliously. 
 A glance at the Baroness told me that she was as much 
 surprised as I was by this new turn of the wheel. 
 
 " I don't know that any right of decision rests with 
 me," I answered. 
 
 " Neither do I," he retorted with a laugh. " Except 
 perhaps that, as you have the present charge of the 
 lady herself, you may think that gives you a right. I 
 saw her at your house under somewhat singular, not 
 to say compromising, circumstances, you will remem- 
 ber." 
 
 " I remember nothing of the kind," said I, warmly. 
 
 " She was at your house." 
 
 " She called at my house on her way to my sister's." 
 
 " Well, where is she now? " 
 
 " That I decline to tell you." 
 
 " It is a little strange, surely, that you should spirit
 
 PLANNING A STATE MARRIAGE 65 
 
 her away in this fashion. A little ambiguous, don't 
 you think, considering who and what she is ? " 
 
 " Considering who she is, it is more than a little am- 
 biguous that no one from Crudenstadt has ever in- 
 quired for her." 
 
 " You know the circumstances under which she was 
 entrusted to your uncle's care, I presume ? " 
 
 " Probably more fully and certainly than you can 
 possibly know them," I answered, feeling that I must 
 make an effort if this man was not to make me lose 
 my temper. 
 
 " Then I should think the reason is patent to you." 
 
 " On the contrary, the reason is all the more unin- 
 telligible." 
 
 " Your late uncle's reputation in Crudenstadt " 
 
 " Is my affair, sir, if you please," I broke in, angrily. 
 He shrugged his shoulders to point the sneer on his 
 face. 
 
 " We will leave that alone then. Despite every- 
 thing, I am willing to make her my wife for the sake 
 of Saxe-Lippe." 
 
 " I'm sure Saxe-Lippe ought to be profoundly 
 touched by such a sacrifice," I could not resist saying. 
 " But if the lady herself should not share your sacrifi- 
 cial impulses ? " 
 
 " That is not a matter which I consider can concern 
 you," he answered, haughtily. " This is an affair of 
 State importance. I wish to be frank with you, despite 
 your personal heat. You should know therefore, that 
 there are reasons which make it exceedingly impolitic, 
 impossible, in fact, for my brother, the Graf Wilhelm I 
 am the younger brother, you know to take the suc- 
 cession to the Saxe-Lippe Duchy, and consequently it 
 5
 
 66 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 will devolve upon me. To prevent the serious strife 
 and civil feud which would inevitably follow any strug- 
 gle for the throne, my marriage with the present Duke's 
 daughter has therefore become imperative. The ar- 
 rangement has the approval of all concerned all in 
 Crudenstadt that is to say and I have come over to 
 carry it out. I wish, therefore, to see Celia as soon as 
 practicable and have everything settled. Where the 
 issues are so great, of course, nothing can be allowed 
 to stand in the way." 
 
 Every feeling and instinct in my nature rose in revolt 
 against this man's arrogant, boastful manner, and the 
 thought of Celia being united to such a selfish, sen- 
 sual brute as I believed him to be, was a suggested 
 desecration of her purity that maddened me. But I 
 was not so mad as not to recognise the plausibility of 
 the claim and the imperative need for me to walk warily. 
 
 " Well, what do you say?" he asked, putting the 
 question as though my answer were a matter of supreme 
 indifference. 
 
 " I don't know enough of the ways of Court mar- 
 riages to answer." 
 
 " I dare say it surprises you, and, as it may tend to 
 explain my action in coming to you incognito, I will 
 make a little confession. My object was to see Celia 
 first in a private character, to try to make a favourable 
 impression upon her, so that the thing might not be so 
 sudden and perhaps embarrassing. I understand that 
 she has been living a life of absolutely private seclusion 
 under the circumstances very wise and prudent, no 
 doubt and I thought that with your uncle's aid the 
 whole matter could have been arranged. His death 
 and your discovery of my incognito have, however,
 
 PLANNING A STATE MARRIAGE 67 
 
 changed the state of matters, and I must deal with cir- 
 cumstances as I find them. If practicable, I should 
 still prefer to see her first in a private capacity. You 
 can decide that but of course in any event the result 
 must be the same. The marriage is imperative in the 
 public interest, and must take place." 
 
 His insolently confident appropriation of Celia, to 
 the utter disregard of her own feelings or wishes, was 
 insufferable and exasperating. 
 
 " I do not, of course, see the same necessity for the 
 marriage which you do. Nor do I forget that it was 
 the unhappy State marriage into which her mother 
 was coerced that led to so much of the after 
 trouble," 
 
 " These things do not come within the sphere of con- 
 sideration in regard to Court, marriages, Sir Stanley," 
 he said, with an air of great superiority. " And your 
 suggestion is not very flattering to myself." 
 
 " I did not come here to flatter you, or the reverse. 
 I came to ask for an explanation of certain matters." 
 
 " Which I have explained, I think, and I shall be 
 glad to be assured that I am to have your friendly co- 
 operation in the matter. You have some responsibility, 
 since you have the charge at present of Celia. But you 
 will be relieved of that immediately." 
 
 " As I have said, I have yet to be convinced of the 
 necessity, and even of the desirability, of the marriage," 
 I answered, coldly. 
 
 " Perhaps Sir Stanley knows of some previous at- 
 tachment, and fears accordingly," said the Baroness 
 Borgen, speaking for the first time. 
 
 The German laughed and shrugged his shoulders, 
 and when I made no response turned to me airily :
 
 68 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " I hope there's nothing of the kind, though it is 
 really of the smallest consequence. What think you?" 
 
 "As it is of no consequence, need we discuss it? " 
 
 The Baroness laughed very softly and sweetly, yet 
 with much significance. 
 
 " I gathered yesterday from your sister that there 
 was some some, what shall I term it, not exactly at- 
 tachment or entanglement, but preference." 
 
 " Indeed ! " I answered, as indifferently and coldly 
 as I could, considering that I knew what she meant 
 quite well, and that inwardly I was burning with rage. 
 
 " Your sister seemed to think that you yourself were 
 greatly impressed," she replied, with an especially 
 sweet and insinuating smile. 
 
 " Which sister do you mean, Baroness ? Alice, who 
 has communicated with me as to your friendship with 
 her in Crudenstadt, or Flora, whom you visited under 
 the cover of Alice's introduction?" 
 
 " The dear girl whom I saw yesterday, of course," 
 she said, not in the least disturbed by what my words 
 implied. " She is a sweet girl, so charming and natural. 
 I am sure you will be delighted with her, Herr Graf/' 
 she added, turning to the Count. " Quite a typical 
 innocent English beauty. I should so like her for a 
 friend for Katrine, Sir Stanley." 
 
 " Well, the question is," he said, brusquely, " whether 
 you propose to help me in the matter, or whether I 
 must rely upon my own resources and report that you 
 are keeping the young duchess in hiding." 
 
 " To whom do I understand you will have to re- 
 port ? " 
 
 " To her family, of course. By the way, does she 
 know of her high position ? "
 
 PLANNING A STATE MARRIAGE 69 
 
 Certainly." 
 
 " Well, then, what do you say ? Despite his as- 
 sumption of a tone and manner of indifference, it was 
 plain that he was anxious. 
 
 " It is not for me to stand in her path, of course," I 
 began, and his face lighted. " And I shall be happy 
 to do everything in my power to further her interests." 
 
 " When and how shall we arrange the interview then ? 
 I should prefer it to be in a private character, as I 
 said." 
 
 " As soon as I am assured that you are acting with 
 the assent of the Duke and her family, I shall be at 
 your service." 
 
 " Do you doubt my word, sir? " he asked, angrily. 
 
 " If I ask for confirmation of it, it is only because of 
 your own method of coming to me in an assumed 
 name." 
 
 He tried unsuccessfully to hide his annoyance at my 
 words. 
 
 " We ought to be grateful to Sir Stanley for his 
 evident intention to guard his treasure so carefully," 
 said the Baroness, in the same dulcet tone. 
 
 "Where is she now, sir? " 
 
 " At the present moment, I am quite unable to tell 
 you," I answered, and this was absolutely true, for I 
 had not heard from Schwartz where they were going 
 that day. 
 
 " It is surely strange that a young unmarried girl of 
 such high birth should be wandering about the country 
 at the bidding of a young unmarried man who is not 
 related to her. Do your English ideas of propriety 
 countenance such an equivocal and compromising state 
 of things ?"
 
 70 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " She is in perfectly safe keeping," I answered, keep- 
 ing my temper. " The circumstances of the case alto- 
 gether are unusual." 
 
 " Very," put in the Baroness, drily ; but I took no 
 notice. 
 
 " You may rely upon me to take very prompt 
 measures," I said, as I rose to leave. " And I will 
 communicate with you." 
 
 " Do you refuse even to permit me to see the Duchess 
 Celia? I can scarcely believe it possible," exclaimed 
 the Count, very warmly. " It is monstrous. You will 
 have to answer for this." 
 
 " As you please," said I ; and with that I left. 
 
 I carried away a very unpleasant impression of the 
 interview. I was convinced that some kind of villainy 
 was intended, but I could not see what. The attempt 
 which the pair had made to win their way with us by 
 false pretences had been explained plausibly by the 
 Count ; but I was convinced that it was more plausible 
 than true, and I had not the least doubt that they 
 were plotting some underhand work that boded ill for 
 Celia. But what could it be ? 
 
 If what he had said were true that he was acting 
 at the instigation of the reigning Duke and that the 
 marriage had indeed been planned by their sanction, it 
 was not hard to see that Celia would have great diffi- 
 culty in opposing them. But was it true? If her 
 family were so anxious for this match, why had not 
 the Duke himself sent someone to me ? All this pre- 
 tence of a desire to make love to Celia in a private 
 capacity sounded like so much high-falutin' romance 
 which was altogether unlikely to have any place in the 
 cold and formal routine of State marriage plans. It
 
 PLANNING A STATE MARRIAGE 71 
 
 was far more probable that he wished to get some kind 
 of hold over her for his own personal ends, and had 
 brought this dashing adventuress to London to help 
 him in his object. 
 
 I had pricked that balloon at any rate ; and I drove 
 to my aunt's at once and told her and my sister not to 
 see the Baroness again, and I hurried forward the 
 arrangements for them to join me at Cromwell-road, 
 fixing the following day for their arrival. 
 
 But I must find some means of testing the truth of 
 the Count's story, and must in someway get into com- 
 munication with the Saxe-Lippe Court. There was 
 but one way of doing this well, to go personally to 
 Crudenstadt and ascertain at first hand what was in- 
 tended. But I shrank from leaving England when 
 these two birds of prey had just arrived and were 
 scheming to find Celia. There might be danger to her 
 in my absence. 
 
 I was in doubt, too, whether to let Celia herself 
 know what had passed in regard to this Count von 
 Kronheim. There were indeed a hundred questions 
 involved, all uniting to make the position difficult and 
 perplexing, and I was thinking them over and striving 
 to see my way, when a telegram was brought to me 
 worded very curiously. 
 
 " Remain at home this evening, a friend will call. 
 Urgent." 
 
 I was disposed to smile at the message on account 
 of its air of melodramatic mystery, and a few days be- 
 fore I should have tossed it into the waste-paper basket 
 without another thought. But now it seemed in some 
 way to fit in with the atmosphere of secrecy that was
 
 72 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 gradually surrounding me, and I resolved to wait in on 
 the chance that it might have some connection with all 
 this mystery. 
 
 It was well, indeed, that I did so, for the visit was 
 to mean much to us all in the end ; and it provided a 
 genuine surprise for me.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 KATRINE 
 
 I WAS just finishing my dinner when my servant 
 Wilson, brought me word that a lady had asked to see 
 me. 
 
 " Her name?" 
 
 " She gave no name, Sir Stanley, but said you would 
 be expecting her." 
 
 I went to the drawing-room in much curiosity, and 
 scanned the darkly-dressed and closely-veiled woman, 
 who was walking restlessly up and down the room await- 
 ing me with much impatience. 
 
 " You wish to see me ? " I asked. 
 
 " You will think me a strange girl, Sir Stanley, but 
 I felt I must come to you at once at any risk and I 
 know there is risk." 
 
 It was the Baroness Borgen's daughter, Katrine, and 
 I could not repress a start of astonishment. What 
 on earth could she want ? 
 
 " It was from you I had the telegram ? I have 
 waited in to see you. Pray tell me if I can be of any 
 service ? " 
 
 " You will keep my visit secret ? " 
 
 " Certainly, if you desire it." 
 
 " If it can be kept secret, that is," she exclaimed. 
 
 " No one can know you here." 
 
 " I don't mean that. But your house is being closely 
 watched. Of course you know this, or guess it. I 
 
 73
 
 74 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 know not what may be the consequences of this to me. 
 But I felt I must come." 
 
 She spoke with manifest excitement, and with distress 
 in both tone and manner. 
 
 Apparently her object was friendly to me and hostile 
 to her mother ; and I waited for her to speak voluntarily. 
 Yet I was not off my guard. I was dealing with curious 
 people, and had to look warily for any kind of trap 
 that they might lay. 
 
 " You are being deceived, Sir Stanley ; grossly de- 
 ceived. And more than that, you yourself are likely 
 soon to be in danger. I have come to warn you to be 
 on your guard. But if they knew I was telling you, 
 I believe they would kill me." 
 
 " I can only guess' vaguely at your meaning," I an- 
 swered, when she paused abruptly, as if at a loss how 
 to say what she had come to tell me. " But, of course, 
 you will see that I cannot question you in such a case." 
 
 " If we study only the conventionalities all may be 
 lost," she cried, impatiently. " Others will not. I 
 know what has been told you this afternoon about the 
 projected marriage." The emphasis on the last word 
 gave me a hint of my visitor's motive, and I began to 
 feel my interest quickening. " Did you believe what 
 they said to-day ? " 
 
 " I can scarcely say I have yet the means of judging 
 it." She shrugged her shoulders and uttered an ex- 
 pressive exclamation of dissatisfaction at my evasive 
 reply. 
 
 " Do you think I have come here as their tool ? " she 
 cried, almost fiercely. 
 
 " I should not be so blind or so unjust," said I, still 
 on my guard.
 
 KATRINE 75 
 
 " Oh, I know what you mean. You do distrust me. 
 I can see it, and you are blind. Well, then, we have 
 one object in common and I have come to offer you 
 my help. Will you have it?" 
 
 " The projected marriage is that which Count von 
 Kronheim is contemplating ? " I asked, slowly. 
 
 " It shall never take place, never, I swear it ! " she 
 cried, with such a burst of vehemence that I needed no 
 fir L her evidence of either her sincerity or motive. "He 
 has lied to you. He came over purposely in the name 
 of Captain von Weimar intending to find this girl, this 
 young Duchess, as he calls her, and get her into his 
 power. He was mad when you discovered his disguise, 
 and then patched up that further lie about his having 
 the consent of her family. It is a lie from beginning 
 to end. He has no such consent at all. He is making 
 a bold bid for the throne himself, and he thinks that 
 if he can carry out his purpose here and get this girl 
 into his power he can force her to marry him or ruin 
 her, and he is reckless enough to do that. With her 
 as his wife he reckons he can oust his brother from the 
 succession. He tried to cheat you with the tale to-day. 
 But, mark me ! If you ever allow him to set eyes on 
 her, or to know where she is, he will get her in his 
 clutches by fair means or foul, and then, God have 
 mercy on her, for he will not. O Sir Stanley, I am the 
 most miserable girl on earth," and with this climax to 
 her violent tirade she threw herself on a couch and hid 
 her face in her hands, in complete abandonment to 
 her paroxysm of distress. 
 
 Jealousy, I had thought at first. But this looked 
 like something far worse. I waited some minute o. 
 two in embarrassing silence, and then made a shot.
 
 76 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " He has promised to marry you ? " I said. 
 
 "You know that? How did you know it? Tell 
 me quick. Oh, I see ; it is only a guess." She had 
 looked up eagerly and swiftly at my words, but, read- 
 ing my expression, hers changed from eagerness to 
 bitterness. " Of course he has. Should I be here if 
 it were not so ? " 
 
 The infinite pathos of her tone chilled me with its 
 piteous eloquence of pain, of unavailing remorse and 
 bitter self-condemnation. 
 
 " You will be on my side, Sir Stanley ? You will 
 not help this wicked scheme ? You will not see me 
 betrayed like this? I know you won't. I am sure 
 you are honest and good." 
 
 " If I can thwart it, believe me, there is nothing I 
 will not do," I cried, as earnestly as she herself had 
 spoken. 
 
 " I was sure of it. I knew it to-day when I saw you 
 for the few minutes. If I had only someone like you 
 to call him to account and make him keep his solemnly- 
 pledged word ! " 
 
 "Your mother " I began, when she cut me short 
 
 with a sob that was like a cry of pain from her heart. 
 
 " Don't, don't ! For heaven's sake, don't ! My 
 mother is in his power. She dare not oppose him if 
 she would, and, to my shame I say it, she would not." 
 Seeing the expression which her words called to my 
 face, she closed her eyes in anguish and cried again : 
 " I tell you I am the most miserable girl on earth, and 
 the most desolate, the most helpless." 
 
 " Not helpless, if I can help you," I said, sincerely 
 moved. 
 
 " You cannot, you cannot," she moaned. " It is
 
 KATRINE 77 
 
 not revenge I wish, though my soul cries for it at 
 times. But I would not have him harmed. I I love 
 him." 
 
 The hopelessness suggested by her tone no words 
 can express. It thrilled me with its suffering and 
 stirred every chivalrous instinct in my nature to help 
 her. But I could express none of my feelings, and it 
 was she who broke the long silence. 
 
 " I have accomplished my object, and must go ; or I 
 shall be missed. I have told you my piteous story 
 that you may know those you have to deal with and 
 the lengths to which they will go, and may understand 
 the real dangers that threaten the girl who is in your 
 charge. I shall try to communicate with you from 
 time to time ; but unless there is urgent need I shall 
 not venture the risk of trying to see you again. This 
 one visit was necessary, despite the risk of it. If I 
 should ever need to see you again, will you keep any 
 appointment?" 
 
 " Certainly I will," I said, readily. " And if you 
 are in any trouble and think I can help you, pray let 
 me try." 
 
 " I am always in sore sorrow, but no one can help 
 me," she answered, mournfully; and with this prose 
 dirge she left me. 
 
 By a freak of coincidence my thoughts flew back to 
 Celia's words at the interview when I had first told her 
 everything: "There shall be as much comedy as you 
 like, but no tragedy." There was tragedy enough in 
 this poor girl's life, brought into it by the very people 
 who were threatening Celia ; and it looked very much as 
 though we should need all our wits to prevent our 
 comedy from taking the same gloomy tone.
 
 78 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 I thought long and carefully over all that I had 
 heard and over the best means of checkmating the 
 plans laid so cunningly and daringly. A man so reck- 
 less as the Count von Kronheim, backed by the shrewd 
 counsel of a callous, heartless and unnatural woman 
 like his accomplice, could not but prove a very danger- 
 ous antagonist, and although I now held the key to 
 his intentions, I was disposed to doubt my ability to 
 cope with him. 
 
 There were two things that I must do. Keep 
 Celia's whereabouts a secret, and acquaint myself with 
 the real intentions of the Crudenstadt people as to her 
 future. They were both difficult. I could not keep 
 Celia and her companion always moving restlessly 
 about the kingdom, and yet the moment they settled 
 down anywhere I saw that the chances of their discov- 
 ery would be immensely increased. My fears led me, 
 no doubt, to exaggerate the capacity of her enemies to 
 find her; and it seemed to me by no means a difficult 
 task for their agents to trace her, no matter what pre- 
 cautions and care we took. I should have felt she 
 would be safe if I could be with her, but the second 
 necessity prevented that. 
 
 A visit to Crudenstadt appeared to be a sheer necessity 
 if I was to get at the truth. That visit must occupy some 
 days, and these might easily stretch themselves into 
 weeks in face of the possible difficulties of getting the 
 information I needed and to be absent in Saxe-Lippe 
 for such a length of time when this impetuous and 
 dangerous Count was here in England, scheming to find 
 Celia, was to take a risk from which I shrank. I dared 
 not leave. 
 
 I thought of sending Schwartz to Crudenstadt ; but
 
 KATRINE 79 
 
 my old dislike and distrust of him stood in the way. I 
 believed him to be in earnest in his wish to cany out my 
 uncle's plans, but I could not answer for his discretion 
 or even good faith in such delicate work as might have 
 to be done there. 
 
 For the present, therefore, I contented myself by 
 writing to my sister Alice, and, under the plea that I 
 had private reasons for desiring to know exactly how 
 the question of the succession in Saxe-Lippe was viewed, 
 I asked her to let me know all that she could ascertain 
 as to the precise condition of the young heir's health, 
 and as to those \vho were named to succeed the present 
 Duke in the event of his son dying. In particular had 
 she heard anything about the supposed missing 
 daughter? And I asked her if she could put me in 
 correspondence with anyone in the confidence of the 
 court. 
 
 As I was in the act of ringing for the servant to take 
 the letter to the post Katrine's warning that my house 
 was being watched came into my thoughts, and I re- 
 solved to try and ascertain for myself whether this was 
 the case. In addition to the usual means of exit by the 
 front door I was able to pass out through the dining- 
 room windows into the square at the back and so into a 
 quiet road behind. I chose that now, and saw enough 
 to convince myself that that way, at any rate, was not 
 under observation ; and when I had posted my letter 
 and strolled into the main road I saw nothing to rouse 
 my suspicions. I waited about for a considerable time 
 smoking, but not a soul came near the house that sug- 
 gested anything in the nature of a spy. 
 
 I was thus smiling at the uneasiness which the 
 suggestion of this spying had roused, when my atten-
 
 So FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 tion was attracted to the house next to my own. It 
 had been to let and unoccupied, except by a caretaker, 
 and it was thus with some surprise that I now saw a man 
 respectably dressed come out and shut the front door 
 carefully behind him. He stood a moment on the steps 
 and then on the pavement, scanning my windows, and 
 after he had walked some thirty or forty yards he hailed 
 a hansom-cab, jumped in, and was driven away. He 
 was certainly no caretaker. What, then, could he be 
 doing in an empty house at eleven o'clock at night ? 
 The incident set me thinking. 
 
 I waited a few minutes, and, after satisfying myself 
 that there was no light in any of the windows, either 
 back or front, I went to the door and rang the bell. I 
 heard it clanging noisily, and when no one came in reply 
 to it I rang again. There was no response, and it was 
 evident therefore, the man I had seen had been there 
 alone. 
 
 It was an easy inference for me to draw that he had 
 been using the house for the purpose of his spying, and 
 this conclusion made me extremely uneasy. It was a 
 probable step for any one wishing to have my house 
 under close surveillance to secure such an excellent 
 vantage-post as the empty house would afford ; and 
 it required very little imagination to foresee that it 
 would lend itself to further measures against me of a 
 much more aggressive character than mere spy work. 
 
 I caught my breath quickly, too, when it occurred to 
 me that in this fact of the empty house I might not 
 unreasonably look for the true solution of the mystery 
 of my uncle's death, supposing that strange story of 
 his to have been true. It was evident that I might 
 have to be much more on my guard than before, and
 
 KATRINE 81 
 
 that the risks of the position might be even far greater 
 than I had anticipated. 
 
 I went back to my study and sat smoking and think- 
 ing over this new development until long after mid- 
 night, and as I went up to bed I was conscious of a 
 new feeling of apprehension which caused me to be 
 very careful in locking my door and in seeing that no 
 one was concealed in my room. 
 
 The next day I sent for a builder, and under the 
 pretence that I was nervous of burglars, gave him 
 instructions to secure all the windows strongly that 
 could possibly be entered from the roof or the 
 adjoining house, and to fit to all the windows and 
 doors an elaborate system of electric burglar alarms, so 
 that not a window or door in the house could be 
 opened without rousing the household when once the 
 alarm was on. And I had the key to the whole sys- 
 tem fixed in my own bedroom, so that I should be in 
 command of everything. 
 
 As I was going round the house with him one thing 
 struck me forcibly the ease with which an entry could 
 be effected into the house from the roof. And again 
 at this, the question recurred to me whether this way 
 had already been used with such mysterious and fatal 
 results on the night of my uncle's death. 
 
 I went then to the agents, whose name had been on 
 the bill in the next house; and what I learnt there 
 tended to increase my disquiet. 
 
 " We have had an unusual experience with the house, 
 Sir Stanley," said the head of the firm. " We let it 
 about six weeks ago, and when all arrangements had 
 been completed and possession actually given, the 
 
 family were unable to come to London, and it passed 
 6
 
 82 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 on to our books again ; but, by a coincidence, within 
 three days we had another application and let it 
 instantly." 
 
 " Would you tell me the names of both tenants?" 
 
 "Certainly, with the greatest pleasure. The first 
 was a Mr. Charrington, who had been a long time 
 abroad, on the Continent ; and so also, by a singular 
 coincidence, has the present tenant. Mr. Smythe the 
 name is." 
 
 " His references satisfactoiy ? " 
 
 " Certainly ; his bankers," naming a well-known 
 bank. 
 
 " When did Mr. Charrington give it up and Mr. 
 Smythe take it ? " 
 
 "Just at the time of Sir Henry Meredith's death, 
 because I remember I was speculating whether that 
 house would also be to let and mentioned it." 
 
 " You have seen Mr. Smythe, then ? " 
 
 " No, his secretary, or some one acting for him 
 only." 
 
 I thanked him and left. It was, as he had said, " a 
 singular coincidence," and I did not like the look of it 
 at all. It might of course, be no more than coinci- 
 dence ; but there seemed so many coincidences, all 
 pointing to one conclusion, that each of them began 
 to look like a distinct mesh in the web of a carefully 
 designed plan. I drove to the bank to try and trace 
 this " Mr. Smythe," and what I heard there was the 
 reverse of reassuring. The manager told me that the 
 account had been opened on the introduction of a large 
 German house, who had remitted a sum of some thou- 
 sands of pounds ; that they had every reason to sup- 
 pose Mr. Smythe was a man of means, but had not
 
 KATRINE 83 
 
 seen him ; and all the business had been transacted 
 by correspondence ; and they had given the reference 
 for the house in Cromwell-road in the ordinary 
 course of business. 
 
 Coincidence again or something more ! 
 
 It was a daring step to take the very house next mine 
 and to use it as a base of operations against me. But 
 then I knew I had to deal with a bold and even des- 
 perate man playing for a big stake, and determined to 
 resort to any and every means to gain his end.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 A GENUINE SURPRISE 
 
 THE next two or three days were filled with much 
 anxiety for me. My thoughts were constantly har- 
 assed by doubts and fears of unknown but impending 
 troubles, and I found myself perpetually speculating 
 as to what move my antagonists could take next. 
 
 The consciousness that my house and movements 
 were under perpetual surveillance was irritating and 
 depressing to a degree difficult to describe, and it 
 began to wear upon my nerves so much that I grew 
 more 'and more anxious to take some decisive step that 
 would bring about a climax ; and yet knew not what 
 to do. 
 
 I heard from Schwartz and from Celia. They had 
 acted on my suggestions and had gone from Brighton 
 to Worthing then to Bournemouth, and from there to 
 Cheltenham. Celia's letters were exceedingly charac- 
 teristic. She held to her resolve to see nothing but 
 comedy in the situation, and she wrote me in a vein of 
 laughing, light-hearted protest, with touches of tender 
 regard to be read between the lines. But the burden 
 of the cry was always the same: "How long?" 
 " When can we ring down the curtain and begin the 
 play of my life in earnest ? " she put it once ; and with 
 the actual proofs round about me of the real and pos- 
 sibly deadly seriousness of the position the tone jarred 
 even while it charmed me. 
 84
 
 A GENUINE SURPRISE 85 
 
 My sister importuned me also about Celia's move- 
 ments and why all this mystery and secrecy were neces- 
 sary. 
 
 " What has Celia done that she should be packed 
 away from us like this with that dreadful woman ? " 
 she asked me. 
 
 " She has ' done ' nothing, Blossom. It is simply 
 more expedient for her to remain in the country at 
 present." 
 
 " What words you are learning to use. ' Expe- 
 dient '; what does that mean ? " 
 
 " It means much more than I can explain, or perhaps 
 understand myself," I replied, with a suspicion of a 
 sigh born of my perplexity. 
 
 My sister looked at me shrewdly. 
 
 " What does it all mean, Stanley ? You're looking 
 dreadfully worried. I'm sure you'd be better if you 
 trusted me. I know Celia's awfully fond of you." 
 
 " It'll come right some day, Blossom. Don't worry 
 yourself." 
 
 " You mean don't worry you, I suppose. But I 
 want her here with us. Why can't she live with us? " 
 She was disposed to set down everything to some 
 lovers' quarrel. 
 
 " There are things I can't tell you, my dear child. 
 I would if I could, but there's nothing wrong between 
 Celia and me. We quite understand the position and 
 each other, I assure you." 
 
 " Well, you are the funniest pair I ever heard of. 
 Of course, it's nothing to do with me," she retorted, 
 shrugging her shoulders crossly and turning away. 
 
 I should have liked to tell her, but it was impossible 
 at that juncture. Indeed, I felt in sore need of some-
 
 86 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 one with whom I could talk matters over. The sus- 
 pense was irksome and trying, and the fact that I had 
 to bear the responsibility alone added to the weight of 
 the burden. 
 
 I was not to be alone in it much longer, for a great 
 and genuine surprise was in store for me. But just 
 before that happened I had a lesser surprise in a visit 
 from the Count von Kronheim. 
 
 His card was brought to me just after I had had one 
 of these interviews with my sister, and I went to him 
 speculating curiously as to his object. He was not 
 long in making that clear enough. 
 
 " My visit will probably be a surprise to you, Sir 
 Stanley, considering how our last interview closed," he 
 said. 
 
 " Yes, it is a surprise. What is your object ? " 
 
 " I wish to come to some arrangement with you. I 
 believe that you have my cousin Celia's welfare at 
 heart although you adopt so curious a method of con- 
 sulting it." 
 
 "What fresh development, now? " I asked, curtly. 
 
 " I wish to know whether you have told my cousin 
 the drift of the arrangement proposed from Cruden- 
 stadt as the solution of the difficulty in regard to the 
 Saxe-Lippe succession." 
 
 " Certainly I have not. Your agents have probably 
 informed you that I have not been out of London 
 since I saw you." 
 
 I watched him closely as I made this thrust, but he 
 gave no further sign than a passing frown, and affected 
 to misunderstand me. 
 
 " My agents? I don't know what you mean." 
 
 "Your spies, if you prefer the word. I mean the
 
 A GENUINE SURPRISE 87 
 
 persons you have set to watch me. Don't affect to 
 misunderstand me, for I assure you I know quite well 
 what you are doing." 
 
 " Do you intend to inform her? " 
 
 He put the question sharply and imperiously, pass- 
 ing by my words. I smiled. 
 
 " Yes, perhaps it is more convenient to ignore the 
 existence of your spies." 
 
 " Do you intend to inform her, Sir Stanley ?" 
 
 " I would really prefer not to discuss matters with 
 you at all. I shall act simply as my own judgment 
 and my information concerning you dictate." 
 
 He glanced at me very sharply. 
 
 " Can we come to no understanding on the matter?" 
 he asked. 
 
 " None," I answered, decisively. " None whatever.'* 
 
 " I am prepared to do anything you wish in reason." 
 
 " I cannot discuss the matter with you at all," was 
 my uncompromising reply, and I rose to end the inter- 
 view. But he did not move. 
 
 " The urgency is increasing. The health of the 
 young Duke is growing rapidly worse, and if my 
 cousin's claims are to be advanced no time must be 
 lost." 
 
 " I shall take my own line and choose my own time 
 to take it." 
 
 " You take the serious responsibility very lightly." 
 I made no answer to this, and after a moment he 
 added : " I have the right to demand to see my 
 cousin." 
 
 " You have already made the demand." 
 
 " True, but you have not complied with it," he said, 
 his tone and manner suggesting a rise in temper.
 
 88 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " And at present do not intend to," I answered, as 
 curtly as before. 
 
 " Your conduct is most extraordinary, sir." 
 
 " I am not accountable to you for it." 
 
 "You are accountable to me for this unwarranted 
 detention and concealment of the woman I am to 
 marry," he began, in great heat, but checked himself 
 and said : " But I did not come to speak in any but a 
 friendly tone." 
 
 " I have no desire for your friendship, and am in- 
 different to any unfriendly tone you may please to 
 adopt." 
 
 " Do you mean to insult me ?" 
 
 " You must place such construction on my words 
 as you please. I did not seek this interview and do 
 not wish to prolong it." 
 
 " I may find means to make you bring my cousin back." 
 
 " In such a case, of- course, I should do so ; but 
 until then " I smiled and waved my hand to indi- 
 cate my indifference " I am not likely to pay much 
 attention to your threats." 
 
 "If you were in my country you would not dare to 
 insult me in this way," he cried, with an oath, his face 
 now full of rage. 
 
 " We may have an opportunity of discussing that in 
 Crudenstadt itself," I answered, quietly. 
 
 " I wish I had you there," he exclaimed, furiously. 
 " I would teach you a lesson in manners." 
 
 I crossed the room and rang the bell. 
 
 " Show this gentleman to the door, and be careful 
 not to admit him again," I said to the servant. 
 
 "Do you dare to turn me out of your house?" 
 cried the Count.
 
 A GENUINE SURPRISE 89 
 
 "You have my orders, Wilson," I said, sharply, to 
 the servant. 
 
 The Count stared at me a moment with such a look 
 of fury that I thought he was going to attempt to 
 strike me, but, mastering this impulse, or seeing the 
 futility of it, he exclaimed : " You shall hear from me ! " 
 and hurried out of the room. 
 
 I hoped he would keep his word. I 'was no fire- 
 eater and certainly no lover of the duel. I had no 
 wish to lose my life and none to take his, but the 
 abominable character of the scheme he had formed to 
 sacrifice Celia to his own sordid ambition had roused 
 my resentment to such a pitch that I vowed I would 
 even go to the length of a meeting if he gave me the 
 chance. 
 
 I had no doubt that he had come with the object of 
 frightening or bribing me into what he called some 
 arrangement, and as I recalled his words and manner 
 my rage against him was to the full as great as that 
 he had shown. 
 
 But no messengers came from him ; only a letter on 
 the following day, saying that, as I had so grossly 
 insulted him he should hold himself at liberty to 
 demand satisfaction at any time when we were so 
 situated that I could not hide myself behind the 
 cowardly conventions of English society, and when his 
 own matters were not pressing with such importance. 
 
 His insolent words stung me like shot pellets in the 
 face, and revived all the anger of the previous day. 
 Smarting under the insult, I sat down to pen a reply 
 that I would meet him when and where he pleased, if 
 he sent me a challenge, and my rage was so hot that I 
 rejoiced in the prospect of a chance to punish him for
 
 90 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 his treatment of me, as well as for his infamous 
 scheming against Celia. 
 
 It was, indeed, as much for her sake as my own that 
 I looked on such a quarrel as this with its issue of a 
 fight as the proper and logical climax of the position. 
 There was nothing ridiculous or even ill-proportioned 
 in the thought that I should fight in this way on Celia's 
 account. I was more than willing to run any risk for 
 her sake, and the events of the past week or two had 
 forced me to believe that those risks were real and ugly 
 enough to be taken very seriously. 
 
 I was young and hot-blooded. I loved her with an 
 intense passion which even she may scarcely have real- 
 ised, and while my cheek was burning at the recollec- 
 tion of this man's words, and my heart was torn with 
 the thought that he had dared to attempt to thrust 
 himself and his miserable ambitions between us, I 
 could even bring myself to wish that in a fair fight I 
 might take his life. 
 
 But my letter of fiery acceptance of his challenge 
 was not destined to be sent, for a new development of 
 the matter commenced in that very hour when I was 
 writing it, and while I was giving a free rein to all 
 the bitterness and wildness of my thoughts against 
 him. 
 
 My servant brought me the card of a Countess von 
 Klafter. My house was becoming a rendezvous for 
 unknown German nobilities, apparently, and I went to 
 this one with a feeling of impatience. 
 
 " Are you Sir Stanley Meredith?" she asked me as 
 I entered, and the tone of the question impressed me. 
 There was a note of authority in it, with a dash of sur- 
 prise. She did not offer me her hand, but instead bent
 
 A GENUINE SURPRISE 91 
 
 on me a look so earnest that it brought a frown to her 
 forehead. 
 
 " Yes, I am Sir Stanley Meredith." 
 
 "The son of Sir Henry Meredith?" 
 
 She spoke with a somewhat strong German accent. 
 
 " No ; the nephew of the late Sir Henry Meredith," 
 I answered in German, and the conversation was con- 
 tinued in that language. 
 
 " I have reasons for being very particular," she said, 
 and then paused. 
 
 During the pause I looked at her closely. She was 
 a woman of some forty years of age, I judged, but her 
 features were lined with trouble and marked by such 
 an expression of melancholy and sternness as I had 
 rarely seen on a woman's face. She had been very 
 beautiful in her youth, and the colouring reminded me 
 of Celia's complexion fair, hair golden but silvering 
 fast, and eyes blue, but with a strange unfeeling cold- 
 ness and glitter that came either from close melancholy 
 introspection and brooding, or from temper heightened 
 by suffering. Her manner was strangely repellent, 
 harsh, austere and cold. 
 
 "You were in your uncle's confidence?" she asked, 
 breaking the pause somewhat abruptly. 
 
 " At the close of his life ; and, in some respects, I 
 may say fully in his confidence." 
 
 " There was a young German lady in whom he took 
 much interest. Do you know her? " 
 
 The question was a little difficult to answer. 
 
 "What is her name?" I asked, guardedly. 
 
 " I do not know precisely. But do you know whom 
 I mean ? " 
 
 " It would perhaps be better that you give me some
 
 92 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 further details ; something to make the description a 
 little less general," I replied, cautiously. " And per- 
 haps you would like to tell me first the nature of your 
 interest in her, and your reasons for coming to me." 
 
 " I have come to you because Sir Henry Meredith 
 is dead. I have the strongest interest in her. I wish 
 to find her, and I have every right to do so." This 
 was too suggestive of von Kronheim's tone to satisfy 
 me. 
 
 " Permit me to ask the nature of that interest." 
 
 " I can satisfy you completely on that head," she 
 exclaimed, sharply and imperiously, as though im- 
 patient of my question. 
 
 " I do not doubt that," said I, with a bow. " But 
 my uncle did not tell me of any recent inquiries of the 
 kind that were made of him. May I ask if you made 
 any ? " 
 
 The effect of this question upon my visitor, simple 
 as it was, surprised me. She flinched and showed 
 signs of agitation, and for some moments was obviously 
 undecided how to reply. But she retained her self- 
 composure. I did not understand her, but she did not 
 appear to me to be acting like an emissary of the 
 Count von Kronheim. 
 
 " There have been ample reasons to prevent my 
 making any," she said at length. " But, of course, you 
 can't understand me, unless you know the facts." 
 
 " I am quite at your service to hear anything you 
 may wish to tell me." 
 
 " Did your uncle never tell you anything of his life 
 in Germany; in Saxe-Lippe, I mean? " 
 
 " Scarcely anything, except in regard to one inci- 
 dent."
 
 A GENUINE SURPRISE 93 
 
 " And that incident ? " 
 
 The question came sharply, and was accompanied 
 with a quick, searching glance. 
 
 " You must excuse me. It was confidential," I said. 
 
 " But I must know of it " She paused suddenly, 
 
 and shook her head as if in perplexity. 
 
 " I never heard him mention your name," I said. 
 
 "Never heard him mention rne?" she exclaimed, in 
 manifest astonishment. " Oh, you mean as the 
 Countess von Klafter? That was not my name. But 
 he mentioned to you this girl, a baby when she was 
 placed in his charge. Her Christian name might be 
 Celia. He must have done so." 
 
 My only reply was a bow, which she might interpret 
 as she pleased. " She is not dead ? " There was keen 
 interest, but little feeling, in the tone. 
 
 " May I invite you to speak frankly ? I am placed 
 in a very embarrassing position by your reticence." 
 
 I meant her to understand that I would say nothing 
 at all until I knew more of her and of her object in 
 coming to me. And she read my intention quickly. 
 
 " The child was placed in your uncle's care by by 
 her mother, under circumstances of a very exceptional 
 kind. And now the the mother wishes to reclaim 
 her daughter. That is all." She spoke very slowly 
 and very emphatically. 
 
 " The mother has been a long time remembering her 
 duty." Intentionally my tone was stern. " Do you 
 come from her ? " 
 
 " Is Celia alive? " she asked, ignoring my question. 
 
 " Yes ; but she has grown up in complete ignorance 
 of her mother, and until lately 
 
 I checked myself. I did not yet know enough of
 
 94 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 my visitor to speak frankly. She was listening most 
 intently to my every word, and when I stopped, sat 
 regarding me sternly with a frown on her hard, cold 
 face. 
 
 " Thank Heaven she lives," she said, and then after 
 a pause : " You can help me to see her soon ? There 
 is need for the most urgent haste. When can it be ? 
 To-day ? Is she here ? " 
 
 " No ; she is not here," I answered. 
 
 I spoke coldly and formally, for my former suspicions 
 were roused again by her eagerness. 
 
 " I must see her. I tell you I must. There is not 
 a moment to lose. You must help me. Everything 
 will be endangered by delay. Your uncle would have 
 done this at once." 
 
 " My uncle would probably have known you, mad- 
 ame," I replied, pointedly. " To my regret, I do not." 
 
 She started at this and was silent for a moment, 
 thinking ; and then, with an effort to restrain all evi- 
 dence of excitement, she said : 
 
 " I am the mother whom you are so quick to judge 
 and to censure, Sir Stanley. I am the Duchess Marie 
 of Saxe-Lippe. It was I who confided Celia to your 
 uncle's care." 
 
 " Celia's mother ! " I exclaimed, in excited surprise, 
 seeing instantly how full of import for us all this most 
 strange development must be. 
 
 Of all things, this visit was the most unexpected 
 that could have happened.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 CELIA'S MOTHER 
 
 CELIA'S mother alive ! 
 
 It was some moments before I could recover from 
 the astonishment which my visitor's avowal produced, 
 and then my chief feeling was one of deep regret at 
 my implied reproach of her neglect of Celia. 
 
 I had always believed her dead, and my uncle had 
 not let drop a word to cause me to think otherwise. 
 So far as he was concerned, I knew that her history 
 had stopped abruptly at the moment she had been 
 placed under restraint. As I thought of her years of 
 suffering, my heart softened to her, and my suspicions 
 died out, despite her cold, repelling, and, as it seemed 
 to me, heartless manner. A woman dead to tender- 
 ness. 
 
 "Your statement has moved me deeply, madame. 
 If I can be of service to you, pray tell me how," I said 
 at length. 
 
 " I desire to see Celia. She must come back to me 
 and to Crudenstadt. You know what is happening 
 there ? My son is dying, and I cannot go to him. If 
 your uncle has told you all this hideous story of mine, 
 you will know that for many years I have been kept 
 a close prisoner, under the pretence that I was mad. 
 I have escaped but recently, in the confusion caused 
 by the sudden death of the medical man in charge of 
 me, and I am resolved to prosecute my rights. I have 
 
 95
 
 96 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 been treated shamefully and abominably, and foully 
 persecuted by my husband ; but I will have my re- 
 venge. I have still powerful friends, and I will yet 
 show my husband and the world I am too dangerous 
 to be trodden upon with impunity. I will rouse 
 Europe." 
 
 Excitement flashed from her eyes and flushed on 
 her cheeks, and she spoke with vehemence and rage. 
 Whatever else the long confinement had done, it had 
 not quenched her spirit. 
 
 " May I venture to ask your purpose in regard to 
 Celia ? " 
 
 " She shall sit where it is her right to sit ; on the 
 Throne of the Saxe-Lippe Duchy. She is the rightful 
 heiress, and I, her mother, will see that she is not 
 robbed of her birthright. Does she know the secret 
 of her birth ? " 
 
 " Yes, I have told her within the past few days, since 
 my uncle's death, and I have been in doubt what course 
 I ought to adopt." 
 
 " There is but one course possible," she began, vehe- 
 mently, when with a sudden change she paused and 
 asked : " Why does Celia think she was placed in Sir 
 Henry's charge ? " Her face wore a look of distrust. 
 
 " I have told her only that there was a dispute which 
 rendered that step necessary for her safety, your High- 
 ness." 
 
 " Do you know ? " she asked, sharply. 
 
 " My uncle left behind him a full written statement 
 of all the facts, your Highness." 
 
 Her hesitation passed instantly, giving place again 
 to her decisive vehemence. 
 
 " She must know everything. I must see her at
 
 CELIA'S MOTHER 97 
 
 once. It must come from my lips, not from those of 
 my enemies. I must see her at once. Can you bring 
 her here ? " 
 
 " Yes, if you wish it. But you should know that 
 she has expressed to me a strong disinclination to seek 
 her rights." 
 
 "Why?" The question was very sharply asked, 
 and with a keen, quick glance which embarrassed me. 
 " You know the reason, Sir Stanley, I see. What 
 is it?" 
 
 " The concealment has had one most disastrous re- 
 sult. I have reason to know that, being in complete 
 ignorance of the fact of her birth, she has she had 
 engaged herself to a man who, himself also ignorant of 
 the facts, had asked her to be his wife." 
 
 " Do you mean that she has do you mean your- 
 self?" 
 
 " I have told you, madame, so that you may under- 
 stand exactly the position. My uncle did his utmost 
 to keep us apart, although he said nothing of the real 
 obstacles between us, and when I learnt the truth from 
 him I told Celia that great objections would certainly 
 be raised to our marriage." 
 
 I could not hide the embarrassment which made my 
 words sound halting and lame. 
 
 " Of course it is impossible, quite impossible ; out of 
 all reason," she cried, quickly and angrily. Her tone 
 sounded harsh to me and had not a touch of sympathy 
 for my poor Celia. This indifference roused my resent- 
 ment. " You have not seen her since, of course? You 
 are a man of honour." 
 
 I made no reply, for the implied reproach wounded me. 
 
 " I don't understand your silence, Sir Stanley. It 
 7
 
 9 8 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 seems full time that I should assume control of my 
 daughter." 
 
 "As your Highness pleases," I answered, formally. 
 
 " Where is Celia ? Can you send for her at once ? " 
 
 " She is at Leamington. Would you prefer to go 
 to her?" 
 
 " No ; she had better come to me, and I should like 
 to see her here. She had better first be told who I 
 am. I do not wish any scenes. I am not very strong. 
 Will you send for her and I will see her here to-mor- 
 row ? She will, of course, go with me at once to 
 Crudenstadt." 
 
 " There is another important matter you should 
 know," I said ; and I told her as concisely as possible 
 about my interviews with the Count von Kronheim 
 and the fears I entertained in regard to his persecution 
 of Celia. 
 
 To my surprise and dismay she seemed to regard 
 his proposal in an.y but a hostile light. 
 
 " You seem very ready to take for granted all that 
 is said against him, Sir Stanley. For my part, I am 
 not at all sure that he has not thought of a very likely 
 plan to carry out our object. You must not let your- 
 self be biased by your own feelings, however natural 
 it may be for you to feel an objection. Such a mar- 
 riage would have many advantages ; very many." 
 
 Her obvious intention to sacrifice Celia for the fur- 
 therance of her plans so filled me with anger and con- 
 cern that I could not trust myself to make a reply. 
 
 " Could you arrange for me to meet the Count with- 
 out his knowing who I am ? " 
 
 " I can give you his address in London." 
 
 " I would rather meet him here. I am sure your
 
 CELIA'S MOTHER 99 
 
 uncle, Sir Henry, would have been anxious to help me 
 in this matter." 
 
 " I will arrange for him to be here to-morrow some 
 hours before your daughter arrives. But I cannot do 
 this without warning you that in my opinion you are 
 running great risks." 
 
 " I shall know how to protect my daughter, Sir 
 Stanley," she replied, coldly, and I said no more. 
 
 As soon as she had left I telegraphed to Celia, asking 
 her to come to London on the following day and sent 
 also a longer message to Schwartz, telling him what 
 train to come by, and urging him to use the utmost 
 caution on the journey. I wrote also to von Kronheim, 
 saying that if he would call at my house on the following 
 day there was some one wishful to see him ; and in an- 
 swer to his letter I told him that I was quite willing 
 for our quarrel to be settled in the way he suggested, 
 and that he would always find me ready to meet him. 
 
 Having done that I sat down to think over the in- 
 terview with Celia's mother and the change which the 
 new development meant. My feelings were bitter 
 enough, as may be supposed. It was clear that the 
 Duchess's leading motive was a desire to avenge herself 
 upon her husband for his treatment of her. Through 
 the long years of her punishment she had been nurtur- 
 ing this one hope. The impending death of her son 
 had not drawn from her a single syllable of regret ; and 
 the one idea in regard to Celia was to use her to anger 
 her husband, while she felt a slighter satisfaction that 
 by securing her daughter's recognition as heiress to the 
 Duchy her own character and innocence would be amply 
 vindicated. But her main thoughts were fixed on re- 
 venge.
 
 IOO 
 
 I remembered all that my uncle had written. The 
 Duchess had been, in truth, innocent, so far as he was 
 concerned, but more than guilty with her real lover, 
 and her object now was to use this guilty innocence 
 to procure her end. For that, she was content to sac- 
 rifice Celia in a marriage with a ruthless scoundrel like 
 von Kronheim. 
 
 My own part, too, had its full share of irony. I 
 felt bound in all honour to endeavour to clear my uncle's 
 name from the taint of that old scandal, and thus was 
 constrained to help the Duchess in making clear that 
 part of the truth. But to effect this I was to be made 
 a kind of party to an arrangement by which Celia's 
 happiness was to be destroyed and her life ruined by 
 union with such a man. 
 
 I can say, with all sincerity, that I did not think of 
 myself or my love in all that tangle. I loved Celia 
 well enough to place her happiness before my own 
 wishes. If I could secure that, the rest might go. But 
 help to secure her marriage with a sensual scoundrel 
 like von Kronheim I would not. I would rather see 
 her dead than his wife. And the knowledge that the 
 Duchess could contemplate it calmly, could look upon 
 it in the callous impersonal light of a stroke of cunning 
 policy, calculated to help the fulfilment of her own 
 scheme of self-vindication and revenge, was maddening. 
 
 What Celia herself would feel and say as to this 
 development of the "comedy," I could judge well 
 enough, and, indeed, I was to know sooner than I had 
 expected ; for that night she arrived, all happiness and 
 smiles at being with us once again. 
 
 "I got your telegram and came at once, Stanley. I 
 knew it must be something important ; and although
 
 CELIA'S MOTHER 101 
 
 that good but dreary man, Schwartz, told me he had 
 instructions for us to wait until to-morrow morning I 
 would not. I could not. If I've done wrong I'm very 
 sorry, but I could not." 
 
 She tried to simulate penitence, but the sunshine of 
 her smiles burst through it, and my eyes were so glad 
 to rest upon her face again that I could not find heart 
 to tell her that she had not done well, and that her 
 coming might cause some embarrassment. 
 
 Blossom, who was delighted to see her and made 
 much of her, carried her away to her room at once, and 
 it was not until some time later that we two were alone 
 together. 
 
 " Now tell me, what is the new act in the comedy ? 
 But first, please, are you glad to see me ? " and her 
 eyes challenged me. 
 
 " I am always glad to see you, Celia," I said, looking 
 away. " But " 
 
 " Look at me, Stanley, don't turn away like that. I 
 want to see for myself that you are really glad." I 
 looked at her, and saw the love and pleasure that were 
 sparkling radiantly in her eyes. " I am satisfied," she 
 said, quickly, and ostentatiously kissed her ring. 
 
 " I hope you don't forget the part I am cast for in 
 what you call our comedy." 
 
 " Not in the least. We are playing at not being 
 engaged. And now tell me. Have they sent over the 
 crown for me to see if it fits my head ? " And she 
 laugh mischievously. "Of course, if it's very becoming 
 it will be all the more difficult to refuse." 
 
 " There are a good many other things to fit before the 
 crown," said I. 
 
 " I don't see why there should be in a comedy."
 
 102 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " A good deal has happened since you have been 
 away." 
 
 " You said that as though they had made a very 
 serious impression on you, at any rate. Do you wish 
 me to be serious already ? " 
 
 " There is enough to make us both serious, Celia. 
 You ought not to have come back until to-morrow for 
 one thing." 
 
 " I know that ; but it's only a very small act of diso- 
 bedience. A few hours can't make much difference, and 
 when I knew that I really was to come I couldn't re- 
 strain myself any longer. I did so long to see Blossom. 
 Oh, I will be serious directly, but I can't for a few 
 minutes. Give me a quarter of an hour. Remember 
 how long it is ; how many long, long days since I saw 
 Blossom," and she laughed again, and she filled 
 more than the quarter of an hour with her pretty little 
 jests and rallying, making all too plain how glad she was 
 to be with me. Then breaking off suddenly she said : 
 " There, now let me have the disagreeable news. What 
 is it ? " 
 
 The very impetuosity of the change in her manner 
 increased the difficulty of my task, and I hesitated 
 how to tell her and what to speak of first. Then I 
 plunged : 
 
 " There is someone who wishes to marry you, Celia," 
 I said. 
 
 " Is there ? " And her eyes had the challenge I had 
 noticed before. 
 
 " Celia, you are incorrigible." 
 
 " I am all attention," she cried, with mock gravity. 
 
 " This is all really serious. It is a Count von Kron- 
 heim, a member of a high Saxe-Lippe family, the family
 
 CELIA'S MOTHER 103 
 
 standing next in succession to the throne indeed, who* 
 wishes this." 
 
 " Having heard that I may possibly sit on the throne 
 he desires in his disinterestedness to share it. Ought I 
 to be honoured, Stanley ? And what did you tell him ? 
 I should like to know. That you thought such a match 
 highly desirable for political reasons, and that you 
 were sure I should feel the same as yourself. That 
 would all be in the comedy, you know. And as true 
 as the rest of it." 
 
 " He has found a supporter very unexpectedly, and 
 one who has ample right to a voice." 
 
 " Who is that ? " She put the question earnestly, 
 detecting a different tone in my voice. 
 
 " There is a great surprise for you." 
 
 " There has been little else lately." 
 
 " This will perhaps be the greatest of all. I have 
 had news that your mother is not dead after all." 
 
 " You have seen her," she cried, quickly, " I know 
 you have. I have been thinking so much of her 
 during the last few days ; I can't understand things at 
 all. When did you see her? To-day? Is that the 
 reason of the telegram. O Stanley, tell me, how ought 
 I to feel towards her ? Why have I been nothing to 
 her for all these years ? " 
 
 " The story is a very sad one, Celia," and I told her 
 all, except the part which concerned the old tragic 
 love-story of her mother's youth, leaving her to think 
 that the whole punishment was undeserved. 
 
 " My poor mother ! " she said, in a tone of infinite 
 compassion. " We must try to make up for some of 
 the suffering she has endured. Tell me all you can 
 about her. Poor mother! "
 
 104 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 It was no easy task she set me, but I tried to impress 
 her as favourably as I could, dwelling upon the sorrows 
 which had clouded the unfortunate woman's life, and 
 saying little or nothing of the plans and projects which 
 she now entertained beyond the fact that she wished 
 Celia to take the position to which she was by birth 
 entitled. 
 
 " You have rather frightened me, Stanley," she said 
 when I finished. " I don't know what to think. I am 
 longing to see her, and yet afraid. She may not care 
 for me, after all ; especially if I cannot enter into these 
 plans of hers. What is my duty? Tell me. Poor 
 mother ! What a terrible life. And now, if after all 
 her sufferings I cannot do what she wishes ! I don't 
 know what to think. What ought I to do ? " 
 
 Before I could answer my sister came into the room, 
 and so for the time no more was said ; but my knowl- 
 edge of Celia and what I had seen of the Duchess 
 made me look forward to the meeting between them 
 with doubt and foreboding for both. 
 
 In the morning the " Countess Klafter " was an- 
 nounced before we had finished breakfast, and Celia 
 shot at me a glance of troubled perplexity as I rose 
 from the table. 
 
 " Shall I come with you, Stanley?" 
 
 " No ; I will let you know," I said. But she fol- 
 lowed me into the hall, and I could see that she had 
 come to a decision. 
 
 " Hold out no hope to her that I can do what she 
 wishes," she said, firmly. 
 
 "You had better not wear that ring when you see 
 her, Celia," I said, for she was fingering it nervously 
 as she spoke.
 
 CELIA'S MOTHER 105 
 
 " How can I wear -it always if I take it off now?" 
 she answered, smiling. " I am quite resolved." 
 
 I went to the Duchess, who offered an apology for 
 her early call. 
 
 " It is much better so," I said. " Celia came last 
 night and is here now." 
 
 Her look signalled suspicion of some under-play, but 
 she did not voice the thought. 
 
 " I will see her at once, then, and perhaps all this 
 business can be arranged this morning. We can see 
 Count von Kronheim together when he comes." 
 
 Celia was very nervous when I went to fetch 
 her. 
 
 "Come with me into the room," she pleaded. 
 
 " Certainly." And as we went in together she was 
 trembling. 
 
 " This is Celia," I said, quietly, almost formally, and 
 the Duchess looked at her critically as I thought, and 
 certainly without an outward sign of emotion. 
 
 "Mother!" 
 
 The cry came from Celia's heart as she went forward 
 quickly with hands extended, her face aglow with 
 mingled feelings of love, compassion and nervous yearn- 
 ing. To me her face seemed eloquent with the offer 
 of her heart, until the coldness of her mother's unre- 
 sponsive greeting dashed her hopes. She paused in 
 her advance and stood still, embarrassed, distressed and 
 pained by the reception. 
 
 It was truly a strange meeting, and the auguries 
 were ill enough to fill me with dismay when, by the 
 stupidity of a servant, the situation was infinitely com- 
 plicated. 
 
 We were standing in this momentary pause of etn-
 
 106 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 barrassed silence when the door was thrown open and 
 the Count von Kronheim entered. As his eyes fell on 
 Celia I saw him start with surprise, while his face 
 lighted with a gleam of triumph.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 
 
 AT the announcement of the Count's name Celia's 
 mother started in surprise and glanced at me for an 
 explanation, while Celia herself, remembering my words 
 of the previous evening, drew herself up and returned 
 his look of insolent interest with one of disdain. 
 
 " I have interrupted a family council, 1 fear," said 
 von Kronheim, who seemed to enjoy the embarrass- 
 ment caused by his arrival. " But it is not my fault. 
 Shall I withdraw ? " 
 
 " I think you had better," I answered, and turned 
 to the door. 
 
 " Is it necessary ? We know the Count von Kron- 
 heim's mission," said the Duchess. 
 
 This turn took me completely by surprise, and I saw 
 CeliS. start and look in swift astonishment at her 
 mother. To her, as to me, it was inconceivable that 
 the Duchess should show not the slightest desire to be 
 alone with Celia at such a moment. I was at a loss 
 even how she wished to be known to von Kronheim. 
 
 " The Countess Klafter, of " I began, when she 
 
 interrupted me. 
 
 " There can be no need to maintain my incognito, 
 Sir Stanley." At this von Kronheim looked at her 
 shrewdly and started as if recognising her. " I am 
 
 Celia's mother," she added. 
 
 107
 
 io8 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Your highness will pardon me for not having 
 recognised you at once," said the Count, bowing very 
 low. " Yet I might have known that the place to seek 
 you would be in your lovely daughter's presence. 
 Permit me," and he crossed the room and lifted to his 
 lips the hand which she held out. " I have not yet had 
 the honour of being presented to my cousin," and he 
 bowed to Celia, who returned his bow with just the 
 slightest inclination of her head. 
 
 " Sir Stanley Meredith has told me of the proposals 
 you have made, Count, and it was to discuss them that 
 I wished to see you here this morning." 
 
 " I am more than honoured, your Highness. Had I 
 known you were in England of course my first ap- 
 proach would have been made to you. Sir Stanley 
 did not tell me." 
 
 " Sir Stanley did not know until yesterday. You 
 say the match finds favour in Crudenstadt ? " 
 
 " It is the earnest desire of all who are interested in 
 the welfare of Saxe-Lippe, and animated by a desire 
 to see reparation made to you for what you have suf- 
 fered at the hands of the Duke." This was of course 
 a falsehood coined at the moment ; but it had its care- 
 fully calculated effect. " Unless it be arranged the pros- 
 pects of unsettlement and strife over the vexed ques- 
 tion of the succession are infinite. It will be hailed 
 with delight by the whole Duchy, and many men of 
 note and consequence in the country see in it the one 
 completely satisfactory solution of the problem. In 
 consequence of the somewhat unexpected opposition 
 of Sir Stanley, whose position as his uncle's successor 
 and thus my cousin's guardian of course, in your 
 Highness's absence I have come with ample proofs
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 109 
 
 of this general wish," and he took from his pocket a 
 bundle of letters which he handed to the Duchess. 
 
 I did not believe a word of it, and I could see that 
 Celia shared my opinion. She had been watching him 
 closely while he spoke, and every feature spoke of her 
 distrust and dislike of him. As the Duchess was ex- 
 amining the letters Celia turned to her and my heart 
 ached as I saw the shock of pain and distress, which 
 the disappointment at her mother's extraordinary re- 
 ception of her had caused. 
 
 "As for myself," said von Kronheim, when the 
 Duchess had finished with the letters, " I can only say 
 that while before I was anxious, for patriotic reasons, 
 that the arrangement should be carried out, now that 
 I have seen my cousin it has become the one desire of 
 my heart." But this was a false note for the strange, 
 austere woman to whom it was addressed. 
 
 " These marriages have nothing to do with the heart, 
 Count. Celia will, of course, understand that. She 
 will recognise that the first considerations are those of 
 policy and expediency." 
 
 The Count glanced at Celia in some dismay. He 
 read her better than her mother. 
 
 " My cousin's life has not yet brought her in contact 
 with the rules of life that prevail in Courts, your High- 
 ness," he said, as if to excuse the opposition which he 
 saw in Celia's attitude. 
 
 " It does not appear to be of much importance what 
 my own opinions or wishes are," said Celia. 
 
 " To me they would always be everything," he pro- 
 tested, bowing. 
 
 " You have much to learn, Celia," said her mother, 
 sharply, " and the sooner you commence the better.
 
 no FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 The manner in which you have been brought up was 
 decided upon hurriedly and at a crisis when the future 
 could not be foreseen. The illness of your brother has 
 changed everything for you. I trust you understand 
 that. I hope, too, that it will not prove a mistake to 
 have kept you so long in ignorance of your rightful 
 position." 
 
 Celia's face hardened and she bit her lip. 
 
 " I shall always endeavor to do that which your High- 
 ness desires." 
 
 " That is no more than your duty," was the cold 
 reply, spoken sternly, with the air of one who meant 
 to compel obedience. " It is a great misfortune for you 
 that I have not been able to be with you before, for I 
 doubt whether you have been trained to obedience." 
 
 There was not a trace or sign of anything faintly ap- 
 proaching gentleness in her manner, to say nothing of 
 affection ; not even a gesture or tone of the voice to 
 suggest that she was even glad of the meeting. Had 
 Celia herself been the cause of the long separation her 
 mother could scarcely have been more repellent and 
 harsh. The unnaturalness of her attitude was tragic 
 in its cruelty, and I knew how deep into Celia's heart 
 the wounds would sink. 
 
 Even von Kronheim understood something of this 
 and regretted it ; not because of the cruelty but because 
 he felt how it would set Celia against him and increase 
 his difficulty. Had he dared, he would have protested, 
 but he knew that while such a protest would help him 
 very little with the daughter it might do him infinite 
 harm with the mother. 
 
 " Sir Stanley has told you the peculiar circumstances 
 of your case, Celia, and you will thus understand what
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL in 
 
 is required of you. Your brother's illness and probable 
 death " she spoke of this as indifferently as if the boy 
 had been a stranger instead of her own son " has 
 made it imperative that your position should be de- 
 fined accurately and your succession to the throne 
 made secure. Added to this is the necessity of rein- 
 stating me in my rightful position in the eyes of all in 
 the Duchy and in Europe ; and our one consideration, 
 yours and mine, must be how this can best be accom- 
 plished. You understand this, of course ? " 
 
 Celia glanced at me in dismay, and for a moment did 
 not reply. 
 
 " There can be no need for you to seek advice from 
 Sir Stanley Meredith," said her mother, with aggres- 
 sive harshness, as if resenting the tacit appeal. " He 
 has told me of the mistake which has been made, and, 
 of course, you will see the absolute necessity for put- 
 ting an end to everything of the kind. Any engage- 
 ment or understanding of that sort is out of the ques- 
 tion, and I shall expect you to recognise this instantly. 
 If that ring on your finger has any sort of connection 
 with the matter take it off at once." 
 
 Count von Kronheim looked at me with a smile of 
 malicious triumph. He had now what he thought 
 was the key to my conduct. 
 
 Celia made no attempt to do what her mother said. 
 Her expressive features showed something of the strug- 
 gle in her mind, her fealty to her love for me battling 
 fiercely with her desire not to oppose her mother, while 
 the pain caused by the Duchess's most unexpected and 
 indeed almost hostile coldness, heightened her agita- 
 tion and perplexity. 
 
 " You do not make a very auspicious beginning. If
 
 112 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 you intend to set me at defiance in this way it argues 
 ill for your training. You heard what I told you. 
 Why don't you answer me ? " 
 
 Her mother was growing more insistent and impera- 
 tive each time she spoke. 
 
 " I heard your Highness," said Celia. 
 
 " Did you give that ring to Celia, Sir Stanley, when 
 you knew the position of matters ? " 
 
 " When I gave the ring I had heard nothing from 
 my uncle, as I have before explained to you, madame." 
 
 " And when you had heard, why did you permit it 
 to be retained ? " 
 
 Alas for poor Celia's comedy ! The remembrance 
 of the scene flashed into my thoughts as I answered : 
 41 I have already explained to your Highness that I 
 told Celia of the difficulties of our position." 
 
 " Then I am surprised you should have allowed her 
 to retain it. You have been untrue to your trust, sir. 
 As for you, Celia, you should be ashamed to wear it," 
 she said, sternly. " Give it back at once to Sir Stan- 
 ley ; at once." 
 
 "If Stanley really wishes it I will give it him. Other- 
 wise, I cannot." Her tone was low, but her voice very 
 firm. 
 
 " This is rank disobedience to me. Return it, I tell 
 you," cried the Duchess. 
 
 " If Celia wishes to retain it I certainly do not ask 
 for it," I said. 
 
 " Do you intend to join in this conspiracy against 
 me, Sir Stanley ? It is indeed time that Celia came 
 into my charge." 
 
 " Will you permit me to withdraw, your Highness ? " 
 said von Kronheim. " This is a very unexpected and
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 113 
 
 very painful scene to me. I now understand Sir Stan- 
 ley Meredith's conduct/' 
 
 I could have struck him for the leer of malice with 
 which he accompanied his words. 
 
 " No, Count. This concerns you very closely now, 
 and there must be an explanation. It had better be 
 in your presence." 
 
 " I must be allowed to say that I am not conscious 
 of having been in any respect untrue to my trust," I 
 said. " Let me explain. When I asked Celia to be 
 my wife, I was not aware of any obstacle between us ; 
 and when I learnt the facts, I explained them to her. 
 They could, of course, make no difference in my feel- 
 ings for her, and they have not." Celia welcomed this 
 avowal with a swift glance. " Our position then was 
 this. If it was found to be really impossible that my 
 hope could be realised, I \vas prepared to stand aside 
 if it would help her happiness and advancement. But 
 until that impossibility became absolutely clear, Celia's 
 honour was in no way touched by her retention of the 
 ring." 
 
 " It was most indiscreet, most unpardonable, most 
 indecent," exclaimed the Duchess, vehemently. " Of 
 course, a marriage of the kind is an impossibility, and, 
 being for the moment in the position of Celia's guar- 
 dian, it was your imperative duty to have put an end 
 at once to all semblance and pretence of an engage- 
 ment. However, I will see to it now. Give me the 
 ring, Celia, and get ready to come with me from this 
 house." 
 
 Instead of doing this, Celia crossed to my side. 
 
 " I am sorry if I offend your Highness, but I will 
 not give up the ring. I gave my word to marry
 
 ii4 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 Stanley and I will not marry anyone else to gain fifty 
 thrones. I love him with my whole heart." 
 
 She raised her head proudly as she made the dec- 
 laration, and looked steadily at her mother. 
 
 " You dare say this to my face ? " cried the Duchess. 
 " To me, your mother." 
 
 " If that appeal wakes no echo in my heart, it is 
 you, not I who must take the blame. I came to you 
 hoping more than I can tell you from the interview 
 ready to bare my heart to you, and trusting to find, 
 at last the mother's sympathy and love that my life 
 has never known. And instead of that, you have met 
 me coldly, with harsh words, reproaches, repulses, 
 and an angry command to give up what is more to me 
 than life itself the love of the man I love. I cannot 
 do it ; and if you force me to say it, I will not do 
 
 it." 
 
 "You are an unnatural child to presume to speak 
 to me in this way. You will be betrothed to your 
 cousin here, the Count von Kronheim. The marriage 
 is necessary for reasons of State, which even Sir Stanley 
 Meredith must appreciate." 
 
 " The Count von Kronheim will scarcely wish for a 
 bride whose love, to his knowledge, is given to another. 
 But in any event I will not marry him." 
 
 The Count's face wore a scowl as dark as night, 
 despite all his efforts to hide his anger. 
 
 " Believe me, that I deeply sympathise with you in 
 the embarrassing position in which you find yourself, 
 cousin," he said, bowing. " But there are so many and 
 such high reasons of policy and expediency for the 
 marriage, that even if I were not attracted by your- 
 self I could not put my own feelings in the foreground.
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 115 
 
 It shall be the desire and object of my life to make you 
 happy." 
 
 " Such a shameless avowal as yours, Celia, is scan- 
 dalous. But it is useless to set yourself in opposition 
 to all the high interests involved, and I shall find means 
 to convince you. Get ready to accompany me at once." 
 
 " Must I go, Stanley ? " cried Celia, putting her 
 hand on my arm and looking into my face. 
 
 " You would scarcely remain in the house of the 
 man for whom you have thus wantonly proclaimed 
 your love," cried the angry Duchess. 
 
 " Must I go, Stanley ? " repeated Celia. " I will do 
 what you tell me." 
 
 " Sir Stanley will scarcely interfere in this matter," 
 said von Kronheim, scowling at me in his rage. 
 
 " On the contrary, I have something to say," I 
 replied, maddened on my side by his interference. I 
 had borne with the farce of his pretensions long enough. 
 
 " I think it is a matter in which you should say 
 nothing, sir," said the Duchess, haughtily. " I cannot 
 recognise any pretensions of yours." 
 
 " Do I understand, your Highness, that you intend 
 to accept the proposals of the Count von Kronheim 
 for Celia's hand ? " 
 
 " A question I decline to answer. Celia, you will 
 come with me at once. I can trust you no longer in 
 this house." 
 
 " Celia herself has asked me what she shall do," said 
 I, biting my lips at this deliberate insult. 
 
 " I decline to allow Celia to remain here. She must 
 come with me. Get ready at once, Celia." 
 
 " Then with all respect to your Highness, I shall 
 decline on my side to let Celia leave."
 
 ii6 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " You would not dare " exclaimed von Kron- 
 
 heim. 
 
 " Unless, of course, Celia herself wishes to go," I 
 continued, ignoring his interference. 
 
 " I shall not go, Stanley," she said, readily, in a 
 tone of relief. 
 
 " I am pained to have to act in this way, your Highness, 
 and I should not do so had I not the strongest reasons. 
 I know much about the intentions and schemes of the 
 Count von Kronheim, and I am on the eve of learning 
 much more. But what I know already is more than 
 sufficient to convince me that I am taking the right 
 course." 
 
 " Do I understand that you dare to compromise 
 Celia in this unmanly fashion, and to prevent the 
 exercise of my right and just authority?" cried the 
 Duchess. 
 
 " I shall take immediate steps to inform his Royal 
 Highness, the Duke, of what I have done, and leave 
 him to deal with this gentleman," I said. 
 
 " You are taking a very insolent and very dangerous 
 course, sir," said von Kronheim. 
 
 " I am prepared to face all the consequences," I an- 
 swered, coldly. 
 
 "You are a most unnatural daughter, Celia," said 
 her mother, rising. " I bid you again to come with 
 me. Do you set me at defiance?" 
 
 " I cannot come with your Highness," answered 
 Celia, scrupulous in her avoidance of the word mother. 
 
 " Give me your arm, Count. I will find the means 
 of bringing you to a sense of your duty, Celia," and, 
 with that parting threat, uttered with great vehemence 
 and with a look of deep anger, the Duchess went away.
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 117 
 
 Celia's clasp tightened on my arm as her mother 
 passed us, and she caught her breath quickly. But as 
 the door closed she looked up in my face and smiled 
 wistfully. 
 
 " Our comedy is getting near a tragedy now, Stanley. 
 But I will not give way."
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 AT THE EMBASSY 
 
 CELIA slipped her arm from mine and crossed to the 
 window to see the Duchess and von Kronheim leave 
 the house. 
 
 " What can they do next, Stanley?" she asked. 
 
 " I'm afraid I don't know," I answered. " But I 
 shall have to do something on my side." 
 
 " What ! Shall you have to send me off again ? It 
 seems so useless, and so absurd. Why cannot they 
 leave me alone ? " 
 
 " The position is very serious," I said, irrelevantly. 
 
 " What a time they are in leaving the house." 
 
 At the words a thought struck me, and I opened the 
 door and went into the hall. I saw something to make 
 me serious. Schwartz and the Duchess were absorbed 
 in conversation, and the man was more moved and agi- 
 tated than I had ever known him. They were so en- 
 grossed that they did not notice me, and I re-entered 
 the room and closed the door again. 
 
 " They will have an ally inside the house, Celia," 
 I said, quietly. " Schwartz has evidently recognised 
 the Duchess, and they are in close conference in the 
 hall. I don't want to play the spy, but I confess I 
 should like to know what has passed between them." 
 
 "They are going now," exclaimed Celia at that mo- 
 ment, and we saw them cross the pavement and enter 
 118
 
 AT THE EMBASSY 119 
 
 von Kronheim's carriage, Schwartz in close and obse- 
 quious attendance. 
 
 "Can that really be my mother, Stanley?" asked 
 Celia, with a quaver of sadness in her voice. "She had 
 not even a kind look, to say nothing of a kind word, 
 for me the whole time. I can't understand it." 
 
 I understood it, but was loth to tell her. " Count 
 von Kronheim's arrival prevented her from showing her 
 feelings," I said. 
 
 " Don't say things to try and mislead me. She could 
 have sent him away ; while as a fact, she asked him to 
 stop. Could a mother behave in such a way ? Don't 
 you think she may be someone sent here by the Count 
 to act as my mother? 1 thought so more than once." 
 
 " If so I think the part would have been played dif- 
 ferently. Besides, Schwartz has recognised her. At 
 all events, we can ask him that. He hates von Kron- 
 heim, and is not likely to be duped." 
 
 I rang the bell, and sent word for Schwartz to come 
 to me. 
 
 " Do you know the lady who has just gone out, 
 Schwartz ? " 
 
 He looked at me in surprise at the question. 
 
 " Certainly, Sir Stanley. It is her Highness the 
 Grand Duchess of Saxe-Lippe." 
 
 "You are sure ?" 
 
 " Quite positive, sir. I should know her Highness 
 among ten thousand." 
 
 " What was she saying to you in the hall ?" 
 
 " I had asked permission to express my delight at 
 seeing her again, and she graciously accorded it. She 
 was good enough to recognise me, sir, as Sir Henry's 
 confidential man in the old days in Crudenstadt, sir."
 
 120 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Yes, and what else ? " 
 
 "There was nothing else, Sir Stanley." 
 
 A slight hesitation in his manner, a dropping of the 
 eyes, and something in his tone told me me was ly- 
 ing. My first impulse was to question him, but I 
 thought it better for the present not to let him think 
 that my suspicions were roused. 
 
 " I wished to be assured that it was the Duchess," 
 I answered, lightly. " You may go. It was the 
 Duchess, you see, Celia," I said, when the door closed 
 behind him. 
 
 " I should not have thought it possible," she cried. 
 " Can she be utterly without a mother's feelings to- 
 wards me ? O Stanley ! I would have given the 
 world for a single look or word of love. I would have 
 done my utmost to try and be a help to her. But her 
 heart is shut against me, and she has no wish or 
 thought about me, except to use me for these ambi- 
 tious plans. And to order me to marry that man ! I 
 would die first ! " 
 
 " You must make allowances for what she herself 
 has suffered, Celia. For nearly the whole term of your 
 life she has been kept in close custody by the Duke's 
 orders, brooding over her wrongs and nursing her de- 
 sire to be revenged, and also to reinstate herself in the 
 eyes of the world." 
 
 " Do you mean that she should sacrifice my whole 
 life for her revenge, and condemn me to an even worse 
 fate than her own ? I would far rather live alone in a 
 prison cell than be free as the wife of such a man as 
 the Count von Kronheim. What a disillusion ! I 
 have often dreamt of what my mother would have 
 been could I have known her, for I have always
 
 AT THE EMBASSY 121 
 
 thought of her as dead. But all the strangest fancy 
 pictures of even my gloomiest moods have had some 
 
 love in them. But this, the reality " And a sigh 
 
 of mingled bitterness and sadness welled up from the 
 depths of her disappointment. 
 
 " It may all come right yet," I murmured. It was 
 a feeble consolation and had no consoling effect upon 
 Celia. 
 
 " How come right ? Would you have me do what 
 she wishes ? " She put a hand on my arm and turned 
 her eyes full upon me. " Do you wish it ? " 
 
 "I wish nothing but your real happiness, Celia; 
 and though I do not know what you ought to do, I 
 know that the wife of such a man w r ould bid good-bye 
 to all chance of any." 
 
 " How do you think I should be happiest ? " 
 
 "You mean outside the Forbidden Land?" 
 
 " I like that," she cried, smiling. " Or better in the 
 gloom beyond the walls of the city of Forbidden Hap- 
 piness." 
 
 " I hope it will not always be gloom. The sun can 
 shine there as well as in the city, even if not with such 
 dazzling brightness. But I do not know what you 
 ought to do next." 
 
 " I think I know. I have a mind to go myself to 
 Crudenstadt and see the Duke himself. Will you take 
 me? " 
 
 " I had not thought of that of your going. But 
 you have given me an idea and I will act on it. I will 
 go to the German Embassy here and try to learn some- 
 thing reliable about the position of Saxe-Lippe mat- 
 ters. You can stay here with Aunt Margaret and 
 Blossom for a while. I think you will be safer here
 
 122 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 now that Schwartz has gone over to the enemy. But 
 you must be very careful. The house is sure to be 
 watched closely, and with Schwartz inside and spies 
 outside it is easy to see how your movements may be 
 dogged." 
 
 " I may really stay here ? " she cried, gladly, her 
 face lighting rarely. 
 
 " You must be very cautious," I said, earnestly. 
 
 " I will be on my best comedy behaviour, and will 
 not brood more than I can help on the tragedy ; and I 
 will religiously remember that the walls are thick and 
 the gates heavily barred." 
 
 "The walls thick?" I repeated, not catching her 
 meaning, 
 
 " Yes," and she smiled at my perplexity. " The 
 walls of that city. But it won't be gloomy here." 
 
 Then I laughed with her, and despite the net of 
 troubles and complications we felt happy enough then. 
 
 Blossom came in as we were laughing. 
 
 " You seem very happy over your mysteries, you 
 two," she said. " I heard you were alone." 
 
 " May I tell Blossom ? " asked Celia. 
 
 " Yes, if she'll promise to keep the secret. But 
 don't tell Aunt Margaret yet, she might forget and say 
 something." 
 
 Blossom looked at us each in turn and then laughed. 
 
 " Oh, you needn't tell me. I can assure you I know 
 well enough, and I'm awfully glad about it. I shan't 
 be a bit jealous of you, dear," and she kissed Celia, 
 who blushed and smiled at me. 
 
 " It's not that at all, Blossom," said I, with a slight 
 flush of confusion, "but Celia will tell you everything," 
 and with that I packed them out of the room.
 
 AT THE EMBASSY 123 
 
 As soon as they were gone I ordered my carriage 
 and sent for Schwartz. It occurred to me that I might 
 need his testimony at the German Embassy, and I was 
 not unwilling that our opponents should know that I 
 was at once communicating with the Duke. I told him 
 merely that I wished him to accompany the carriage 
 as I might need him. 
 
 At the Embassy I had to wait some time and then 
 saw a high official, Count Bursten, who received me 
 courteously, but, on the plea of many engagements, 
 urged me to be brief. 
 
 " I will be as brief as possible, but the matter is some- 
 what urgent. My business is concerned with the Saxe- 
 Lippe succession, and I wish to know whether I can 
 be placed in communication with his Serene Highness, 
 the Grand Duke. I am the nephew and heir of Sir 
 Henry Meredith, who was formerly known as Colonel 
 Rothen, in the service and confidence of the Duke." 
 
 My words created an immediate impression. 
 
 " On that business I can give you any time you re- 
 quire, Sir Stanley. It is just now a burning question. 
 Pray tell me what you know." 
 
 " What is the latest news of the young Duke ? " 
 I asked. 
 
 " Very bad ; worse than the bulletins imply, and his 
 Serene Highness is in despair." 
 
 " What are his Highness's plans as to the succes- 
 sion ? " 
 
 He raised his hands and smiled politely as he re- 
 plied : " Why do you ask ? " 
 
 " I wish to know what his intentions are with regard 
 to the second child of the marriage, the daughter." 
 
 " And why ? "
 
 I2 4 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Because she is in my care, and the responsibility 
 threatens to be a very heavy one." 
 
 " In your care ? " he exclaimed, in manifest astonish- 
 ment. " There was a second child, we know I have 
 been looking very closely into the matter recently 
 but she disappeared, and we understood she was dead. 
 Do you know anything of the unfortunate events of 
 that time ? " 
 
 For answer I put into his hands all the papers and 
 statements concerning Celia which my uncle had left 
 at the bank. They made a somewhat bulky parcel, 
 and he looked at it at first in some dismay, but he had 
 not glanced at more than a few lines when he ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " This is most important. I will read them at once," 
 and he plunged into them, becoming deeply absorbed. 
 
 I sat and watched him with a feeling of relief. It 
 was now certain that we should at least have a clear 
 head to give the counsel we needed to ensure Celia's 
 safety ; but with the relief was mingled a tightening 
 fear that the interview would result in heightening and 
 widening the obstacles that divided Celia from me. 
 As the minutes passed and he turned from paper to 
 paper, and then referred to others which he sent for, 
 my patience was tried until the long delay began to 
 chafe and irritate me. 
 
 " It is to be regretted that you did not bring those to 
 us before, Sir Stanley," was his comment at the close. 
 
 " They have been in my possession only a few days, 
 your Excellency ; only since my uncle died." 
 
 " I understand," he said, and then he went back to 
 them again to refer to certain points, making notes of 
 them as he read.
 
 AT THE EMBASSY 125 
 
 " They are very important, very critical indeed. Is 
 there any person in existence who can give any evi- 
 dence in support of what is here written ? It would 
 be valuable." 
 
 " My late uncle's confidential attendant can give 
 such evidence, I believe. His name is Schwartz, and 
 I have brought him here to-day." 
 
 " Can you send for him at once ? " 
 
 " I can if you wish. Eat before doing that there 
 are other matters you should know. They concern. 
 Celia closely, and also her mother, the Duchess." 
 
 " Ah ! What do you know of her Highness ? " 
 
 " She is in London, and had an interview with her 
 daughter at my house this morning," and I told him 
 then all that had occurred in regard to the Count von 
 Kronheim, my interview with the Duchess, and the 
 interview that morning, and lastly, my suspicions in 
 regard to Schwartz. 
 
 " That young man is playing a dangerous game," he 
 said. " Do you know who he is ? " 
 
 " Yes, he told me himself he was the younger son, 
 and that there are reasons why his elder brother can- 
 not take the throne." 
 
 " Of course there is only one that he wishes it for 
 himself. Were he married to the Duke's daughter he 
 might succeed. Is the young Duchess in perfectly 
 safe keeping? " 
 
 " She is at my house. I think I can trust myself to 
 take good care of her," I replied, and something in my 
 tone seemed to strike him for he looked up very 
 sharply at me. 
 
 " For the present that may, perhaps, be the best 
 thing," he said, slowly, after a pause. " But you must
 
 126 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 be well on your guard. There is no lack of risks to be 
 run. I need scarcely tell you that this question of the 
 Saxe-Lippe succession is causing much anxiety at Ber- 
 lin, and it is quite possible, I do not say certain, that 
 if these papers are substantiated, and the young 
 Duchess herself is recognised by the Duke, her cause 
 would be espoused there." 
 
 " What is the attitude of the Duke? " I asked. 
 
 " He regards his daughter as dead. Whether he 
 believes her to be dead or whether the feeling is merely 
 the outcome of the peculiar and tragic circumstances 
 under which she was spirited away, I cannot decide, 
 of course. But that is the key to his present policy 
 and attitude." 
 
 " Would it be of any service for her to go to Cruden- 
 stadt and seek an interview with him ? " I asked. 
 
 " None whatever, none," he replied, instantly and 
 emphatically. " No result could follow but an inter- 
 view vastly more painful for the young Duchess Celia 
 than that which has taken place this morning. On the 
 one point of his wife's infidelity he remains absolutely 
 inexorable. I am speaking very confidentially to you. 
 The matter can only be dealt with through the ordi- 
 nary channels of diplomacy and will require most care- 
 ful handling." 
 
 " Equally useless for me to go, then ? " 
 
 " Worse, probably, in its effect upon his Highness. 
 You must remember he has nursed his imaginary be- 
 trayal at the hands of your uncle for nearly twenty 
 years, and that he is hard, stern and morose by nature. 
 The mere fact of your being your uncle's nephew would 
 madden him. Indeed, I may tell you that probably 
 the fact that his daughter has been in your charge may
 
 AT THE EMBASSY 127 
 
 be one of the greatest stumbling blocks to any recon- 
 ciliation and acknowledgment of her- claims. The fact 
 of that relationship must indeed be kept carefully 
 secret." 
 
 " There is little hope of that, then. This von Kron- 
 heim knows it." 
 
 " True, but we may find means of dealing with him." 
 
 " The Duchess herself knows it, too. And Celia 
 has always felt under too many obligations to my 
 uncle to wish to conceal it." 
 
 " If the young Duchess wishes to gain her rights 
 she must be prepared to place herself in our hands." 
 
 " But that is another point. She does not wish it." 
 
 He started and looked at me in surprise. 
 
 " Does not wish it, Sir Stanley ? " He thought a 
 moment, and then, as if recalling his former flash .of 
 suspicion of the truth, he said, very seriously : " I 
 trust there has been no indiscretion in the form of any 
 attachment to anyone." 
 
 " I have not come to conceal anything," I replied, 
 meeting his keen glance steadily. " Before Celia and 
 I had any knowledge of her true position I had asked 
 her to be my wife and she had consented." 
 
 He pursed up his lips and frowned. 
 
 " That is the reason of her objection ? " he asked. 
 
 " That is the reason of her objection." 
 
 " No one knows of this but yourselves? " 
 
 " Yes, I conceived it my duty to inform the Duch- 
 ess." 
 
 He drew in his breath sharply. " That was an ex- 
 ceeding indiscretion. And this von Kronheim ? " 
 
 " He learnt it this morning. The Duchess told 
 him."
 
 128 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 The Ambassador passed his hand across his fore- 
 head, frowned again, and said nothing for some mo- 
 ments. 
 
 " Well, we must act at once," he said then. " I 
 will see him if I can find him, that is ; for when he 
 learns you have been closeted with me we may look 
 for a change in his methods, and. . . ." He paused to 
 think, then breaking off, asked : " What was your im- 
 pression of her Highness, judging by your interviews 
 with her ? " he asked, suddenly. 
 
 "At first I thought she was a much-injured woman, 
 but this morning my opinion was that no sane woman 
 could behave as she did towards her daughter." 
 
 " Your view was not unnatural, perhaps, in your cir- 
 cumstances, and it was a true one. Her Highness's 
 mind was undoubtedly affected years ago. And in- 
 stead of passing away, as all hoped as the result of her 
 detention, it developed into that most distressing form 
 of homicidal mania. This is for your ears only, Sir Stan- 
 ley. Twice she tried to lay violent hands on her own 
 life and was with difficulty prevented. Then in one of 
 her violent moods, which come so suddenly that no 
 one can detect the symptoms, she killed the woman in 
 attendance upon her. I tell you because you have, 
 for the moment, the charge of the daughter, and you 
 must be warned of the imminent peril of allowing her 
 for one hour to get into the hands of her mother." 
 
 " Thank God I didn't let her go this morning ! " I 
 exclaimed, vastly moved at this. 
 
 " It will not be for long that you will have to watch 
 so carefully. She had escaped all our vigilance, and 
 we did not know where she was until you told me she 
 was here in London. Means will at once be taken,
 
 AT THE EMBASSY 129 
 
 however within an hour indeed to secure her again ; 
 but should they fail I warn you by all you hold sacred 
 to be ever on your guard. You cannot tell what form 
 her mania may take nor when it may show itself." 
 
 He rose then to end the interview and shook hands. 
 
 " I will communicate with you the instant there is 
 anything to tell, and meanwhile I will keep these 
 papers and will not see this man Schwartz stay, bet- 
 ter let him come in and be detained here on some pre- 
 text until we have taken action." 
 
 He rang the bell and told the secretary who came to 
 have Schwartz brought in. We waited, and a minute 
 later the reply came that he was not with my carriage. 
 
 What did it mean ?
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE SHADOW OF A NEW DECISION 
 
 THE news that Schwartz had left the carriage was 
 at first disconcerting, and it was difficult to reject the 
 conclusion that it was in some way connected with the 
 Duchess, and that having taken alarm at my long con- 
 ference with the German Ambassador, he had rushed 
 away to warn her. 
 
 This was Count Bursten's view ; and after I had 
 given him the address at which I had seen the Baron- 
 ess Borgen and von Kronheim, he urged me to re- 
 turn home at once to take measures against any sur- 
 prise efforts to get Celia out of my hands. 
 
 " One question before I go," I said. " Do you think 
 it probable that Celia's birthright will be recognised ? " 
 
 " I cannot, of course, say anything positive as yet. 
 I am doubtful, but " and he gave me a very keen, 
 meaning look as he spoke " it would be highly im- 
 politic for you or for her to take any decisive step, ex- 
 cept on the assumption that the due recognition will 
 be made." 
 
 I understood him well enough, and was chewing the 
 cud of his words on my way home. He had been 
 shrewd enough to read the underbought that was al- 
 ready battling for its life deep down in my heart that 
 I would risk all, and marry Celia hurriedly, and so put 
 
 an end to the intrigue that way. The temptation 
 130
 
 THE SHADOW OF A NEW DECISION 131 
 
 to take this step was almost overpowering; and the 
 thought of the dangers to which she was exposed so 
 moved me that I found myself planning how easily 
 such a marriage could be arranged. 
 
 In one respect, all those concerned in preventing her 
 from becoming my wife were alike. They were all 
 looking upon her as a mere pawn in the game of high 
 politics that was being played. Her mother was anx- 
 ious to sacrifice her from motives of revenge; von 
 Kronheim would make her a mere tool for carving out 
 his personal ambitions ; those at the German Embassy 
 thought nothing of her own feelings, and fixed their 
 eyes merely on what they deemed the exigencies of 
 policy ; and were ready to trample on her happiness 
 as though it were a matter of the flimsiest insignificance. 
 
 Was I any better? Or rather, did I appear, in her 
 eyes, to differ from them ? I had prated of her duty ; 
 I had half persuaded myself that her self-suppression 
 was right, and that she was bound to regard the duties 
 of her position rather than to follow the dictates of 
 her heart. But was it all anything more than cant ? 
 Had she not a right to decide for herself? Was I 
 really justified in bidding her break her heart and lay 
 desolate her life'for those who cared nothing for her- 
 self and thought solely of what use she could be to 
 them ? 
 
 A wave of almost passionate rebellion rose in my 
 heart and threatened to sweep away all other desires 
 but those prompted by my love. I could not give her 
 up; I would not, I told myself. Let these people plot 
 and plan their own intrigues as they would, they should 
 not thwart our love. Let them settle their affairs as 
 they would, but they must do so without Celia.
 
 132 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 The truth was that this interview had brought me 
 more closely face to face with the actualities of the 
 case than anything which had yet occurred. The first 
 impressions created upon me by my uncle's words, and 
 afterwards confirmed by what he had left in the papers, 
 had worn faint. The suddenness with which the 
 knowledge had come to me had stabbed me, and at 
 the moment I had formed my somewhat lofty concep- 
 tion of Celia's duty. In my present mood, I called it 
 mere high-falutin' nonsense. But I had never realised 
 until now until this official's stern, business-like, 
 definite methods had driven home the conviction 
 that Celia and I must be parted. It had been hitherto 
 rather a vague fear ; a probability ; a break in the even 
 course of our love-making ; in my heart, I had never 
 before realised that it would be permanent and inevi-' 
 table. 
 
 But Count Bursten had succeeded in forcing home 
 the certainty of it, and against that my heart rebelled 
 with all'the force of love. I could not, and would not, 
 submit. 
 
 At the house I was surprised to find Schwartz in the 
 hall evidently waiting to see me at the first moment of 
 my arrival. 
 
 " Why did you leave the carriage, Schwartz ? " I 
 asked, angrily. 
 
 " I have to humbly ask your forgiveness, Sir Stanley. 
 I was taken suddenly ill. Your uncle may have told 
 you, sir, that I suffer badly with my heart. I had to 
 rush away to get a remedy, and then I came back 
 home, fearing I was going to have one of my bad at- 
 tacks, sir." 
 
 " What time did you leave the carriage, and what
 
 time did you reach here? " was my next question ; but 
 he had evidently prepared his explanation carefully, 
 and told me that he had walked slowly home after 
 leaving the chemist's where he had obtained the 
 remedy ; and he now asked permission to go to bed. 
 It was a lie, of course, the whole thing ; and he in- 
 vented the story of the walk, so as to account for the 
 time which it had taken him to get to the Duchess. 
 
 " Yes, you can go to bed. I am sorry you are ill. 
 Let me know when you are better," I said, thinking it 
 best that he should not suppose I suspected him. 
 
 " I am deeply grateful to you, Sir Stanley," he re- 
 plied, and walked away, staggering slightly as though 
 from weakness. 
 
 It was a daring move to return to me fresh from his 
 act of treachery ; but the time to settle with him had 
 not come yet. 
 
 Having ascertained that Celia was at home and clos- 
 eted somewhere with my sister, I went to my study to 
 try and fight out my way to a decision as to whether 
 I would dare to take my fortune in both hands and 
 marry Celia at once in spite of everything. 
 
 At lunch Blossom rallied me on my earnest looks, 
 and, to my surprise, followed me into my study. 
 
 " Celia has told me all this strange story, Stanley. 
 Is it true?" 
 
 " Unquestionably it is. She is " 
 
 " I don't mean that," she broke in, impetuously. " I 
 mean, is it true that you are going deliberately to break 
 her heart for all this rubbish ? " 
 
 " Rubbish ? I don't exactly see " 
 
 " And your own heart, too," she broke in, paying no 
 heed to my words. "You know how deeply she loves
 
 134 F O R LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 you, and I know how you love her. Do you want her 
 to believe that you think more of having a reigning 
 Duchess for a broken-hearted friend than of having 
 Celia for a happy wife ? Do you suppose a girl like 
 Celia cares two-pence-half-penny about this Saxe-Lippe 
 business ? Why should she ? At any rate, she doesn't ; 
 and if you don't want to make her the most miserable 
 girl on earth, you ought to act sensibly. Do you want 
 her to think you're afraid to marry her? " 
 " Celia will scarcely think that, Blossom." 
 " Fiddlesticks ! Do you suppose girls are fools ? " 
 she said, crossly. " I've no patience with you. Here's 
 this horribly unnatural thing of a Duchess, calling her- 
 self a mother, coming here just to sell Celia to a man 
 you all agree is a scoundrel, and doing it without a 
 stitch of care for Celia's feelings, or a shred of natural 
 affection for her. What is Celia to think, I should like 
 to know, when she sees you taking that woman's side ? " 
 " I have not taken the Duchess's side." 
 " Oh, yes, you have. She forbade Celia to marry 
 you, and you gave way like a lamb, without even a 
 bleat of protest. If you think that's the way girls' 
 hearts are won or kept, you have odd notions, I can 
 assure you. I tell you, Celia is breaking her heart over 
 this matter, although she makes such a brave show of 
 everything and carries it off so calmly. But I know. 
 And it's you who are breaking it. Don't think that 
 it's her mother, or her position, or anything of that 
 sort it's you, Stanley, and you only, and you ought 
 to be positively ashamed of yourself and at such a 
 time when the poor girl has had the shock of being 
 claimed by such a mother. You men are positively 
 brutal in your blindness."
 
 THE SHADOW OF A NEW DECISION 135 
 
 '* I think you'd better not " 
 
 " I know what you're going to say, so don't trouble. 
 I know you're angry with me, and I don't care. When 
 Celia told me this morning, and I saw how she was 
 suffering, I made up my mind to speak out plainly to 
 you. I tell you her heart is breaking, and you, and no 
 one else, and nothing else, are breaking it. And now 
 that I've said it, I won't stop to be scolded." 
 
 And she did not, but went off, leaving me staring 
 after her in sheer amazement at the outbreak. 
 
 But her words left their impression. They con- 
 firmed the vague fears I had had, and something more. 
 They started the fresh fear that, unless I acted promptly, 
 I should not only lose Celia, but also her love. I felt 
 helpless and over-weighted, and the only vent for my 
 feelings was to indulge my anger against Blossom for 
 having pointed out to me this new phase of matters, 
 and started this new dread. 
 
 In the end, however, it quickened my resolve to cast 
 all other considerations to the winds, and when dinner 
 came my sister, with a shrewd intuition which I had 
 not thought she possessed, seemed to divine something 
 of my determination. 
 
 " Have you got over your anger with me ? " she whis- 
 pered with a smile, as she was leaving the table and 
 had let my aunt and Celia get ahead. " I think I can 
 see you have." 
 
 " I don't think I showed any anger, Blossom." 
 
 She paid no attention to this, but, glancing very 
 shrewdly into my eyes, said : 
 
 " If you want to be alone with Celia this evening, 
 I'll see that Aunt Margaret is safely out of the way," 
 and, without waiting for any reply, she kissed me,
 
 136 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 laughed, and ran away. I smoked my cigar medita- 
 tively, and as the blue rings curled upwards I sought 
 to balance the probabilities of the course I was going 
 to take. 
 
 When I went to the drawing-room Celiawas singing, 
 and Blossom playing the accompaniment. My aunt 
 was not there, and a swift, meaning look from my sister 
 told me that her absence was the result of that lively 
 little matchmaker's diplomacy. I threw myself into a 
 chair and listened while Celia finished the song and 
 sang again. Then Blossom shut the piano, lingered a 
 moment by it, and, with the lame pretence that she 
 must go and see where Aunt Margaret was, left us. 
 I smiled, and Celia, seeing me smile, asked : 
 
 " Why are you smiling, Stanley?" 
 
 " I was thinking of Blossom's affectionate solicitude 
 for Aunt Margaret." 
 
 She had taken up some fancy work, and as she bent 
 her head over it I saw that she smiled too, from which 
 I gathered that Blossom had also been diplomatising 
 with her. 
 
 " She told me you wished to speak to me," she said 
 a moment afterwards, looking across to me. " Is it 
 about anything that has happened since this morning ? " 
 
 " I have been to the German Embassy and have seen 
 Count Bursten, and have told him all about things." 
 
 " About my about the Duchess? " and she sighed. 
 
 "About everything," I replied, pointedly. 
 
 *' Is anything going to be done, then ? What ? " 
 
 " He is going to communicate with your father, the 
 Duke, to try and get your rights and claims duly ad- 
 mitted." 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. " Claims, Stanley ?
 
 THE SHADOW OF A NEW DECISION 137 
 
 Scarcely claims. I claim nothing." There was a note 
 of reproach in this. " And I want none of these rights ; 
 there is too much pain and too much sorrow in them, 
 as we found this morning." 
 
 " Do you think you appreciate all that you would 
 lose in renouncing them ? " 
 
 "As the Count von Kronheim's wife?" 
 
 " No, that would never be necessary. The Ambas- 
 sador will know how to deal with him. He will not 
 trouble you." 
 
 " He does not trouble me now. I have too much 
 contempt for him," she answered, warmly. " Oh, you 
 mean in renouncing this Saxe-Lippe succession. Is 
 the .succession certain ? Is the Duke also anxious to 
 force me to Crudenstadt ? " 
 
 " No, Celia. The Embassy tells me it will be neces- 
 sary to approach him very delicately on the matter." 
 
 " Then why approach him at all ? Does no one 
 think of me in the matter ? I should have thought " 
 
 " Well ? " I asked, as she paused. 
 
 "Did you tell this Ambassador that I have not the 
 remotest wish even to go to Crudenstadt?" 
 
 "I told him everything," I repeated. 
 
 She looked up quickly, smiled, and let her glance 
 fall again. 
 
 " I am glad of that. What did he say to that ? " 
 
 " He said very little except that I had been indis- 
 creet to say anything about it to the Duchess, because 
 of the use she and von Kronheim might make of it. 
 He appeared to take it for granted that, being a false 
 move, we should be only too glad to recall it." 
 
 "We? Not you only ?" 
 
 It was a little feminine thrust which she could not
 
 i 3 8 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 resist, but when I made no reply she was quick to 
 regret it. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Stanley, I ought not to have 
 said that." I crossed over and sat down by her side 
 on the couch. 
 
 " I am desperately puzzled, Celia," I said, quietly. 
 " I want to do what is the right thing, and I want to 
 find the right thing for you to do; but I am desper- 
 ately perplexed. I have been so pained for you all 
 day." 
 
 " I am sure of that. You must have suffered as 
 much as I did in that terrible interview ; and in regard 
 to it, I have had a curious thought and an uncom- 
 fortable one." 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 " Did you tell me everything about the Duchess? I 
 mean, why she was kept shut up ? Was she in 
 prison ? " She let her work fall on her lap and looked 
 at me steadily. 
 
 " They don't put duchesses in prison for nearly 
 twenty years, Celia," I answered, scarcely knowing 
 how'to reply. 
 
 " You needn't be afraid to tell me. I think I would 
 rather have my own thought confirmed. Was she out 
 of her mind? " 
 
 " She experienced a very terrible shock at the time, 
 and was kept under close supervision." 
 
 " I thought so ; and I don't know whether I feared 
 or hoped it," she answered, pensively. " If there had 
 not been something of the kind, she could never have 
 
 behaved to me as she did this morning. I wonder " 
 
 She paused. 
 
 "Well?"
 
 THE SHADOW OF A NEW DECISION 139 
 
 " I wonder if I could cure her ? " and she sighed. " I 
 should like to try. I have been very unhappy about 
 it all day. She has never had a chance, you see, of 
 getting cured. To be shut up and treated as a lunatic 
 for nearly twenty years ! If she were not actually in- 
 sane, it would be enough to make her so." I would 
 not encourage her to think about the subject of her 
 mother's madness, and made no reply ; but the idea 
 had taken a strong hold upon her. 
 
 " If we could get her to remain quietly in England 
 we might perhaps cure her." 
 
 " I fear it is hopeless," I said, hurriedly, remembering 
 what I had heard at the German Embassy. But the 
 words troubled Celia. 
 
 " Hopeless ? Why hopeless ? There is no hereditary 
 insanity, is there ? If so, I myself should have to fear 
 it. Have you thought of that ? That would be ter- 
 rible." A servant came into the room then, sent by 
 Blossom in search of some work materials. " An awful 
 thought," exclaimed Celia. I could not answer until 
 we were alone, and in the pause Celia sat looking 
 troubled and thoughtful. 
 
 "There is no fear whatever of that kind," I replied,, 
 speaking very emphatically. " Your mother's unhap- 
 piness when she was married to the Duke she was not 
 eighteen at the time led to all the trouble. She was 
 most unfortunately allowed to take opium, and in this 
 way so weakened her mental powers that when the 
 shock of her great trouble came, they gave way. That 
 is the whole story of her insanity. There was no 
 hereditary taint, and there is not the least doubt that 
 if she had had proper treatment instead of the long 
 term of rigid confinement, she would have recovered.
 
 140 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 But she was more driven in upon herself than ever, and 
 brooding and the nursing of passion did the rest." 
 
 " But isn't my brother afflicted in the same way? " 
 
 " No, Celia. It's not a pretty story, but you'd better 
 hear it. He was never brilliant I mean, he was a very 
 average sort of lad mentally, and physically only a 
 weakling; and his. ways of life were all of the wrong 
 kind. He was kept very strictly in Crudenstadt, but 
 came to England about five years ago, and plunged at 
 once into a life of shocking dissipation and drank, well, 
 awfully. The consequences upon his feeble health 
 may be judged, and the end was constant delirium. 
 But it was delirium from drink. These things don't 
 get known outside, you see, and hence all the mistaken 
 rumours. The public are always left to guess a lot ; 
 and those who remembered the old trouble about your 
 mother, and then heard of your brother's delirium, put 
 one and one together and made fifty. I'm glad you 
 asked me." 
 
 " It is indeed a shocking story," said Celia, thought- 
 fully. " I'm not a bit morbid, Stanley," she added, 
 brightly, "but I wished to know the truth. I should 
 think it was a fortunate thing for me that I was brought 
 away from Crudenstadt as a child, and that it would 
 be a She paused, and with a glance at me picked 
 
 up her work. 
 
 " Shall I finish the sentence for you ? It would be 
 unfortunate if you ever had to go back." She didn't 
 lift her eyes from her work, and left me to draw my 
 own conclusions as to whether that was how she would 
 have finished the broken sentence. " And that's what 
 I mtan, Celia, that I'm desperately perplexed." And 
 I got up and walked about the room.
 
 THE SHADOW OF A NEW DECISION 141 
 
 " Yes, I think I can understand how much harder it 
 is for you to know what to do," she said, presently. 
 "And I don't quite see how to help you. You must 
 be blamed, whatever happens, and I admit it's hard on 
 you. But on one point my mind is absolutely made 
 up absolutely." 
 
 "What's that?" 
 
 " I shall not go to Crudenstadt I mean, in my 
 official capacity," and she gave one of her bright laughs. 
 " I would go there if I thought I could help to cure 
 my mother's insanity ; but that means she would have 
 to change her plans entirely if those are really her 
 plans she announced to us this morning. I would no 
 more dream of marrying that horrible man than of 
 marrying Schwartz, and that's not probable, although 
 I would rather marry him of the two." 
 
 " The people at the Embassy are ready enough to 
 knock the bottom out of the marriage scheme." 
 
 " But I don't intend to trouble the people of the 
 Embassy. I don't wish them to interfere at all. I 
 prefer to remain a private and quite inconspicuous 
 person, with no ambition or intention of any kind to 
 meddle with Saxe-Lippe or any other Duchy's affairs. 
 I know it's hard on you, I say, because you are sure 
 to get the credit of having induced me to make such 
 a decision. I am very sorry for you, Stanley, but I'm 
 afraid it can't be helped," and she laughed merrily. 
 
 " You're getting to be a very wilful ward," I replied, 
 smiling, as I sat down by her again. 
 
 " Yes; in the comedy, I'm a regular rebel." 
 
 " I can imagine a condition of things in which that 
 blame you speak of would sit very lightly on me." 
 
 " A condition of things ? " she repeated, in some
 
 142 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 perplexity, till her face cleared, two little spots of 
 colour flashed into her cheeks, and with a challenge in 
 her smiling eyes, she asked : " What condition of 
 things?" She understood me and had to lower her 
 eyes. 
 
 " I was thinking about it to-day, and I believe Count 
 Bursten half guessed my thought. I asked him very 
 pointedly whether it was certain that you would be 
 acknowledged in Crudenstadt and he was answering 
 me with diplomatic caution, when he suddenly grew 
 very earnest and declared that it would be in the high- 
 est degree impolitic for you or me to take any step ex- 
 cept on the assumption that the recognition was cer- 
 tain." 
 
 " What step could he mean ? " asked Celia, in a very 
 innocent tone, but not venturing to look up. 
 
 " The thought of it has been dizzying my wits with 
 its temptation and perplexities ever since. Do you 
 think you would dare to take it, Celia ? " My voice 
 dropped to a whisper, as I watched her profile bent 
 over her work. She gave a little start. 
 
 " Oh, here is a tangle ! " she cried then. " See, here 
 is my silk twisted itself up all round my ring. Can 
 you undo it or cut it? " and she held out her left hand 
 as if in trouble. 
 
 " Yes, very easily," I answered ; and I captured the 
 hand and held it while I cleared away the tangled 
 skein. " I have done it, Celia, look up." But she 
 would not. " Are you willing to take that step ? 
 Dare we ? " 
 
 " I am a rebel only in the comedy," she murmured, 
 with such a happy low laugh. 
 
 " This is earnest, not comedy," I said.
 
 THE SHADOW OF A NEW DECISION 143 
 
 For a moment she hung her head, then laughed 
 again ; glanced up into my eyes, her own radiant with 
 the light I loved to read there and cried : 
 
 " A ward must not disobey her guardian in ear- 
 nest ; " and she hid her face against my shoulder. And 
 after that there was no more talk of work or of any- 
 thing except the new and fateful decision we had 
 taken.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 ALMOST THE MARRIAGE EVE 
 
 ALTHOUGH the decision was taken and neither Celia 
 nor I had a thought of shirking it, we* both had our 
 qualms of doubt and moments of uneasiness. But in 
 each the cause was different. 
 
 Celia had no doubt whatever about the decision 
 being wholly right and justifiable, and she laughed to 
 scorn the thought that she ought to sacrifice her hap- 
 piness for what with wanton irreverence she dubbed 
 the empty fripperies of a small German Court ; but 
 she was anxious lest something could be done to 
 punish me and separate us. 
 
 On my side I was not so certain that the decision 
 was right. I could not wholly stifle the feeling that I 
 was sacrificing Celia's future to my own happiness ; 
 that my duty was to have made sure she quite realised 
 what it was she was renouncing; and that, although in 
 the end her decision would be guided by her love, I 
 was hurrying her. And I was also uneasy about pos- 
 sible pains and penalties to her. 
 
 " What can they do to us, Stanley ? " she asked once 
 with a half whimsical, half anxious smile. " Can they 
 do anything ? And who are the ' they ' we talk 
 about ? " 
 
 " I suppose ' they ' are the Duke and his advisers in 
 
 Crudenstadt ; but I don't know what they can do. I 
 144
 
 ALMOST THE MARRIAGE EVE 145 
 
 don't think they can do anything. They certainly 
 can't hurt me. I'm a British subject ; and a small 
 German Principality is not very likely to claim the 
 legal power to interfere in the marriages of English- 
 men. So you needn't worry about me. It's about 
 you I'm anxious." 
 
 " But I don't care a jot about that." 
 
 " Frankly, I don't see how they could touch you. 
 They might, if we were to go to Crudenstadt ; but 
 that's just where we shan't go. And even if we were 
 to accept the theory that you're a subject of Saxe- 
 Lippe and not English, it's not an extradition crime 
 for a German girl to marry an Englishman." 
 
 " Not even an English baronet, I suppose," she cried, 
 laughing. 
 
 " Even supposing they were to declare the marriage 
 morganatic, I can't see that that would hurt us. It 
 won't unmarry us in England, and as for Saxe-Lippe r 
 it doesn't count for much. I'm half inclined to think 
 indeed that our marriage will tie things up in such a 
 ghastly tangle they won't be able to do anything at 
 all." 
 
 " I think I rather like the position. We've always 
 had such a lot of difficulties and obstacles put in our 
 way that just a commonplace marriage might seem 
 quite an anti-climax in a way. But this laughing at 
 authority is like old times; and the notion of all those 
 solemn old bigwigs scratching their heads and puzzling 
 their brains over the problem of the marriage of us 
 two rebels is just delightful." 
 
 "Yes, but it isn't that part of the business which 
 worries me so much. When I think of all that you are 
 giving up just to. . . ."
 
 146 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Yes, it is rather serious, isn't it ? " she interposed, 
 quickly. " When we think what a happy life I might 
 lead with such a delightful husband as that Count von 
 Kronheim or some other abomination of the kind, a 
 little better or worse, and then consider what a what 
 shall I call you, Stanley ? what a horrid Blue Beard 
 you will be, how can I be anything but sad and 
 wretched ? I really don't think I should have courage 
 to do it if there weren't a remedy always at hand." 
 
 " Remedy ? " 
 
 " Of course ; ready made ; you suggested it just now.. 
 When I get tired of your brutality I shall only have to 
 go to Crudenstadt, acquiesce in the morganatic busi- 
 ness, and be unhappy ever afterwards." 
 
 " But I am serious," I said. 
 
 " And so should I soon be, I expect ; " and in this 
 way she laughed my doubts to the winds, and in doing 
 so always managed to convey a little tender assurance 
 that under no conceivable circumstances could she re- 
 gret the decision to give up the Crudenstadt possibili- 
 ties, and that her choice was unalterably made. 
 
 " But I have one little scheme I haven't told you, 
 Stanley," she said once. " I haven't given up the hope 
 of being reconciled to my mother and of trying to make 
 her life happier. I can't do it in her way, but I shall 
 try in my own." 
 
 " Don't build too much on the hope. She will 
 scarcely be brought to forgive you for marrying me in 
 defiance of her." 
 
 " I shall try, and try hard. What I should like to 
 do would be to get her to come to us when we come 
 home again. How long shall we be away ? " 
 
 " I propose to stop away until the whole of this
 
 ALMOST THE MARRIAGE EVE 147 
 
 Crudenstadt business has blown over. Nothing ties 
 either of us to London or England or even Europe ; 
 and six months or a year spent in rambling about the 
 world can be put in very enjoyably, don't you think ? " 
 
 " Lovely, Stanley," she exclaimed enthusiastically. 
 " And when we come back and all this nonsense about 
 Saxe-Lippe is done with, we can get her to us." 
 
 " We shall see." I was not enthusiastic, remember- 
 ing Count Bursten's phrase about the Duchess's " homi- 
 cidal mania." " We shall have plenty of time to plan 
 all that and a lot more when we are once away. But 
 we've something to do first ; " and in truth there was 
 a technical point in connection with the marriage 
 formalities which was threatening to cause some trouble. 
 
 Celia was not of age ; and although as my uncle's 
 successor I called myself her guardian, I had no legal 
 status in that character, and the question, not lacking 
 in humour as well as perplexity, was whether I could 
 give a valid consent to my own marriage with her. 
 The difficulty was not insuperable, but before it could 
 be overcome some delay might be inevitable ; and this 
 made me somewhat anxious. 
 
 Every hour of delay was so much gained to Celia's 
 mother and those who were acting with her. Fortu- 
 nately their machinations had received a serious check 
 by the interposition of the German Embassy, and they 
 could not take any open step without drawing down 
 on them those attentions from the Embassy which 
 they were particularly desirous to avoid. That they 
 could do any harm without open steps was not in the 
 least probable ; for we were all on the alert for any- 
 thing that threatened danger. But the delay chafed us. 
 
 Moreover, there was the probable action of the Ger-
 
 148 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 man Embassy toward us to be considered. They were 
 pushing forward the negotiations for the official ac- 
 knowledgment of Celia as the Duke's daughter ; and 
 if that was conveyed to me before the marriage, it 
 could not but tend to embarrass my position. Delay 
 was even more dangerous in this respect than in that 
 of von Kronheim. 
 
 All the preparations for the wedding were pushed 
 forward vigorously ; my own private affairs were put 
 on a footing which would allow me to be away from 
 England for one or even two years if necessary, while 
 Blossom and Celia were hard at work to get such trous- 
 seau ready as was requisite. This was not to be a very 
 large matter, but it was the more difficult because of 
 the great secrecy which I considered essential. 
 
 Unfortunately, despite our care something of what 
 was going on got to the ears of the Duchess Marie, and 
 a regular storm of protests came dinging about my 
 ears. Happily this did not occur until my difficulty 
 in regard to the other matter had been overcome ; and 
 I was laughing and chatting with Blossom and Celia, 
 having just told them the good news and that the wed- 
 ding would take place on the following Monday this 
 was the Friday when a bomb fell in our midst in the 
 shape of a wildly indignant letter of most vehement 
 protest against the marriage, from Celia's mother. 
 
 It was followed by a visit on the following day ; and 
 a very stormy interview it was. I would not let her 
 see Celia, and in the end she had to leave, having done 
 no more than to threaten to do Heaven alone knew 
 what to stop the marriage. 
 
 We held a council of war promptly and decided, of 
 course, to disregard the protest altogether. But the
 
 ALMOST THE MARRIAGE EVE 149 
 
 Duchess, and those with her were full of fight ; and 
 having failed herself to stop me, she caused a letter to 
 be written to the German Ambassador, telling him of 
 the intended marriage ; and he sent Count Bursten post 
 haste to interrogate me and get at the truth. 
 
 I received him courteously, of course, and he put the 
 letter into my hands. It was anonymous, I saw. 
 
 " Of course this cannot be true," he said, after he 
 had shown it to me, " but I thought it best to come 
 here to give you an opportunity of denying it." 
 
 " I do not attach any importance to anonymous let- 
 ters," said I. 
 
 " No, no, Sir Stanley, of course not, nor do I. I 
 have your word, then, that you do not propose to do 
 anything of the kind? Of course, you know that such 
 a marriage would be a flagrant breach of all precedent 
 and would be instantly annulled." 
 
 " I do not wish even to discuss the consequences of 
 such a marriage. But if I had resolved upon it, believe 
 me, such a thought would not have the slightest effect 
 in deterring me." 
 
 " But you see the impossibility of such a thing?" 
 
 " Frankly I do not," said I, with a smile. 
 
 " But, my dear Sir Stanley, you told me the other 
 day that you were quite aware of it, and in consequence 
 had broken off the engagement which had been made 
 in ignorance of the facts." 
 
 " Yes, that was so," I replied, blandly. " But I un- 
 derstood from you that there was little prospect of Celia 
 being recognised by her father, the Duke, as his suc- 
 cessor. Her mother has an insane intention of marry- 
 ing her to a scoundrelly pretender, so that she may be 
 the centre of a tumult causing Heaven only knows
 
 ISO FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 what ferment and trouble in the Duchy. Her father 
 will have nothing at all to say to her. What, then, is 
 Celia's own position, and where the bar to her choos- 
 ing her own line of action ? " 
 
 "Then you do propose to marry her?" 
 
 " I say neither 'Yes' nor ' No' to that question. I 
 simply claim the right of freedom of action both for 
 her and myself." 
 
 " This is very serious," he said, biting his lip. " Very 
 serious indeed. Can I see the young Duchess?" 
 
 " Certainly. I will fetch her." 
 
 I went in search of Celia, and in a few words told her 
 the position of matters and the line she had better 
 adopt refuse to say " Yes " or " No " as to what she 
 meant to do. 
 
 He made a very profound bow when I led Celia into 
 the room and declared that it gave him at once pleas- 
 ure to see her and regret to have to come on such an 
 errand, and then looked at me as if expecting me to 
 retire. 
 
 "You wish to see Celia alone? I have not the re- 
 motest objection. Of course, I have explained the 
 object of the interview, and she is quite willing to hear 
 all the argument and persuasion you would wish to use, 
 but any attempt at intimidation will be the signal for 
 her to leave the room," and I went away feeling per- 
 fectly certain that he might argue for hours without 
 producing the least effect. 
 
 It was fully an hour before I was called into the 
 room, and I found that he had made no progress what- 
 ever. But he took his defeat with a smile of diplomacy. 
 
 " You have an apt pupil in the art of non-committal 
 replies, Sir Stanley, but, of course, I can only conclude
 
 ALMOST THE MARRIAGE EVE 151 
 
 from the fact of your not denying the intention, that 
 you have decided upon this most rash act." 
 
 I bowed and said not a word. 
 
 " I do not think you realise the full gravity of the 
 step. You will incur, not only the anger of those at 
 Crudenstadt who are interested in the matter, but also 
 the grave displeasure of the Imperial authorities at 
 Berlin." 
 
 " I am an Englishman," said I. 
 
 " You have not even the consent of either of the 
 young Duchess's parents, and such a thing will invali- 
 date the marriage." 
 
 " In Germany perhaps it would," I corrected. 
 
 " It must be, of course, my business to make every 
 protest to the authorities in this country, and to ex- 
 haust every means at my command to prevent you." 
 
 " I do not dream of interfering with your fullest 
 liberty of action." 
 
 " And I would appeal to you earnestly not to take a 
 step precipitately which may involve you both and so 
 many others in consequences of a most far-reaching, 
 painful, and probably dangerous character." 
 
 " I will consider the appeal in the same earnest 
 spirit in which it is made. I can say no more, since I 
 have said nothing as to what my real intentions 
 are." 
 
 " Will you promise me to do nothing, say, at least, 
 for a week, until I can communicate with Crudenstadt 
 and Berlin ? " 
 
 " If I had such an intention as you credit me with 
 I should be foolish to give you further time for in- 
 tervening, Count," and at this answer he shrugged his 
 shoulders and threw up his hands.
 
 152 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " There will inevitably be a heavy day of reckoning. 
 It is a mad thing, stark staring mad thing, that you are 
 doing." 
 
 At that I rose to end the interview. 
 
 " There is nothing more to be said," and I bowed. 
 
 " Only one word as to our last interview," he replied, 
 rising also. " I am already in communication indirectly 
 with Crudenstadt as to the recognition of the young 
 Duchess's rights, and I have not succeeded yet in find- 
 ing the whereabouts of the Duchess Marie or the Count 
 von Kronheim." 
 
 " I am perfectly aware of that ; but I think I shall be 
 able to help you," I said, and with a few more merely 
 formal words he took his departure, baffled and dis- 
 comfited, but suave. 
 
 As soon as he was gone I turned with a smile to Celia r 
 but she was looking a little scared. 
 
 " We're keeping your conditions about difficulties 
 with us to the end, Celia." 
 
 " He told me he could make it impossible for the 
 marriage to take place, that I was not of age, and he 
 threatened all sorts of things. Can they stop it ? " 
 
 " I don't like to say no, definitely ; but as you and I 
 are now absolutely resolved, they will have a very 
 heavy task. If they succeed in stopping it here, I'll 
 carry you off to America and marry you there. A hue 
 and cry across the Atlantic would be a spirited wind-up 
 to the fun of the comedy." 
 
 " I think the fun is getting quite furious enough as 
 it is," she said. " Count Bursten is so polite that he 
 almost frightens me. He suggests so much reserve 
 power." 
 
 " The power is not in operation or in reserve either
 
 ALMOST THE MARRIAGE EVE 155 
 
 that shall stop me making you my wife the day after 
 to-morrow, Celia," I cried resolutely ; and she soon 
 banished her passing apprehension. 
 
 We both had a very busy day and a delightful eve- 
 ning and were in the highest spirits. 
 
 " Only one full day more, Celia ! " I whispered 
 when bidding her good night. " Only one full day 
 more, and then " 
 
 She blushed, laughed joyously and looked at me with 
 love brightening every feature, as she broke out of my 
 arms and ran away up-stairs. 
 
 " Only one full day more," I repeated to myself, 
 glad indeed that the suspense would so soon be over ; 
 for, in truth, I was not a little troubled at the thought of 
 what the embassy might yet do to stop us ; and I wished 
 with all my heart the marriage had been even hurried 
 on faster. But in forty-eight hours at most we should 
 be man ano! wife, and well away on our long journey. 
 And that was my last thought as I went to bed an 
 hour or so later. 
 
 But I little knew what was to happen that night while 
 I was sleeping like a happy fool, confident of my coming 
 happiness. I did not learn it till the early morning, 
 indeed, when I was awakened by a loud clatter at my 
 door, and opening it found my sister there, her face 
 white to the lips with alarm. 
 
 " Celia is not in her room, Stanley, and not in the 
 house ! " she cried, excitedly. " What does it mean ? " 
 
 " Not in the house ? " I exclaimed. " She must be." 
 
 " Come and see," and Blossom turned and ran back 
 to Celia's room. 
 
 In a minute I had flung on some clothes, and, half- 
 crazed at the news, I followed her.
 
 154 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " I go into her bed sometimes early in the morning," 
 said Blossom, in whose eyes the tears were now stand- 
 ing, " and I went to her room this morning and it was 
 empty. I have searched everywhere and cannot find 
 a trace of her. And see, there has been some sort of 
 struggle, and the bed is cold and has not been lain in 
 for hours. Stanley, what can it mean ? " 
 
 And she stared in blank dismay into my face, which 
 was to the full as white and troubled as her own.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 GONE 
 
 WITH a strenuous effort, I pulled myself together 
 to face the most unexpected and critical development. 
 
 " When did you find this out, Blossom ? " I asked. 
 
 " Only a few minutes before I rushed to give you 
 the alarm." 
 
 It was then just six o'clock. I had bade Celia good- 
 night at eleven seven hours in which the mysterious 
 disappearance or abduction had taken place. 
 
 " Did you go to Celia's room last night ? " 
 
 " For a few minutes only ; directly we came up-stairs." 
 
 " Run and dress at once," I said, and I hurried back 
 to my room. As I was dressing quickly, I summoned 
 my servant, Wilson, and questioned him as to the 
 time the servants had gone to bed. He told me he had 
 remained up until the last in case I should need him, 
 and had gone to bed at one o'clock. 
 
 " Did you notice anything unusual in the house ? " 
 
 " No, sir. It was all dead quiet. I went round the 
 last thing to see that all doors and windows were closed 
 for the alarm to be set on, sir, according to your orders. 
 Everything was in order." 
 
 " Go and call Schwartz, and wait with him till he 
 comes to me," I said. I had forgotten about the alarm 
 until Wilson had mentioned it ; but I had switched it 
 on as usual, and it was still on. If it had fulfilled its
 
 156 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 purpose, no door or window could have been opened to 
 let anyone out without raising a deafening noise. That 
 meant that Gelia must still be somewhere in the house ; 
 and for an instant I hoped we had frightened ourselves 
 needlessly. 
 
 But a minute later Wilson came back to say that 
 Schwartz was not in his room, and that apparently his 
 bed had not been slept in. 
 
 " Go round the house, and see if any of the outer 
 doors or windows are open, and let me know. Be 
 quick." 
 
 Schwartz gone ! I knew what this might mean, and 
 bitterly repented having allowed him to remain in the 
 house at all after his treachery that morning when I 
 was at the German Ambassy. I was thus prepared for 
 Wilson's report when he came hurrying back, just as I 
 had finished dressing, to say that the window of a 
 lumber-room opening on to the roof was unlatched and 
 slightly open. 
 
 I went up with him to see it for myself, and needed 
 little more evidence to understand something of what 
 had taken place. The window was sufficiently open 
 to have caused the alarm to ring had everything been 
 in order; but a minute's examination showed me 
 where the wires had been cut and the alarm rendered 
 useless. 
 
 " I am going to get into the next house, Wilson. Go 
 down at once and watch the front of it until you see 
 me, and get Miss Flora to watch at the back. Quick 
 as you can, man ! " I cried, as I scrambled out on to 
 the leads; 
 
 The place might have been made for such a business. 
 There was a broad gutter running in front of the win-
 
 GONE 157 
 
 dow, and between my house and the next there was 
 merely a low brickwork division, over which I could 
 step without the least difficulty. It would have been 
 the easiest matter in the world for even one man to 
 have carried a heavier burden than Celia from one 
 window to the other. 
 
 The window of the next house was closed and fast- 
 ened, but I broke a pane of glass and thrust back the 
 catch and got into the room. It was without furni- 
 ture of any kind, and I crossed it, and went out on to 
 the landing and listened. The whole house appeared 
 uninhabited. I ran downstairs, looking into all the 
 rooms as I passed, and found it empty from garret to 
 cellar. It had been used merely as a safe hiding-place 
 for the spies, and as a means of getting Celia quickly 
 away from my house, supposing her to have been car- 
 ried off, as I believed. 
 
 "What can it mean, Stanley?" asked my sister, 
 still very pale and agitated, as she came with me to 
 my study. 
 
 " That I have been a blind fool and ought to be shot 
 for my carelessness," I exclaimed, bitterly reproaching 
 myself. 
 
 " But where has Celia gone, and why?" 
 
 " There is one probable, one possible, and one im- 
 possible reason. The impossible is that she can have 
 gone away of her own accord ; the possible, that the 
 German Ambassador has sent his agents to stop our 
 marriage in this way ; and the probable, that by the 
 treachery of the man Schwartz, she has been taken 
 away from us and placed in the care of her mother, the 
 Duchess." 
 
 "But how?"
 
 158 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " My dear girl, how can I know that ? " I said, im- 
 patiently. "That scoundrel Schwartz, may have had, 
 and most probably had, someone in league with him, 
 someone in the pay of the Duchess or von Kronheim 
 a woman, as likely as not and he may have let her 
 into the house last night, and together they may have 
 drugged Celia and got her away in that fashion. Good 
 heavens! I feel like a madman when I think of it. 
 But I'll find her and punish them, if I use up my life 
 in the effort. It's no use sitting here and uttering 
 empty threats, however. I must do something, 
 though heaven alone knows what ! " I cried, in despair. 
 
 " Let me help," said my sister, eagerly. 
 
 " Yes, you shall help if we can only find the means. 
 But where are we to look? " and I tugged at my mous- 
 tache viciously. 
 
 " You must have some breakfast first," said Blossom, 
 practically ; and she went away to give the order, re- 
 gardless of my protests that I could not think of food 
 at such a time. 
 
 By this time the whole household had learnt the 
 strange news, and I had the servants in one at a time 
 to question them and to enjoin upon them the great- 
 est secrecy. They had nothing to tell me that was of 
 the least consequence. How should they ? If I, to whom 
 Celia's safety was as dear as my life, had slept through 
 the hours of her peril like a dull-witted fool, how 
 should their blunter instincts have been awake to the 
 danger? And if I had no thought where to look for 
 a clue to the mystery, how was it possible they would 
 have? 
 
 In truth, for a time 1 did not know what course to 
 adopt, what steps to take, scarcely what to think. The
 
 GONE 159 
 
 one burning fear of the possible consequences to Celia, 
 had she really fallen into the clutches of that mad 
 Duchess, scorched up all other considerations, and for 
 the time seemed to deaden even my power to act, 
 despite my desire to be at work. 
 
 If Celia should continue to resist her mother's 
 wishes, as I knew she would, of course it was impossible 
 to tell to what lengths the Duchess's mania might not 
 impel her. I remembered Count Bursten's warning 
 and words, and shuddered at the fears they raised. 
 Yet how was I to set about the work of tracing her ? 
 
 I thought first of the police ; but I could not go to 
 them. Their first questions would reveal the doubt as 
 to my right to keep Celia away from her mother's con- 
 trol; there would be inquiries, processes, who could 
 tell what ; and in the end nothing would be done. 
 
 I did not think highly of private inquiry agents, but 
 such as they were, I must use them, and, as soon as I 
 had settled upon this course, I drove to a man named 
 Pollock, whose reputation stood highest in London, 
 and laid the case before him. He listened attentively, 
 asked many questions, complained that so much time 
 had been lost, and then with one of his sharpest assist- 
 ants drove back to Cromwell-road with me to examine 
 the house and commence investigations. 
 
 " I think we can soon solve the problem," he said, 
 sanguinely. " We know whom to look for, and I shall 
 expect to have something to report, at most, in a 
 couple of days," and with that I left him at the house 
 while I drove to the German Embassy to tell the news 
 there. In making the visit I had a double purpose 
 to let Count Bursten know what had occurred, and to 
 ascertain whether his agents could have had any hand
 
 160 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 in it. I did not think so, but I kept the possibility in 
 my thoughts. 
 
 He met me courteously, but manifestly on a footing 
 of semi-hostility, and he sounded his note in the first 
 sentence. 
 
 " I hope you have come to say that you have aban- 
 doned this projected marriage, but I must tell you 
 before you speak that I have, on my part, taken active 
 and vigorous steps to prevent it." 
 
 " What steps ? " I asked, quickly, with a flash of 
 suspicion that after all he knew something of Celia's 
 disappearance. 
 
 " I am afraid I cannot say more than that they are 
 such steps as I considered would be effectual," he replied, 
 with a wave of the hand. 
 
 " I bring grave news. Do you know what has hap- 
 pened ? " and I watched him closely. 
 
 " I can have no idea of your meaning." 
 
 " Do you know the whereabouts of the Duchess or 
 of that villain, von Kronheim ? " I could not keep the 
 anger out of my voice. 
 
 " I told you yesterday that I did not. I have learnt 
 nothing since." 
 
 " The worst has happened. Celia has been carried 
 from my house, and, I fear, has fallen into their 
 hands,'' I said, bluntly. He did not appear aston- 
 ished, but first looked at me intently and then fell 
 into thought. 
 
 " That is a very singular coincidence," he said at 
 length, drily. 
 
 " Coincidence ? Why coincidence ? " 
 
 " That she should disappear on the very eve of the 
 marriage which I had warned you should be prevented,"
 
 GONE 161 
 
 he returned, with the same dry significance. " Will 
 you tell me the circumstances?" 
 
 " I am here for that purpose," and I told him the 
 facts so far as I knew them. He listened without in- 
 terrupting me, and was apparently weighing carefully 
 every word I spoke. 
 
 " A very extraordinary thing to occur in London in 
 these times," he said, and I began to catch his mean- 
 ing. " It seems to have been very shrewdly planned 
 and very daringly carried out. But it is a very dan- 
 gerous step to have taken, Sir Stanley. Young ladies 
 of reigning Ducal houses cannot be spirited away with 
 impunity." 
 
 " So these people shall find," said I. " But I think 
 you had better speak plainly." 
 
 "Your theory is that the Duchess and Count von 
 Kronheim have done this?" he asked, looking keenly 
 at me the while. 
 
 " With the connivance of the man Schwartz, who 
 has also disappeared." 
 
 "He appears to have a knack of disappearing. Last 
 time it was from your carriage, when I was to have in- 
 terrogated him." 
 
 " You think I have had a hand in doing this? " 
 
 " You have been in the habit, I think, of saying 
 where the Duchess Celia should go." 
 
 " We shall only play at cross-purposes, if you per- 
 sist in this belief. I know no more than I have 
 told you. Indeed, I came here with half a thought 
 that you yourself might have had some knowledge 
 of it." 
 
 " We do not keep kidnappers at the Embassy, Sir 
 
 Stanley," he answered, with evident anger. 
 ii
 
 162 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Yet you do not hesitate to suggest that I am one," 
 I retorted. 
 
 " I have made no such suggestion." 
 
 " Your words, your manner, your looks, what are 
 they but a suggestion or insinuation ? " 
 
 " You have made up your mind to marry the Duchess 
 Celia in spite of my protests. You would not admit 
 to me that was the case, but put me off with equivoca- 
 tions and generalities. I warned you that the marriage 
 was impossible and that I should take every means in 
 my power to prevent it ; and at the moment when I 
 am commencing to do so, she is spirited away. I do 
 not say that you have kidnapped her, that would be 
 an insulting and quite needless charge ; but I cannot 
 see that since you were so bent upon this marriage it 
 would be at all an unlikely step for you to remove her 
 secretly from London. If that suggestion, which is 
 very different from anything of the nature of kidnap- 
 ping, is distasteful to you, really you have only your- 
 self to blame." 
 
 " I give you my word of honour, Count Bursten, 
 that I know nothing whatever of this unfortunate mat- 
 ter, more than I have told you. I give it you without 
 qualification or reservation of any kind. Of course, if 
 you cannot accept that, there is an end of all matters 
 between us," and I rose. 
 
 He paused a moment before replying, but then said, 
 frankly : " I accept it, of course ; and, frankly, I am 
 sorry to hear it. I could have dealt with you and have 
 brought arguments to bear which I am sure would 
 have weighed with you, had you been responsible. 
 But I know not what to say in regard to the Duchess, 
 if your surmise is correct that the mother has been
 
 GONE 163 
 
 privy to the stealing of the daughter. God alone 
 knows what rash step that desperate, demented woman 
 may take." He spoke with genuine concern and was 
 manifestly deeply moved. 
 
 " We must find her," I said. 
 
 " Ves, I know. But how ? If this were Germany I 
 could do it, because we have there some attempt at a 
 police system. But here, what have you ? You can 
 regulate your street traffic and catch a man sometimes 
 whose crime is committed under your nose, but how 
 can you deal with a thing like this? Your personal 
 responsibility is indeed a heavy one. It must be that 
 the news of the marriage got out somehow ; perhaps, 
 as you suggest, through the spy, Schwartz, and it drove 
 these people to this course. But if we know that, of 
 what use is it ? It will not bring back the young 
 Duchess. It will not prevent her being coerced into a 
 marriage with this von Kronheim ; it will not give me 
 an answer to send to the Duke when he asks me to 
 produce the daughter who shall be his heiress. It will 
 do nothing, in short," he cried, jumping from his chair 
 and beginning to pace the room excitedly. " It will 
 do nothing." 
 
 I myself was too cast down not to be affected by his 
 mood, and my eyes followed him despondently ; nor 
 could I find a gleam of hope in the situation. 
 
 " You will have to bear the responsibility for all this 
 mess, Sir Stanley," he said, almost fiercely, when at 
 length he threw himself down in his chair. " What 
 are you going to do? " 
 
 " To find Celia," said I, curtly. 
 
 " Yes, yes ; but how ? " 
 
 " I have already a number of agents searching and
 
 i 64 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 inquiring, and every clue that comes I shall follow up 
 personally." 
 
 He laughed shortly, almost contemptuously. 
 
 " You could not guard her when she was in your 
 house and charge." 
 
 " Can you offer any suggestions ? They will be 
 more valuable and more practical than this indulgence 
 in sneers," and as there was nothing to be gained by 
 any continuance of the interview I prepared to leave. 
 
 " I can offer you none. I shall, of course, take such 
 steps as I can," he said, in his previous antagonistic 
 tone. " But if any ill happen to her through the mania 
 of her mother I shall hold you responsible, and you 
 will have to answer for it to those at Crudenstadt." 
 
 " Had you done what you said and laid hands on 
 von Kronheim, this would not have happened," I re- 
 torted angrily. 
 
 " Had you not indulged in this contumacious thought 
 of marriage nothing would have happened," he cried, 
 with equal warmth. " I warned you of the Duchess's 
 madness, remember," and with this ringing in my ears 
 I left him.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE SEARCH 
 
 I HAD gained nothing by my interview at the Em- 
 bassy, except the assurance that no one there had had 
 a hand in Celia's disappearance; and this I had scarcely 
 needed. The chief effect of the conversation indeed 
 had been to heighten my fears of the danger to Celia, 
 which was to be apprehended from her mother's mad- 
 ness. 
 
 I drove back to my house in the forlorn hope that 
 the private detective might have discovered some clue. 
 There was nothing from them, however, but I experi- 
 enced a genuine surprise when I reached home, for the 
 first news I heard was that Schwartz was in the house. 
 I sent for him immediately. 
 
 " Where have you been ? " I asked him, sternly. 
 
 " I was taken ill in the early morning, Sir Stanley, 
 with another of my heart attacks, and had to go out 
 for fresh air. I went out between four and five o'clock, 
 sir, and walked and sat in the park until I recovered." 
 
 " Your attacks appear to come at peculiar junc- 
 tures." 
 
 " I never know when they are coming on, sir," he 
 replied, looking at me stolidly and meeting my look 
 firmly enough. 
 
 " Of course, you heard and saw nothing unusual in 
 the house when you left your room ? " 
 
 165
 
 166 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " No, Sir Stanley ; nothing." 
 
 " You know what has happened ? " 
 
 " I have heard of it since my return, sir." 
 
 " Do you tell me you know nothing of the cause of 
 all this trouble?" 
 
 " I have my fears, Sir Stanley." 
 
 "What are they?" 
 
 "It was at just about Miss Celia's age that her 
 mother showed the first signs of her malady." 
 
 " You scoundrel ! " I cried, my anger breaking out 
 of control. " You dare to have a hand in all this black 
 business and then come canting back to me with this lie 
 on your lips. I have found out much about you, and 
 you shall repent. You were the first to give the alarm 
 when I went to the German Embassy, with the result 
 that these people escaped us, and now you have dared 
 to plot against me in my own house, to connive and 
 help at placing Miss Celia in the hands of those who 
 mean nothing but ill for her ; and having done your 
 evil work you come back to me with a series of smooth 
 lies rolling off your tongue to try and hoodwink me 
 further. But you have made a mistake, my man." 
 
 " I don't understand you in the least, Sir Stanley," 
 he answered, doggedly. 
 
 " I will give you one chance. Tell me where they 
 have taken her and you shall go your own way ; any 
 way, so long as it's far enough from me. Refuse, and 
 I'll hand you over to those who will know how to 
 make you speak. Now, where is Miss Celia ? " and I 
 went across and stood over him. 
 
 " I do not know, sir. I know nothing about it," he 
 said, in the same dogged, sullen tone. 
 
 " Don't lie to me ! " I thundered, fiercely.
 
 THE SEARCH 167 
 
 " I do not know, sir," he repeated. 
 
 " Where is the Duchess Marie, or the Count von 
 Kronheim ? " 
 
 " I don't know, sir." 
 
 " When did you see them, or hear from them, or 
 communicate with them last ? " 
 
 " In the hall here, Sir Stanley. That is the only 
 time." 
 
 " Well, we will see about that." 
 
 I opened the door and called one of the servants to 
 send Wilson to me. While we were waiting Schwartz 
 stood biting his lip and glancing now and then in fear 
 at my face, wondering what I meant to do. I paid no 
 heed. 
 
 " Wilson," I said, when he came, " get one of the 
 men and get ready, both of you, to go out immedi- 
 ately." 
 
 "What are you going to do, Sir Stanley? I hope 
 you will do nothing to let the public know of all 
 this ? " asked Schwartz. 
 
 " Will you tell me where these people are to be 
 found ? " 
 
 " I don't know, sir," he said again, doggedly. And 
 after that we neither spoke until Wilson and the groom 
 arrived. 
 
 - " Call a cab and take this man, Schwartz, to the 
 German Embassy. I will give you a letter, and mind, 
 do not lose sight of Schwartz until you have handed 
 him over to Count Bursten himself. If he makes any 
 resistance you have my full authority to take any 
 necessary measures." 
 
 I sat down and wrote the letter, expressing my con- 
 viction that Schwartz could give the information we
 
 1 68 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 needed if means could be devised to force him to speak, 
 and that, in any event, he should be kept under the 
 closest surveillance. 
 
 His suggestion, like the rest of his story, was a lie of 
 course ; but it had its use. It showed me what these 
 people might pretend to regard as the reason of Celia's 
 disappearance. No one but Schwartz, however, could 
 have cut the wires which had silenced the alarm. I 
 would not believe him guiltless. Not only the facts 
 but all the probabilities pointed to his being impli- 
 cated ; and what I had to do was to move Heaven and 
 earth to trace the movements of the Duchess and von 
 Kronheim,,and I decided to make efforts of my own 
 to follow the trail. 
 
 The private detectives had done nothing. As I was 
 getting ready to go out again one of them came to me 
 with a story that they believed they had a clue already, 
 and he spun me a yarn about someone who had seen a 
 carriage stopping near the house in the night, which it 
 was believed had been used for the purpose of the 
 abduction, and that he was hopeful of tracing it. He 
 expressed great confidence, and was full of mysterious 
 suggestions and insinuations of the secret means at his 
 disposal. But I found no difficulty in reading between 
 the lines of his words that he was merely using the 
 tricks of his trade to impress me with his and his em- 
 ployers' great astuteness and resource. 
 
 I listened to him and encouraged him, as it was not 
 my cue to show any lack of confidence. But the re- 
 sult of the conversation was to make it plain that I 
 should have to rely much more upon myself than upon 
 him. 
 
 I began my search at the point where my previous
 
 THE SEARCH 169 
 
 inquiries as to the mysterious tenant of the next house 
 had stopped. I saw the agents and questioned them 
 again closely, and went again to the bankers who had 
 been given as references. But I learnt nothing. The 
 account at the bank had been closed almost imme- 
 diately after the reference had been given in regard to 
 the house, and not a soul there could give me any in- 
 formation. 
 
 I wired to the house in Germany which had sent 
 the introduction to the English bank, but they knew 
 nothing. It appeared that they had been used pretty 
 much as the English bank for the sole purposes of 
 establishing a reputation for the anonymous character 
 in which von Kronheim had evidently designed to carry 
 on part of the intrigue. It was obvious that there was 
 no lack of money, and this circumstance would certainly 
 add to my difficulty in tracing the people. 
 
 I went then to the house where the Countess Borgen 
 had stayed, but only to draw a complete blank. She 
 and her daughter had left very suddenly on the day 
 when I had first seen the Count Bursten at the Em- 
 bassy, and immediately after receiving a telegram. At 
 von Kronheim's hotel I had the same story, and it was 
 clear to me, therefore, that when Schwartz gave the 
 alarm it had been the signal for a general flight. 
 
 Nor was there a trace left anywhere of their move- 
 ments. I was told in both places that the boxes and 
 trunks were always kept ready packed, and that they 
 had prepared the people for the probability of a hur- 
 ried departure of the kind. No one had seen them 
 since, nor had a letter or message been received for 
 them. 
 
 The only clue I got out of the whole of my inquiries
 
 i;o FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 was the removal of the luggage. This had been by 
 cabs, and I drove to the private detective's to give him 
 the facts and tell him to trace the cabs with all possible 
 speed. 
 
 I returned home, wearied, dispirited and utterly dis- 
 couraged, as the result of my long day's work. The 
 search appeared hopeless, and they seemed to have 
 vanished completely, as though they had all been spir- 
 ited away as mysteriously as Celia herself. 
 
 At the house Blossom was waiting for me impa- 
 tiently. 
 
 " Oh, I am so glad you have come, Stanley," she 
 cried, meeting me in the hall. She had been watch- 
 ing for me. " There is news from Celia. A telegram 
 came for you two or three hours ago, and as I thought 
 it might have something to do with this terrible busi- 
 ness, I opened it, dear. It is from Celia herself," and 
 she gave it me as AVC hurried into the library. " But I 
 can't understand it." 
 
 " I am well. Do not try to find me. You know 
 why I cannot marry you. My only course was to leave 
 you. I am grieved to the heart to wound you in this 
 way. Have courage and forget me. CELIA." 
 
 For a moment the message gave me a pang of genuine 
 alarm, but I rallied quickly and recovered myself. 
 
 "Quick! Tell them to keep the carriage. I want 
 it at once ! " I cried, so excitedly that Wilson, who 
 had come to report to me about Schwartz, stared at 
 me in amazement. "Quick, man! quick!" and he 
 ran off at once.
 
 THE SEARCH 171 
 
 " \Vliat does it mean, Stanley ? " asked my sister. 
 
 " I can't stay to tell you now, dear. I am going to 
 find out who sent this message. I will tell you the 
 moment I get back," and a minute later I was back in 
 the carriage again, hurrying as fast as the man could 
 drive to the post-office in the Strand, where the mes- 
 sage had been handed in. 
 
 If it had been despatched by Celia herself I felt I 
 might almost give up the search. But I believed that 
 the whole thing was a mere blind part of the abomi- 
 nable plot which these people had woven. 
 
 So much turned on the identity of the sender that I 
 was almost afraid to put the issue to the test. But the 
 more I thought over the matter the more improbable 
 did it seem that Celia could have sent such a message. 
 The message had been despatched at half-past three, 
 and for Celia to have sent it would mean that she had 
 been wandering aimlessly about London through the 
 night from the time she left Cromwell-road and all 
 through the day. If she had fled voluntarily I felt that 
 her instinct would have been to hurry out of London 
 as soon as possible. 
 
 At the post-office I gave in my card, asked for the 
 chief of the telegraphic staff, and explained to him my 
 errand. 
 
 " It is very unusual to give any information, Sir 
 Stanley," he said, in a dry, official manner, " and we 
 cannot show you the original telegram without the 
 proper order." 
 
 " I have reason to believe this is a forgery and part 
 of an exceedingly ugly conspiracy with far-reaching 
 consequences. I assure you the matter is of the grav- 
 est importance."
 
 1/2 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 He was impressed by my earnestness, and, after a 
 few moments' thought, he said : 
 
 "Will you give me the telegram?" And he went 
 out of the room ; and when he returned brought with 
 him a younger man. " This is the clerk who took the 
 message, Sir Stanley. Would you like to ask him any 
 questions? " 
 
 " Do you remember receiving the message?" 
 
 " Perfectly," he answered. " I was struck by the 
 length and the very unusual character of it. The 
 sender was a tall, dark, military-looking man, who 
 spoke with a slight foreign accent." 
 
 This answered to von Kronheim himself, and when 
 I questioned him further his answers left no doubt in 
 my mind on the point. 
 
 " I asked him for the sender's full name and address," 
 added the clerk, " and he seemed surprised at the ques- 
 tion, hesitated, and then said there was no address. I 
 pointed to the regulations at the back of the form, and 
 then, as it appeared to me with some confusion, he wrote 
 
 down Shall I say, sir?" asked the clerk, turning 
 
 to his chief. 
 
 " No, that will do," and the clerk was sent away. 
 " Does that assist you at all, Sir Stanley? " asked the 
 chief. 
 
 " Most materially, and it confirms my suspicions." 
 
 " You understand that, officially, I cannot let you 
 see the original telegram, but if you will give me your 
 word not to make use of it I will show it you as a 
 matter of courtesy." 
 
 " I give you my word, certainly, and thank you cor- 
 dially," I replied, as he handed me the message, not a 
 word of which was in Celia's handwriting.
 
 THE SEARCH 173 
 
 I returned it with another word of thanks and a re- 
 newed assurance of confidence, and left. 
 
 It was as plain as anything could be that the mes- 
 sage had been intended as a blind, and when in the 
 light of this knowledge I studied its words I saw some- 
 thing more. It was clear that someone had overheard 
 some of our conversations about the Duchess's insan- 
 ity and had misunderstood us ; and that an ingenious 
 use had been made of the knowledge to refer in the 
 message to a subject of which Celia and I might reason- 
 ably suppose no one but our two selves had any cog- 
 nisance. It explained also Schwartz's suggestion. 
 
 When I reached home I told my sister only that I 
 had discovered the truth as to the sender of the mes- 
 sage, and that it left no room for doubt that Celia had 
 fallen into von Kronheim's hands. 
 
 But all this carried me no further on the road to 
 tracing her, although it removed the racking torture of 
 the doubt that the disappearance was due to any sud- 
 den, morbid impulse of Celia herself. 
 
 I spent the night trying to devise means to find 
 her, and the next day was passed in an agony of un- 
 certainty and baffled, impotent anger. The private 
 detectives did nothing, the Ambassador did nothing, 
 and I myself was equally unsuccessful. Schwartz had 
 been allowed to go, but was to be kept under the 
 closest watch, a vigilance which he succeeded in eluding 
 within half-a-dozen hours of his leaving Count Bursten, 
 with whom he had maintained the same attitude of 
 dogged ignorance as with me. 
 
 The suspense of that day was intolerable, and the 
 night that followed was the most wretched of my life, 
 for despair was already clutching at my heart-strings.
 
 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 The next morning brought light, however, and how 
 I hailed it may be imagined. 
 
 Among my letters was a somewhat bulky one ad- 
 dressed in a strange hand of a foreign character with 
 the Calais postmark, and I tore it open with mingled 
 feelings of foreboding and hope. It contained a letter 
 and two sealed but unaddressed envelopes. 
 
 The letter was from Katrine Borgen strenuous, 
 terse and grimly earnest. 
 
 " SIR STANLEY, 
 
 " Before you break the seals and read a line of either 
 of the enclosed letters, remember your promise that 
 no harm shall ever come to Karl through you. I put 
 you on your honour not to say a single word to any 
 one, nor to take a single step of any kind that will harm 
 him. If you will not give that pledge I charge you by 
 all you hold sacred not to read a line of these letters 
 not even to break the seals. 
 
 " If you break the seal of either, it will be your ac- 
 ceptance of the pledge, your oath of honour, to hold 
 him harmless. 
 
 " KATRINE BORGEH." 
 
 I did not hesitate an instant but tore open the enve- 
 lopes. One contained a letter from Celia, and the 
 other a second letter from Katrine herself.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE LETTERS 
 
 I FIRST ran my eye rapidly over the two letters, 
 gathering the pith of their contents, and then read 
 them carefully and deliberately; Celia's first, of course. 
 
 " MY DEAR STANLEY, 
 
 " Katrine Borgen says she can get this posted to you, 
 and as she seems, from motives I cannot fathom, to be 
 most friendly to me, I am trusting her. Just now, in- 
 deed, I have no one else to trust here, of course, I 
 mean. 
 
 " I do not wish you to be over-anxious about me. 
 I am not afraid, and promise you I will not lose cour- 
 age : but I have decided to take the somewhat strange 
 course of appearing to acquiesce in the plans which the 
 Duchess Marie I wish I could call her mother, and 
 think of her as mother has made to marry me to the 
 Count. Do not fear for me. I shall not marry him ; 
 no entreaty, no power, no threat, shall ever make me 
 do so. But we had one violent scene in which the 
 Duchess went so far as to threaten my life if I contin- 
 ued to disobey her ; and to pacify her I said I would 
 leave the matter over for consideration. This occurred 
 in London before we left for Saxe-Lippe, where we are 
 going, so Katrine says. I had again, in regard to the 
 journey, to appear to fall in with their plans. I said,
 
 176 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 yes, I would accompany them without trouble ; and I 
 agreed to this, because I thought ;< : would give you 
 time and I resolved to communicate with you some- 
 how to follow and upset these plans. 
 
 " So now we are on our way to the Duchy, and my 
 comfort is that you will soon be in pursuit. With this 
 thought to cheer me, I am not a bit afraid. I do not 
 believe they will dare to do me any harm. I am treated 
 kindly in fact except by the stern Duchess Marie her- 
 self ; and she, poor soul, is not, as we know, in her right 
 senses. So long, however, as I appear to be doing 
 what she commands and she has a habit of command- 
 ing even in trifles she is satisfied. But, of course, 
 there must come the hour of trouble, when they at- 
 tempt to make me marry Count von Kronheim. Katrine 
 swears to me, however, that she can and will prevent 
 this ; and so together we comfort one another. She 
 tells me that Schwartz has been the traitor throughout ; 
 that he arranged for the Countess Borgen to get into 
 the house ; that I was drugged and when quite uncon- 
 scious, dressed and taken through the house next to 
 yours to a carriage that was kept in readiness close by. 
 I was then carried to the house where the Duchess 
 Marie -was staying in London, and kept there until we 
 started. 
 
 " I know you must have been terribly alarmed at my 
 disappearance ; but as I say, I do not think there is any 
 cause for serious fear for some days yet, until indeed 
 I have to throw off the mask altogether, and show 
 them I will not make this hateful marriage. But you 
 will have found me before then ; so we need only have 
 courage and faith in each other such as I have in you 
 and in myself and all must come right. But lose no
 
 THE LETTERS 177 
 
 time. Even now I will not accept the view that it is 
 anything but comedy. 
 
 " Auf wiedersehen, Stanley, 
 
 " CELIA." 
 
 Katrine's letter was in a quite different tone : 
 
 " You have now pledged me your honour and I hold 
 you to your word religiously. Whatever you do must 
 be done in such a way that Karl comes to no harm ; 
 any step that clashes with that, I appeal to you on 
 your honour not to take. On that understanding I 
 give you the following information and send you Celia's 
 letter. We are going to Saxe-Lippe, I believe to Karl's 
 home in the hills near Crudenstadt ; but I am not cer- 
 tain. When we reach there, I will find the means of 
 communicating with you at your sister's house. Fol- 
 low with all practicable speed but be on your guard, 
 for you are likely to be followed in your turn and may 
 be in danger. 
 
 " The present scheme is to get Celia to Crudenstadt 
 and to force or trick her into a marriage with Karl, 
 and then to put forward a claim to the succession in her 
 name. I will do what I can to prevent this : God 
 knows, I am resolved to do so : but at times I am 
 powerless ; and I have fears of a scheme so vile, that I 
 dare not even put it on paper. Celia does not know 
 the danger in which she stands. She is brave and I 
 would have her keep up her courage, for she may need 
 every ounce of it. If she knew, poor girl, Heaven 
 knows what effect it would have upon her. More than 
 her life depends upon your hurrying to Crudenstadt to 
 the rescue. God help us all. 
 
 " KATRINE." 
 
 12
 
 i/8 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 These letters, Katrine's especially, set me on fire. 
 I believed so thoroughly in the rascality of the man 
 in whose power Celia now was, that my imagination 
 suggested half a hundred interpretations of Katrine's 
 vague but terrible words. I pictured vividly enough 
 the many dangers which might encompass Celia while 
 in his hands and those of her insane mother. 
 
 But it was certain that I must act both warily and 
 promptly. Go to Crudenstadt I must at once, of 
 course ; but if von Kronheim's agents were still shadow- 
 ing my movements, I must find the means of putting 
 them off the scent. I summoned my man, Wilson, 
 therefore, and told him that I believed I had a clue to 
 Celia's movements ; that she had been seen in Chelten- 
 ham, and that I was going there at once. He was to 
 pack me enough clothes for a month and to be pre- 
 pared to come with me, and meet me at Paddington 
 station for a train I named. 
 
 "You need not keep my journey too secret, Wilson," 
 I said, significantly. " Don't blab it about indiscreetly, 
 of course ; but others may guess where I am going." 
 
 "Yes, Sir Stanley," he answered, quietly, and I saw 
 he understood. 
 
 I told Blossom and my aunt that I had had tidings 
 of Celia, and said that Wilson was to meet me at Pad- 
 dington in time for the Cheltenham train. I deemed 
 it best to keep even them uninformed for the present. 
 
 I then drove to the German Embassy and asked for 
 Count Bursten. I had come to the conclusion that if 
 his help could be obtained it would be the surest means 
 of rescuing Celia, and in face of Katrine's letter, that 
 rescue was now the paramount consideration. The 
 swiftest means of saving her must be adopted, even if
 
 THE LETTERS 179 
 
 recourse to them meant that she would be taken out 
 of my care and placed in that of the Duke's agents. 
 
 The madness of her mother, the desperate character 
 of the Count von Kronheim, and the undisguised men- 
 tion of the vile scheme contemplated or actually con- 
 cocted to accomplish her ruin, subordinated even the 
 plan of our marriage to the need for her safety. 
 
 I found Count Bursten full charged with his sus- 
 picions of me. His manner was abrupt and almost 
 discourteous ; he was in a bad temper, and he listened 
 to me with obvious and most unpalatable impatience. 
 
 " If you have come to renounce your pretensions, 
 Sir Stanley, I am at your service," he said, doubtingly. 
 
 " I have come in regard to that matter, and I am 
 afraid my mission is a little unusual." 
 
 " What is it ? Pardon me if I say I am much pressed 
 for time." His tone was cold, unbending and im- 
 patient. 
 
 " I have news of my ward," I said. 
 
 " Of the young Duchess Celia? " he corrected, but a 
 momentary light of eagerness in his eyes contradicted 
 the severe formality of his manner. 
 
 "We need not quibble about her description," I re- 
 torted. " I think I can say I shall know where she 
 will be to be found in the course of a couple of days." 
 
 " Where ' she will be to be found,' " he said, repeat- 
 ing my words. " Where is she now ? That is a much 
 more important question, and I must remind you that 
 save for your fault AVC could answer it. But if you 
 have come to bring me news of her, pray tell it me." 
 
 " I can secure that she shall be in your hands, or in 
 those of your agents, if you will agree to a certain con- 
 dition."
 
 I8o FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 He made a gesture of dissent. 
 
 " I am not accustomed to agree to unknown con- 
 ditions, nor to fetter my power of action in such a 
 way. If you have anything to say, I beg you to say 
 it frankly." 
 
 " Your use of that term, sir, is scarcely called for," 
 I answered, not without warmth. " I have never dealt 
 otherwise than frankly with you." 
 
 " I meant no offence, and you need take none. If 
 you claim always to have been frank, I must remind 
 you that when I pressed you to tell me your own in- 
 tentions in regard to your marriage, you would not do 
 so. But, excuse me ; I have neither time nor mind for 
 bandying words." 
 
 " I have learnt in a singular manner which much 
 fetters my actions and my tongue where my ward is 
 being taken. I can tell you, and I wish to do so ; but 
 it is a necessary condition that I have a pledge from 
 you that whatever may happen, or whatever means 
 may have to be taken to get her out of the hands of 
 those with whom she is, no ill consequences of any 
 kind shall fall upon the Count von Kronheim. Can 
 you give me such an assurance ? " 
 
 The question puzzled and surprised him, and he 
 looked at me very searchingly. 
 
 " You making stipulations in favour of that man ? " 
 He said this as if half to himself, and then asked, 
 sharply: "Are you really serious, Sir Stanley?" 
 
 " The request is from no good-will of mine towards 
 its object," said I, bluntly. " My hands are tied. I 
 can only use or give the information on that con- 
 dition." 
 
 " Ah, you get it from that woman's daughter, and
 
 THE LETTERS 181 
 
 she wants to shield the man," he said, promptly and 
 shrewdly. 
 
 " Yes, that is exactly what has happened." 
 
 " Well, you might have saved yourself the trouble 
 of this visit. It would take me weeks of negotiation 
 to secure such an immunity for that young man ; weeks, 
 
 and possibly even months, and meanwhile " He 
 
 finished with an expressive wave of the hands. 
 
 " Then I can give you no information," I said, de- 
 cidedly. 
 
 " Do you mean you will tell me nothing just because 
 a scatter-brained, love-sick young woman has suggested 
 such a preposterous condition ?" 
 
 " I have pledged my word. I have obtained the 
 knowledge I possess on those terms, and I hold myself 
 bound by them to the letter." 
 
 " To the letter, yes, of course," he said, and after 
 looking very shrewdly and earnestly at my face, he 
 took three or four turns up and down the room in 
 silence. Then in a tone of much greater confidence 
 he added : " I should not think of asking you to com- 
 mit a breach of that pledge, Sir Stanley," he said, after 
 the pause, turning on me again his sharp, reading, 
 penetrating eyes. 
 
 " I am sure of that," I replied, a little drily ; " and 
 you are equally sure that it would be of no avail." 
 
 " This is a very weighty matter of the first impor- 
 tance to many great and grave interests," he continued 
 meaningly ; " and you are now, I believe, quite in 
 earnest in your wish to render us all the assistance you 
 can ? " 
 
 " Quite in earnest." 
 
 " Exactly so," and he smiled, keeping his eyes on
 
 182 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 my face all the time. " Of course, you must not give 
 
 me any direct information, but " he paused, as if for 
 
 me to speak ; but I held my tongue, and he added : 
 " There are perhaps some indirect means by which we 
 could achieve an end we both desire. The safety of 
 the young Duchess is a crucial matter, and I can take 
 instant, drastic and effective steps to secure it, which 
 you, of course, cannot. A hint would be sufficient." 
 I smiled. 
 
 " What would be the consequences to the Count 
 von Kronheim in such a case ? " I asked. 
 
 "You see, my dear Sir Stanley, my own hands are 
 rather tied in a matter of that sort. Personally, I would 
 give you the assurance you ask in a moment, but " 
 
 " But what ? " 
 
 " It would depend entirely upon where the Count 
 were found. If here in England, he would go scot free, 
 because we can control our agents here. But if, for 
 instance, he were in Saxe-Lippe " here he paused 
 " supposing him to be so unwise as to venture into the 
 
 Duchy " He paused again and looked eagerly for 
 
 some indication from me. It was cleverly done, but my 
 face was as expressionless as a marble bust. 
 
 "If he were so unwise?" I repeated, stolidly; and 
 then he accepted defeat with the customary smile he 
 used to cover his chagrin. 
 
 " I do not press you, of course." 
 
 " If I cannot tell you directly and plainly that is, if 
 you will not give me the guarantee I cannot allow 
 myself to be drawn into making admissions indirectly. 
 I deeply regret your decision but it is yours, not 
 mine ; and I will not trespass upon you longer." 
 
 " You will take steps on your own account ? " he asked.
 
 THE LETTERS 183 
 
 " Yes, certainly. You have surrounded my task with 
 great difficulty when you could have made it light. 
 But the responsibility is yours, not mine." 
 
 " On the contrary, Sir Stanley Meredith, the re- 
 sponsibility is altogether yours, and you must be pre- 
 pared to bear with the consequences." He spoke so 
 sternly with such heat and sudden anger that I was 
 greatly surprised. " I consider you have taken a very 
 dangerous and wholly unwarranted action, and if harm 
 comes of it to the young Duchess or to anyone else, 
 you must be prepared to answer for the course you 
 have adopted. Heaven alone knows the mischief that 
 may come of your unwarrantable conduct." 
 
 With that he sounded his table bell fiercely, and 
 dismissed me. 
 
 I left the Embassy very thoughtful and 511 at ease. 
 I could not break my pledged word, and yet I per- 
 ceived well enough how Katrine's reservation might 
 lead to some of those evils which Count Bursten, 
 shrewd and far-seeing as he was, clearly anticipated.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 AT CRUDENSTADT 
 
 THE arrangements I made for preventing anyone 
 from followiug me were very crude and simple, and as 
 it turned out quite superfluous. I met Wilson at Pad- 
 dington, and instructed him to put our luggage on to 
 a cab and send it across to Victoria. 
 
 " I have reason to think we are being watched, Wil- 
 son, and you must therefore act with caution. Fuss 
 about and seem to be looking after me ; but as soon 
 as I am settled in my compartment, lose yourself in 
 the crowd on the platform, and then follow the lug- 
 gage to Victoria, take it down to Dover and put it on 
 the Ostend boat, and wait for me. We are crossing 
 to-night to the Continent ; and mind not a syllable 
 to a soul." 
 
 He carried out my instructions cleverly enough. I 
 watched him drop back from my carriage window, 
 loiter a moment by the bookstall, and then leave the 
 station. I had by design taken my place in the last 
 compartment of the train next the guard's van, and 
 made a great parade of preparing myself for a long 
 journey, while I scanned very curiously the gradually 
 thinning groups of people on the platform, and specu- 
 lated whether among them anyone had been told off 
 
 to shadow me. 
 184
 
 AT CRUDENSTADT 185 
 
 I did not see anyone who looked to me in the least 
 like a spy ; and when the train started I was quite un- 
 convinced whether it carried one or not. But I had 
 my plan ready and put it into effect. 
 
 That plan was to leave the train at Westbourne 
 Park, where we were due in five minutes the next 
 stoppage being at Reading, nearly an hour later ; and 
 to leave it in such a way that no spy would be able to 
 follow me without at least my getting a sight of him. 
 We pulled up and I waited until the guard's whistle 
 had sounded for the train to leave again and it was 
 already in motion when I opened the carriage do'or 
 and jumped on to the platform, keeping a sharp look- 
 out for anyone \vho might do the same. 
 
 But no one else alighted, and I guessed therefore 
 that I had succeeded in breaking the scent. I gave 
 some lame excuse to the station people for my act and 
 a few minutes later was in a hansom bowling over to 
 Victoria, to catch my train for the Continent, with a 
 considerable sense of satisfaction at having so easily 
 checkmated pursuit. 
 
 The run to Dover and the passage across the Chan- 
 nel were sufficiently uneventful to leave me plenty of 
 time to think ; and then I began to realise how many 
 obstacles there were in my way, and the enormous 
 difficulties which Katrine had added by her conditions. 
 
 I seemed so feeble, single-handed ; while the gravity 
 of the issue to Celia, should I fail, filled me with anxiety. 
 I thought with rare pleasure of the courage and spirit 
 with which she was facing the crisis, and the phrases 
 of her letter as they recurred to me, breathing trust in 
 me and dauntless resolve not to be driven from alle- 
 giance to our mutual love vows, spurred my wits in
 
 1 86 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 the search for some scheme to rescue her. But behind 
 this picture of her smiling courage loomed the dark 
 background of Katrine's forebodings and the grim as- 
 surance that Celia did not know the dangers by which 
 she was surrounded. 
 
 I was pacing the deck in this whirl of thought when 
 I was suddenly seized with the conviction that I was 
 being watched. It is a profoundly discomforting sen- 
 sation, and I glanced with some gathering suspicion at 
 such fellow-passengers as, like myself, were enjoying 
 the fine night. No mental fungus grows so fast as 
 this suspicion ; and I was in a morbid, apprehensive 
 mood which would almost have allowed me to believe 
 that every soul on board was there from a motive that 
 concerned me. I began to shake it off after a time, 
 but not until I had scanned every man of them closely 
 enough to be able to identify them should the need 
 arise. 
 
 " What a fool I must be," I exclaimed, suddenly, to 
 myself. " As if a spy, now that I am on board the 
 boat and can't get off until we reach Ostend, would be 
 such a jackass as to shadow me, and so let me be able 
 to identify him ! " 
 
 The thing was preposterous, but the obvious absurd- 
 ity of it did not entirely reassure me, and when we 
 reached the Belgian port I kept my eyes all about me, 
 and told Wilson to do the same. I noticed nothing, 
 however, and should have gone on my way supremely 
 unconscious of anything unusual but for an incident 
 at the telegraph office. 
 
 I went to send a message to my sister in Crudenstadt 
 announcing my arrival, and a traveller who had just 
 handed in a message at the small window moved away
 
 AT CRUDENSTADT 187 
 
 as I approached with my written telegram. There was 
 a moment's delay and then the telegraph-clerk came 
 back to the window and laid a telegram before me. 
 " You have made a mistake here," he rapped out, ob- 
 viously taking me for the man who had just left, and 
 pointed to it with his pencil. 
 
 " It is not my message," I said, and he snatched it 
 up again with a quick, angry exclamation. 
 
 But I could not help reading the contents of the 
 message, and saw to my profound astonishment that 
 it concerned me and reported that I had crossed from 
 Dover, was going to Crudenstadt, and that the sender 
 was going on by the same train. It was addressed to 
 " Margravine, London." I handed in my message and 
 then hurried out in search of the man who had sent the 
 other. 
 
 I found him without any difficulty ; he was in fact 
 waiting outside for me in a conveniently shaded corner, 
 and I went straight up to him. It was obviously use- 
 less for me to attempt any longer to conceal my move- 
 ments. 
 
 " I should like a word with you," I said, bluntly. 
 He w r as a little whipper-snapper of a fellow, thin and 
 feeble, and I think he was a good deal afraid. He 
 muttered some gibberish, threw up his hands, turned 
 very pale and pretended not to be able to even speak 
 English. 
 
 " You write a very good English hand and no doubt 
 can speak it just as well. Be good enough not to try 
 and fool me. You have just sent off a telegram about 
 me, you are spying on my movements, and I wish to 
 know on whose instructions you are acting. I don't 
 blame you for being a spy ; it's nothing to me what
 
 i88 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 you are ; but I intend to know who has set you to fol- 
 low me. Will you tell me without any trouble." 
 
 He made a number of fresh grimaces, flung his arms 
 about in protest, and mumbled more gibberish. 
 
 " Oh, you mean you would rather not tell me on the 
 platform. Very well ; " and I slipped my arm through 
 his, held him as in a vice, and called Wilson to take 
 his other arm. " This gentleman has a fancy to go 
 our way, Wilson, and he will travel in the same com- 
 partment. I have a first-class compartment reserved," 
 I said to the fellow whose puny limbs were now trem- 
 bling with fright ; " and you can run to Cologne with 
 us if you reach as far; for I swear to you on my 
 honour I'll have the truth out of you if I have to 
 choke you in the getting of it." I muttered this last 
 in a tone that a melo-dramatic villain might have en- 
 vied ; and it had due effect. 
 
 " What do you wish to know, Sir Stanley ? " he 
 quavered. 
 
 " That's better," said I, relaxing my grip of him some- 
 what. " Quick, now ; in whose employ are you ? " 
 
 " I am a servant of the German Embassy, sir," he 
 said. 
 
 " Prove it," I rapped out ; and fumbling in his pock- 
 ets he brought out a number of papers and letters 
 showing his name to be Adolphe Guerre, a Swiss, re- 
 tained as a sort of interpreter and detective at the 
 German Embassy in London. It was a relief to find 
 at any rate that he was not one of Count von Kron- 
 heim's creatures. " To whom did you send off that 
 wire just now ? " I asked. 
 
 " To London, sir." He was thoroughly frightened, 
 and answered promptly, but with trembling lips.
 
 AT CRUDENSTADT 189 
 
 " Well, I've had enough of your company, M. Guerre. 
 I think you are too ill to travel any further in the 
 same train, or you will soon become so, you under- 
 stand ? You are trembling now, you see. You have 
 done your work well enough, and you will be good 
 enough to stop here at Ostend instead of shadowing 
 me any farther. Wilson, you will see that M. Guerre 
 remains behind, and if you have any difficulty let me 
 know." 
 
 I went off then to my seat, and when we steamed 
 out of the station, we left the little Swiss standing on 
 the platform staring disconcertedly after us. 
 
 On the whole, the incident was a relief rather than 
 an embarrassment. I did not much care about the 
 Ambassador's knowing that I was going to Cruden- 
 stadt. I had feared lest von Kronheim might get 
 wind of my movements, and learn that I was in pur- 
 suit. Compared with that, any action the authorities 
 of Saxe-Lippe might take was unimportant. But I 
 resolved nevertheless to alter my route lest any attempt 
 should be made to interfere with me at the frontier, 
 or at least to follow me ; and I therefore entered the 
 Duchy by a round-about route. 
 
 The moment I was across the frontier my spirits 
 began to rise. I was getting to close quarters with 
 such danger as there might be in the undertaking, and 
 was once again within the sphere of action ; and the 
 knowledge braced my nerves and energies and dissi- 
 pated the self-distrust which had momentarily shaken 
 me on my journey. 
 
 I arrived without interruption at my sister's house, 
 and she was as delighted as she was surprised at my 
 visit. But her husband, whom I had cordially disliked
 
 icjo FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 from the hour we had first met, was as stolid and un- 
 gracious as ever. I could not afford now, for Celia's 
 sake, to make any unnecessary enemy, and I tried to 
 force into my manner towards him some appearance of 
 warmth. 
 
 " You have come on political business, of course," 
 said my sister, after a few minutes, " and were expected 
 earlier." 
 
 "What makes you think that?" I asked, seeing she 
 had a very good reason for the question. 
 
 " Because General von Eckerstein has already sent 
 once and been himself for you. You should feel 
 honoured. He is our all-powerful minister just now. 
 I was quite proud." 
 
 " Were you ? " I replied, drily ; and I thought I could 
 catch the outline of a dry smile on her husband's dark, 
 sombre face. " I did not expect quite so speedy a 
 welcome," I added. 
 
 " It must be very important," said Alice. 
 
 " I've no doubt it must," I agreed. " But as a mat- 
 ter of fact I have no political mission at all." 
 
 " Perhaps it concerns the great question of the hour 
 in Saxe-Lippe the succession ? " suggested my brother 
 in-law, with a glance. 
 
 " I am scarcely likely to become a claimant for the 
 throne," I replied, smiling. " Is that the great ques- 
 tion? How does it stand then ? " I continued, indiffer- 
 ently. 
 
 " Unless rumour lies we may well come to you for 
 news, Sir Stanley," he answered, ungraciously. 
 
 " Then perhaps you are right and your all-powerful 
 minister has been misled by the rumour ; " and I 
 lawghed.
 
 AT CRUDENSTADT 191 
 
 " You will soon know, for I heard his carriage draw 
 up at that moment." He was right, and a servant came 
 to say that His Excellency General Graf von Ecker- 
 stein desired to see Sir Stanley Meredith. 
 
 " News travels fast in Crudenstadt, and he has been 
 quick to learn my arrival here," I said with a meaning 
 glance, half-suspecting how the news had been conveyed, 
 and I followed the servant to the room where the min- 
 ister was awaiting me. 
 
 He was a smart, dapper-looking, well set up, grey 
 little man in uniform, with a fierce moustache, and 
 black beady eyes that took careful note of everything 
 about me with one sharp glance. He advanced to meet 
 me and held out his hand with a smile. 
 
 " I am charmed to meet you, Sir Stanley, as the 
 heir and successor of one whose services at a critical 
 point of our history the Duchy of Saxe-Lippe will not 
 readily forget. And the more especially because I am 
 assured that you come to us with the most friendly 
 intentions. The German Embassy has made me 
 acquainted with the object of your visit to us and I am 
 only too anxious to have your help. Let me welcome 
 you to Crudenstadt." 
 
 " It is very gratifying to receive so cordial a wel- 
 come on the threshold of my visit," I said, quietly, as 
 I shook his hand. " I have to thank Count Bursten 
 for his attentions on the journey, as well as his fore- 
 thought in preparing such a reception for me ; " and I 
 looked him straight in the face. 
 
 " Ah ! yes, you mean the little formality by which 
 he assured himself of your route." 
 
 " Did your Excellency say formality or informal- 
 ity ? " I asked, with a careful accent on the words. He
 
 192 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 smiled airily and threw the question on one side with 
 a gesture. 
 
 ' What matter, Sir Stanley? surely we need not dis- 
 cuss that now. I welcome you because I understand 
 you have most valuable information concerning the 
 young Duchess Celia's whereabouts, and that you can 
 impart it to me ! " 
 
 "From whom do you understand that?" I put the 
 question blandly. 
 
 " Is it true ? " he flashed, accompanying the question 
 with a penetrating look. But I was in no hurry to 
 assure him. 
 
 " Before I reply to that question I would suggest the 
 desirability of your telling me just how the matter 
 stands here in Crudenstadt in regard to the young 
 Duchess." 
 
 " Surely there can be no difficulty whatever in your 
 giving me all the information in your possession ; that 
 
 is if you come in a friendly spirit. If not " He 
 
 raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders signifi- 
 cantly. 
 
 " If not?" I repeated. 
 
 " Well, if not, you must come either with some hos- 
 tile intent, or in the hope of carrying out a project that 
 you must excuse me for calling selfish." 
 
 " You mean ? " I threw in sharply, when he paused. 
 
 " I refer to an impossible projected marriage that I 
 hoped had been abandoned." 
 
 " And in that event, what then ? " 
 
 "We are counted a pleasant and hospitable people, 
 Sir Stanley, but, of course, there are limits. We do 
 not take to our hearts those who contemplate wound- 
 ing us in a fatal spot."
 
 AT CRUDENSTADT 193 
 
 " In plainer words, you would turn me out of the 
 Duchy ? " I said bluntly, but with a smile. 
 
 " In plain terms your continued presence here would 
 be impossible." 
 
 " And if I should refuse to go ? " 
 
 " You would not refuse." 
 
 " On the contrary, I should refuse flatly," I said, 
 firmly. 
 
 " You would be very ill-advised, and we should either 
 have to place you across the frontier, or request the 
 British representative to procure your departure. It 
 
 would pain us to take such a course, but " and 
 
 again he finished his sentence with one of his signifi- 
 cant gestures. 
 
 " It strikes me," I said after a pause, " that yours is 
 a very rough and ready diplomacy. Because I will not 
 tell you what I don't know, you would turn out of 
 your country the only man who may be able to save 
 the young Duchess Celia from a very ugly fate. But 
 at least you've been frank with me, and I'll be frank 
 with you in turn. I don't yet know for certain any- 
 thing that it would help you to know, and if I did I 
 would only tell it you on two conditions one that 
 the man principally concerned in the young Duchess's 
 detention should come to no harm, and the other, that 
 both the Duchess Celia and I are left absolutely free 
 to act as we please in regard to our projected mar- 
 riage." 
 
 He listened earnestly to every word, and at the close 
 started in apparent amazement at my outspokenness." 
 
 " Do you mean " he began, and stopped. 
 
 " Yes, every syllable of every word I've said. My 
 cousin for Celia has always been regarded by my sis- 
 J 3
 
 i 9 4 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 ters and myself as a cousin, and she is my cousin first, 
 and the young Duchess a long way afterwards. My 
 cousin Celia and I stand pledged to marry, and my 
 part of that pledge neither you nor any man must ask 
 me to break. If you can stop the marriage, or if you 
 can prevail upon my cousin to renounce it, you are of 
 course at liberty to do so. But give a pledge or even 
 suggestion, that I will not marry her if she will marry 
 me, I will not, your Excellency, not for all the consid- 
 erations under the sun. I have come out in search of 
 her, because I love her and she loves me, and we are 
 betrothed to one another. I mean to find her, and 
 find her I will, put what obstacles you may please in 
 the way. And when I have found her, I'll make her 
 my wife if the means can be found to do it, and she 
 remains of the same mind in which she was before she 
 was taken from my care." 
 
 I spoke quite quietly, but with absolute firmness, and 
 looked for an outburst of anger ; but instead of it, the 
 minister smiled very frankly and put out his hand. 
 
 " You are a brave and honourable man, Sir Stanley, 
 and on my honour I would help you if I could. But 
 believe me this must not be, must not be. I have 
 daughters of my own, and I trust Heaven will send 
 them as gallant men as yourself when their marriage 
 time comes. I am not surprised the young Duchess 
 loves you. But I must be your enemy if you persist. 
 Come, sit down and let us talk it over," and he drew 
 up a chair. 
 
 " I will talk as long as you like," said I, sitting down 
 also ; " but nothing will change me."
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 NEWS FROM KATRINE 
 
 THE discussion between General von Eckerstein and 
 myself was very lengthy and to me absorbingly inter- 
 esting. He tried every method at his command to in- 
 duce me to yield to his wishes, tell him where Celia 
 was to be found, renounce all idea of marrying her, 
 and join hands with him in putting the succession 
 question on a firm footing. He flattered, cajoled, 
 persuaded, argued, and threatened in turn ; but he 
 would not promise to protect Katrine's lover on the 
 one hand, and on the other he declared over and over 
 again that any thought of marriage for Celia and my- 
 self was impossible. 
 
 He brought up the battery of threats last. 
 
 " I am sorry you range yourself against us, for I 
 would do much to serve your interests ; but you drive 
 me to act, and I am compelled to tell you that you 
 must leave the Duchy. Don't make it necessary for 
 us to resort to any measures of compulsion, but be 
 advised and go. Will you ? " he asked as he held out 
 his hand. 
 
 " I think you will make a generous antagonist, 
 General, and as you have more than once referred to 
 the claims my family have upon the goodwill of your 
 Government, I trust you will remember them now. 
 Frankly, if I were to go openly, it would only be to 
 return secretly. I am prepared for any consequences." 
 
 95
 
 196 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " My agents are not likely to be so long suffering 
 as myself," said the old man, significantly. 
 
 " Neither should I be so frank with them," and I 
 laughed. " I will make a pretence of going if you 
 wish, but I shall not go so long as Celia remains in this 
 danger." 
 
 He frowned with a gesture of annoyance. 
 
 " Then you will drive me to force, Sir Stanley." 
 
 " As you please," I said ; and with that the interview 
 ended. 
 
 I was disappointed at the result. I had of course 
 known that the Minister would oppose our marriage 
 with all his force, but I had counted upon his help in 
 checkmating von Kronheim. I had pointed out to 
 him the fact that if we rescued her, Celia would be in 
 the Duke's power and out of the range of my personal 
 influence. But he would not help me and no argument 
 of mine could induce him to promise immunity for von 
 Kronheim. 
 
 This refusal filled me with inexpressible indignation. 
 Not that I did not know he richly deserved to be 
 punished : indeed I myself had a heavy score yet to 
 reckon with him. But the deliberate refusal, despite 
 my pleading, to make Celia's safety the first consider- 
 ation appeared to me alike monstrous in its unwisdom 
 and in its gross callousness. It hardened me against 
 the Government, showing as it did how entirely they 
 were prepared to regard Celia as a piece in their State 
 games to be utilised for certain purposes, but utilised 
 only as their sense of expediency suggested. 
 
 It was clear, therefore, that I should be left to my 
 own resources and expedients ; and the prospect was 
 serious. This started another suggestion. It was
 
 NEWS FROM KATRINE 197 
 
 practically certain that von Kronheim would have suf- 
 ficient channels of information in Crudenstadt to keep 
 him thoroughly posted in the progress of matters 
 there. He would thus learn of my arrival, and it was a 
 question whether it would not be prudent for me to 
 pretend to comply with the Government request to quit, 
 and then go into hiding and carry on my plans in secret. 
 
 Celia's captor would probably rub his hands in glee 
 at the apparent irony of a State intervention to remove 
 what he would consider the most serious obstacle to 
 his schemes ; while I could mature my plan and swoop 
 down upon him with all the greater effect. 
 
 The Government lost no time in acting, and within 
 an hour of the General's visit I received a peremptory 
 request that I would leave the Duchy. I was glad of 
 it and showed it with a laugh to my sister and her 
 husband, and when she and I were alone I took her as 
 much into my confidence as necessary. 
 
 " I am going to obey the request, Alice, and it is 
 better that you should know no more of my plans. My 
 servant, Wilson, will leave with me, but he will return 
 to Crudenstadt. I am expecting a confidential com- 
 munication to come through you ; and if anything 
 comes give it to him instantly. But say nothing of 
 this to anyone not even to your husband." 
 
 " You don't " she began quickly, with a protest in 
 
 voice and manner, when I hastened to interpose. 
 
 " No, I don't suppose for a moment that he would 
 breathe a word ; but this is not my secret and no one 
 but you yourself must know even so much as this. 
 It is very serious," I added, impressively. " Issues of 
 life and death may turn upon your doing implicitly 
 what I say."
 
 198 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 Influenced by my manner and earnest words she 
 gave me the necessary promise ; and when her husband 
 came in I told him merely that I was going to leave 
 the Duchy, and I took him with me to the railway, so 
 that he should see me start, hear me take my ticket for 
 Berlin, and be able to report the facts, should he wish 
 to do so. 
 
 I did not travel very far, however, and the same 
 night I was back in Crudenstadt and had taken up my 
 abode in an obscure hotel as an English tourist under 
 the slightly disguised name of Mr. Stanhope. 
 
 I knew that Katrine would communicate with me 
 soon, and was indeed not without anxiety that noth- 
 ing had come from her already. Von Kronheim's 
 party must have arrived in Saxe-Lippe fully twenty 
 four hours before me, despite the haste with which I 
 had travelled ; and I had half hoped to find some news 
 from her awaiting me on my arrival. 
 
 It came on the following afternoon, when Wilson 
 brought me a letter which had arrived for me under 
 cover to my sister. It was from Katrine; and its tone 
 argued her great distraction of mind as clearly as it 
 showed the difficulties to be overcome. 
 
 " We are here in Mempach, in a house called Blumen- 
 feld. It is a lonely place about a mile out of the vil- 
 lage on the road farthest from Crudenstadt. It is a 
 large solitary house and strongly guarded by Karl's men 
 and friends. I don't know what to do. I am afraid 
 you can do nothing alone ; but I will not have Karl 
 given over to his enemies. The plan of the marriage 
 is going forward rapidly ; but it shall not be. It shall 
 not be, I swear, even if I (these last words were
 
 NEWS FROM KATRINE 199 
 
 partially obliterated and the writing very wild and 
 scarcely legible). If you can do anything, come here 
 at once. I will watch for you and let you into the 
 house and try to help Celia to escape. It is all I can 
 think of, but we must try it. I will not have Karl be- 
 trayed to his enemies. I will not ; nothing shall make 
 me. But I am beside myself when I think of it all. 
 Come at once. 
 
 "K. B." 
 
 I read the letter two or three times seeking to get 
 at the full meaning which lay between the lines. The 
 poor girl wrote like one out of her senses; and the 
 writing was here slow and laboured, there rapid and 
 all but illegible, all through full of erasures, as though 
 she had stopped herself in the act of setting down im- 
 pulsively her wild thoughts. 
 
 She was conscious that she had set me an all but 
 impossible task to rescue Celia without assistance 
 and yet was impelled by her strange infatuation for 
 this scoundrel to enforce the restriction. But what- 
 ever the difficulties might be, it was certain that I 
 must answer the appeal at once. 
 
 Mempach was a small village about twelve miles out of 
 Crudenstadt, and I deemed it best to go there by road 
 rather than by train. I rode and Wilson drove a light 
 gig, so that in the event of my rescuing Celia, we 
 should be able to get her away quickly. 
 
 On my way out of the place, I considered very care- 
 fully my best course ; and I could see nothing for it 
 but to take my chance of a surprise visit. It appeared 
 hopeless to attempt to communicate with Katrine. 
 The house was sure to be watched and guarded with
 
 200 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 sufficient vigilance to prevent my establishing any 
 secret communications with her ; while even if I did 
 so successfully, she herself was more than doubtful of 
 being able to place Celia into my hands. 
 
 I had my own reasons, moreover, for not wishing to 
 make more noise over the affair than was actually 
 necessary. I had no taste for melodrama of any kind ; 
 and my great object was to get Celia away with the 
 least possible disturbance ; so that we could hurry out 
 of the country and back to England. As soon as I 
 had found out which was the house, I drew rein and 
 called to my servant. 
 
 " I am going to that house, Wilson, and I expect to 
 find Miss Celia there. If all goes well, I shall soon be 
 out again and she will be with me. You must find 
 some place where you can fasten the horses and be 
 within earshot to bring them up the instant I call. 
 You must wait for me however long I may be all 
 through the night if need be ; but don't go away un- 
 less either Miss Celia herself or I come out to you. If 
 she should come, do whatever she tells you ; otherwise 
 wait for me." 
 
 Although I had a keen distaste for melodrama, I was 
 not blind to the fact that I was running a considerable 
 risk in venturing alone into the house where von Kron- 
 heim was contemplating the execution of his plan. I 
 had taken the precaution of providing myself with a 
 revolver therefore, and as I approached the gloomy 
 sombre place I was glad I had done so. 
 
 It was a strongly built, square house of roughly 
 hewn stone, with small windows, the lower ones 
 barred ; and in none of them was there a light, al- 
 though the dusk had commenced to gather. A for-
 
 NEWS FROM KATRINE 201 
 
 midable looking place enough, and as I glanced at the 
 windows on the possible chance of seeing some signal 
 from Katrine, I experienced a singular foreboding of 
 impending danger. 
 
 But my first experience was a stroke of great luck. 
 I clanged the bell and thundered at the knocker, and 
 when a man-servant opened the door I stepped in at 
 once, as though I were expected. To my surprise the 
 man fell into the same error. 
 
 " You are the doctor ? " 
 
 " Where is the patient ? " I asked in the brief curt 
 tone of a busy professional man, laughing to myself at 
 the fortunate chance which had timed my arrival at the 
 moment a doctor was expected. The man showed me 
 into a small room close to the wide hall and begged 
 me to wait a moment. 
 
 But this was not at all to my liking and the instant 
 he had left the room I opened the door and finding 
 the hall clear, crossed it and mounted the staircase. 
 
 I would have given a hundred pounds for a sight of 
 Katrine's face then, and when I reached the top of the 
 stairs I stood a moment in sheer perplexity what 
 to do. I could see the doors of half a dozen rooms or 
 more, but they were all shut and formed so many 
 conundrums to me. 
 
 The light was now dim in the house, and no lamps 
 had been kindled, so that if only I could have guessed 
 which was Celia's room I could have made a dash with 
 her for liberty. 
 
 It was no time to be squeamish, however, and taking 
 the doors as they came I knocked lightly and opened 
 them in turn. The first four were empty and as I 
 paused at the fifth I heard men's voices within and
 
 202 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 laughter. The key was in the door, and thinking that 
 the fewer men I had to deal with just then the better, 
 I turned it softly. 
 
 Just then I heard steps cross the hall below. I 
 guessed it was someone going to the " doctor," and 
 knew my time was growing short. I hurried to the 
 next door ; it opened just as I reached it, and to my 
 intense delight Katrine Borgen came out. 
 
 Her astonishment on seeing me was profound. She 
 started, stared open-mouthed at me for a moment, and 
 would, I thought, have uttered a cry ; but she recovered 
 herself very quickly, put her finger to her lips with a 
 gesture of warning, closed the door behind her and 
 then whispered : 
 
 " How did you get here ? " 
 
 A moment sufficed for me to explain the servant's 
 mistake as to the doctor and that the mistake was on 
 the point of being discovered in the room below. Cun- 
 ning sharpened her wits, and telling me to hide in one 
 of the empty rooms, she ran downstairs and across 
 the hall to the room where the servant had left me. 
 
 "Where's that doctor?" I heard von Kronheim's 
 sharp strident voice say. " That fool of a man said 
 he left him here." 
 
 " He's with mother, Karl, I found him here and took 
 him up," answered Katrine, readily. 
 
 " Why did you do that ? Haven't I said often 
 enough that I must see everyone who comes to the 
 house ?" 
 
 " Shall I go and fetch him down to be inspected ? " 
 she asked snappishly and with a short dry laugh. " Is 
 it more important for you to see him or for him to see 
 my mother?" An excellent piece of acting.
 
 NEWS FROM KATRINE 203 
 
 The answer was an angry muttering as he left the 
 room and re-crossed the hall. Katrine remained there 
 half a minute and then singing unconcernedly came 
 back to where I was waiting in such feverish anxiety. 
 
 "Where is Celia?" I asked instantly. "We have 
 not a second to lose. The real doctor may arrive at 
 any moment and this trick may be discovered." 
 
 " It will take time to get her away. The Duchess 
 watches her like a lynx, and that awful man, Schwartz, 
 is also on the look-out. If I had only known you 
 would be here ! " and she wrung her hands help- 
 lessly. 
 
 " You couldn't know that. So be quick and see 
 what you can do," said I, insistently. " We may still 
 be successful. Quick, which is her room ? " 
 
 " On the floor above ; but the only way to it is by a 
 staircase leading through that room " and to my dis- 
 may she pointed to the door which I had locked, 
 " and in that Karl has three friends always on guard. 
 But I may get her down, I will do my best." 
 
 " Well, be quick," I cried, and unlocking the door 
 quietly, I stood aside as she went in. The men were 
 playing cards, but they stopped as Katrine entered, 
 and one of them spoke to her with a familiarity akin 
 to'insolence, which was eloquent enough of the foot- 
 ing she occupied in the house. 
 
 Katrine made no reply, and I heard her run up a 
 flight of stairs as I turned back to the room to wait 
 with a restless impatience that was barely endurable. 
 It seemed an all but hopeless quest, well as matters 
 had gone so far ; and as I realised it I could have cursed 
 von Kronheim and all his precautions. 
 
 Even now that I was in the very house itself, I was
 
 204 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 all but powerless. I could not hope to do anything 
 by force, unless Katrine would relax her hampering 
 condition ; while the guardianship of Schwartz, the 
 lynx-eyed vigilance of the Duchess, and the presence 
 of von Kronheim's three friends, threatened to be more 
 than sufficient to thwart any efforts of mine which 
 cunning could prompt. 
 
 More than that, I had placed myself in a position 
 of possibly extreme embarrassment by the manner in 
 which I had entered the house. The moment the real 
 doctor arrived, the trick by which I had gained admis- 
 sion would be discovered, and I should find myself 
 compromised in a degree which von .Kronheim would 
 know well enough how to turn to my discomfiture. 
 
 These and a hundred other disquieting thoughts 
 chased each other through my mind as I waited, and 
 the minutes of Katrine's absence lingered like hours 
 until every nerve in my body tingled with fretful irri- 
 tation, and I was at length driven to risk everything 
 and commence a search for Celia by myself. I could 
 not keep quiet a moment longer. 
 
 I crept out on to the landing-place on a scouting ex- 
 pedition, when I heard a sound that made my heart 
 stop and then rush on wildly with excitement. 
 
 " Good-evening, gentlemen." It was Celia's voice, 
 and I heard the men in the room move and murmur a 
 reply, and the next moment the door was opened as 
 I drew back hastily to my shelter. 
 
 How she had accomplished it, I know not, but Kat- 
 rine had brought Celia from her prison, and an instant 
 later the two came out into the corridor, Katrine throw- 
 ing back a jest to one of the men and speaking with a 
 light raillery that was a splendid mask for the serious-
 
 NEWS FROM KATRINE 20$ 
 
 ness of the crisis. In the laugh that followed, she 
 locked the door. 
 
 When Celia and I were once more side by side, hands, 
 eyes and hearts too, rushed together for the moment 
 that was far too full for any words. She was looking 
 well ; beautiful, radiant, confident and full of courage 
 as ever. 
 
 " I knew you would come, Stanley," she murmured, 
 with such a trusting, happy smile that set me longing 
 to kiss her. But it was no time for such demonstra- 
 tions. 
 
 " There is not a moment to lose," cried Katrine, who- 
 was now very pale and trembling. " I will run down 
 first and see that the way is clear; " and she hastened 
 on in front. 
 
 Celia and I were hand in hand ; she was smiling and 
 quite calm and cool. I confess I was not. I was too 
 full of excitement even to appear cool. I was half 
 dizzied by the sudden lifting from the depth of despair 
 to the height of confidence. Everything had gone well 
 and another moment would see us out of the house. 
 Celia free and once more in my care. Katrine reached 
 the top of the broad square staircase, when she stopped 
 suddenly. 
 
 " Karl ! " she whispered, and held up her hand ; and 
 we stood breathless as his heavy tread crossed the hall 
 from one room to another. It was a moment of grim 
 suspense, and the sense of danger steadied me instantly. 
 Knowing the risk that at any moment someone might 
 come upon us from behind or might raise the alarm in 
 that locked room, I signed to Katrine to run down at 
 once, and open the door for us to take our chance. 
 She hesitated and for half a minute she stood listening;
 
 206 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 and peering to ascertain whether von Kronheim was 
 coming back. 
 
 The delay was fatal. There came a loud knocking 
 at the front door, and clanging of the bell. 
 
 " The doctor," cried Katrine, with a great catching 
 of the breath, as she reeled and had to steady herself 
 by the balustrade rail. 
 
 " Come, Celia," I whispered, and we ran down the 
 stairs to the door. 
 
 As we neared the bottom von Kronheim who was 
 standing in the doorway of one of the rooms caught 
 sight of me, and with a loud oath and cry came rushing 
 forward. 
 
 I drew my revolver. " Out of the way. Don't you 
 dare to try and stop me," I cried fiercely and levelled 
 the weapon at his head.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE CHALLENGE 
 
 FOR an instant von Kronheim stood staring at me 
 half afraid, half defiant, and then he showed signs of 
 giving way. 
 
 " You won't murder me in my own house ? " he cried. 
 
 " Stand aside, or take the consequences," was my 
 reply, hotly spoken. His motive was to gain time 
 mine to get away. If Celia and I were not outside 
 before the men upstairs could break open the door, at 
 which they were now battering and kicking violently, 
 we should not escape at all. 
 
 Von Kronheim glanced up the staircase in angry and 
 anxious impatience, and then back to me. 
 
 " They are caged in your own patent gaol," I said, 
 " and you may look in vain for their coming ; " but at 
 that moment I heard ominous sounds of the door above 
 splintering and giving way under their attack, and I 
 knew there was not a moment more to lose. 
 
 " You can shoot me if you please, Sir Stanley, but 
 you shall not pass here," said von Kronheim, gathering 
 his courage and resolution. " It will be murder." And 
 he stood by the door and barred our way." 
 
 " Is there any other way out of this house ?" I asked 
 Celia, for I was all loth to fire in cold blood. 
 
 " I don't know," she answered. " Count von Kron- 
 heim, you will surely let us pass," she added, to him. 
 
 207
 
 2oS FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 I turned to Katrine for the information, but in her 
 lover's presence she seemed helpless. 
 
 " I would do anything else for you, Celia, but this is 
 impossible," he said. 
 
 "You drive me to this, then," I cried. "I would 
 rather avoid any trouble of the kind, but Celia's liberty 
 is everything to me, and if you don't move away I shall 
 fire." I spoke with such deliberation that he saw I was 
 in grim earnest. 
 
 But Katrine saw this also, and with a cry she threw 
 herself upon me, clung to my right arm and struggled 
 for the possession of my weapon, her fear for the man 
 she loved overcoming every other thought and feeling. 
 
 In an instant the position was reversed. Surprised 
 by the sudden attack, I let the revolver fall clattering 
 to the ground, and as von Kronheim picked it up, I 
 realised with inexpressible chagrin that the whole 
 chance of Celia's escape was destroyed. The look on 
 my antagonist's face changed instantly from hesitating 
 fear to malicious triumph, as he turned on Katrine who 
 was exhausted by her effort now, and leaned against 
 the wall white and breathless, and said with a sneer : 
 
 ''Your repentance comes a little late, Katrine, but 
 it's very useful, none the less, and I shan't forget it. 
 Meanwhile, as the little drama is over, hadn't you 
 better go back to your room, Celia, and leave Sir 
 Stanley and myself to settle our differences together? " 
 
 " I shall not go back to my prison ! " cried Celia, 
 with great spirit ; and darting forward she tried to 
 undo the fastening of the door. Von Kronheim seized 
 her arm roughly to prevent her, and the sight so in 
 furiated me that in my turn I sprang upon him and 
 thrust him violently backward. At the same moment
 
 THE CHALLENGE 209 
 
 I heard the door above give way, and the men from 
 there came streaming down the staircase followed by 
 the Duchess Marie and old Schwartz. We were beaten, 
 and recognising that matters had taken a turn in which 
 no good could come to Celia from any personal en- 
 counter between von Kronheim and myself, I threw 
 him off and stood to await developments. 
 
 At that moment the* person outside, who must have 
 been sorely puzzled by the noise which we had made 
 during the long time he had been kept waiting, gave 
 another rousing peal at the bell and thundered once 
 more impatiently on the knocker. 
 
 One of the men who had come from the room above 
 made a movement as if to open the door, but von 
 Kronheim, who in the midst of the excitement kept a 
 very cool head, checked him with a gesture. 
 
 " Keep silence, if you please, and get the hall clear. 
 Go into the room there all of you," he said, in a low, 
 quick tone. But Celia was in no wise disposed to 
 obey, and perceiving the possibility that help might 
 come from the stranger, upset his plans and discon- 
 certed him by sending up loud cries for help. 
 
 He turned upon her furiously, and thinking he 
 meditated force, I stepped between them. It was a 
 bad move, for it allowed the Duchess Marie to seize 
 and drag her away, and before I could interfere the 
 Count's three associates closed round me. 
 
 " It is useless to resist, Sir Stanley," said von Kron- 
 heim, but as at that moment Celia called to me in a 
 tone of despair, I shouldered the foremost of them out 
 of my path, thrust the second a vigorous blow in the 
 face with my elbow, and was dashing after her when 
 von Kronheim and the third man threw themselves 
 14
 
 210 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 upon me. The other two promptly joined them, and 
 such a rough-and-tumble struggle began as I had not 
 had since my football days. 
 
 It was hopeless, of course. I could not fight half-a- 
 dozen men, and as Schwartz and the servant also took 
 part, I was compelled to give in. 
 
 But I did not yield until I had given more than one 
 of them abundant proofs of my strength and that I 
 knew how to use it ; while the noise we made as we 
 floundered and dashed about the place, and the shouts 
 I sent up must have caused the man outside to think 
 murder was being done. But they got me down at 
 last. 
 
 " Will you give me your word to offer no more re- 
 sistance, Sir Stanley?" asked von Kronheim. 
 
 " No, I won't ! " I cried, furiously. " You are an in- 
 fernal scoundrel and a cursed coward to boot ; " and I 
 sent up another loud shout for help, until one of the 
 men clapped an impromptu gag over my mouth, while 
 the others bound my hands and legs ; and in this 
 fashion I was carried upstairs and flung on to a bed, 
 two of von Kronheim's men being left in the room to 
 keep watch. 
 
 I was beaten utterly and hopelessly beaten ; and as 
 soon as the inevitable sting of humiliation at my phys- 
 ical defeat subsided and the wildness of my rage abated 
 sufficiently to enable me to think collectedly, I realised 
 with bitter mortification the rash blunder and folly of 
 the attempt I had made. 
 
 Nothing could have been more fatuous than to pro- 
 voke such an absolutely unequal trial of strength. The 
 worst that von Kronheim could have done could not 
 have been so bad as the result I had achieved ; and I
 
 THE CHALLENGE 211 
 
 lay gnashing my teeth and groaning in spirit as I fed 
 my imagination with thoughts of what might have 
 happened and how much better things might have 
 gone had I kept my temper and relied on my wits in- 
 stead of my muscles to defeat my antagonists. 
 
 It was small consolation to know I had hurt them 
 more than they had hurt me, or to form bitter resolves 
 to punish every man who had taken part in my over- 
 throw. This would not help Celia ; and while I lay 
 chewing the bitter cud of failure, heaven alone knew 
 what might happen to her. 
 
 The thoughts of the probably sinister results to her 
 of my blundering hot-headedness was my most poig- 
 nant trouble in that most troubled night. Her bright 
 conspicuous courage, her unfailing trust in me, the love 
 which had shone in her eyes as she had greeted me 
 when we met, and the despairing cry for help which 
 had been the sorrowful dirge of our parting, all came 
 in turn to plague me and fill the cup of my self-up- 
 braiding and remorse'to overflowing. 
 
 I had had the chance to save her and had failed ; she 
 had been actually in my hands, and I had let her slip 
 away ; we had been on the threshold of escape when I 
 had let the door close upon her faster and tighter -than 
 ever. The very effort I had made to rescue her had 
 but added to the tightness of the bonds that held her, 
 and had in all probability hastened the execution of 
 the infamous scheme of the marriage which it was all 
 in all to us to prevent. 
 
 I lay some hours racking myself with the tortures of 
 these thoughts, until Nature mercifully came to my 
 relief and I fell asleep. 
 
 How long I slept I do not know, but when I awoke
 
 212 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 it was to find some one removing the gag from my 
 mouth, while another man unfastened the cords that 
 bound my hands and legs. This was being done by 
 von Kronheim's orders, who stood watching while they 
 were carried out. 
 
 "You can leave us and wait in the corridor. If you 
 hear me call, come at once," he told them ; and as soon 
 as we were alone he said to me : 
 
 " I am sorry you made this necessary, Sir Stanley, 
 but you have only yourself to blame." 
 
 The mere sight of him was enough to give spurs to 
 my rage, and if my limbs would have obeyed my will 
 I could have found it in me to throw myself upon him 
 then and there and renew the struggle on equal terms. 
 But the rush of the released blood, when the tight 
 cords were taken from my arms and legs, robbed me of 
 all capacity to move. And in the interval while feel- 
 ing and power were returning, I had time to reflect, to 
 see the uselessness of a policy of sheer force, and to 
 curb my temper. I would have no more recourse to 
 violence until Celia was either free or lost to me for- 
 ever, and then I vowed there should be a reckoning. 
 
 I held my tongue therefore, and made no reply. 
 
 " You won't help yourself by being stubborn. I 
 have come to propose terms. You had better listen. 
 J suppose you can see now that violence won't pay you 
 any more than sneaking like a thief into my house." 
 
 His tone and words were both deliberately provoca- 
 tive, and for a moment I did not see his object. Un- 
 scrupulous as I knew him to be, he was not the kind 
 of man to come for the mere purpose of jeering and 
 sneering at me because I was helpless. 
 
 " I have no need and no desire to make any terms
 
 THE CHALLENGE 213 
 
 with you," I answered, and then by a curious trick of 
 memory something which until that instant I had 
 entirely forgotten in my agitation, recurred to me. 
 
 The fact that Wilson was waiting for me close to 
 the house. When I did not appear he would be cer- 
 tain to take some step or other ; what, I did not know, 
 but it would assuredly be something shrewd that would 
 bring me help. " You don't suppose I am quite so 
 foolish as to venture in here without making due 
 arrangements to secure my getting out again," I added, 
 following up this thought. 
 
 " I neither know nor care what you have done. 
 Whatever it is, it will be useless for the purpose of 
 stopping me." 
 
 " Possibly, I am content to wait and see," I said curtly. 
 
 " You mean you're content to wait somewhere else 
 than in Saxe-Lippe," he retorted, with a sharp, shrewd 
 glance. I affected to shrug my shoulders in indiffer- 
 ence. " I know that you have been ordered out of the 
 Duchy," he added. 
 
 " Anywhere is better than here," said I ; but his 
 knowledge of the fact irritated me. 
 
 " May be. But before you speak so lightly, you had 
 better know more about what has happened. I don't 
 pretend that this visit of yours has been a welcome 
 surprise, and it has necessitated a change in our plans. 
 The Duchess Marie has taken her daughter away from 
 here already, and I am going to join them where you 
 will not easily find us. That is one result. The sec- 
 ond is, that my marriage to Celia will take place a little 
 earlier than we intended a pleasant thought for you, no 
 doubt ; and if you decline to agree to my terms, I shall 
 let the Duke's people know where you are to be found
 
 214 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 so that you will be crossing the frontier in their charge 
 while I am making Celia my wife. Any later steps 
 you may take will be useless too late." 
 
 . The man knew how to play on my feelings in all 
 truth, and for the moment ,1 was so mad with rage, 
 that I had to put the strongest curb on rny tongue, 
 to keep back the angry words that rushed to my lips. 
 But Celia had already suffered more than enough 
 through my hot-headed folly, and I made no answer, 
 though he waited, for one with a sneer. 
 
 " You English have accommodating tempers, on my 
 soul ! " he exclaimed, in his disappointment. " But 
 when Celia is once in my arms and her kisses on my 
 lips, I may perhaps find consolation for your coward- 
 ice or shall I call it pru.dence, in keeping your tem- 
 per under provocation ? Sweet Celia ! " 
 
 I could have choked him for his words, but I saw 
 his object now, and was not fool enough to walk into 
 the snare he spread before me. Instead of fuming I 
 began to grow cool at sight of the danger ahead. 
 
 " I have told you once before, Count von Kronheim, 
 that I would meet you when and where you pleased, 
 and so I will when my cousin's safety is assured. Until 
 then, my life is not mine to risk. You can keep back 
 your taunts until the time when a tithe of them will 
 be more than is needed to. provoke me. Celia will 
 never be your wife." 
 
 " A most prudent Englishman, certainly." 
 
 " I have made one mistake through losing my tem- 
 per. I will not make another." 
 
 " You would rather be put across the border by the 
 police than have a chance of freeing her. In God's 
 name, a.plucky fellow.! " .. .
 
 THE CHALLENGE 215 
 
 " What chance do you mean ? " I asked, coldly. 
 
 " I will give you the chance if you are not too much 
 of a coward to take advantage of it." 
 
 "What chance do you mean?" I repeated in the 
 same level tone. 
 
 " We will fight for her," he cried hotly, his eyes flash- 
 ing and his face reddening suddenly, " and I will make 
 you eat the insults you heaped on me in the recent 
 struggle." 
 
 " Thank you, I have had experience of your methods 
 of fighting. Put Celia in safety and you will not need 
 to seek me." 
 
 " I am not an assassin, Sir Stanley." 
 
 " I am not so sure of that," said I deliberately. " A 
 man who is coward enough to kidnap an innocent girl 
 and base enough to put her in the charge of a mad 
 woman for his own foul purposes, is not very likely to 
 stop very far short of murder, if the need arises. And 
 you have done that and worse." 
 
 He clenched his fist and raised it as if to strike me, 
 but started and checked himself, while a look rich in 
 devilish malice spread over his face and glanced from 
 his dark evil eyes. 
 
 " Aye, worse than that, perhaps," he said, viciously, 
 in a low tone, his teeth set close. " How much worse 
 perhaps even you scarcely guess yet. You forget how 
 long Celia, my Celia, my wife that is to be and despite 
 all you can do shall be, has been in my power, mine, 
 alone here. My wife that shall be, do I say, rather 
 my wife that now must be." 
 
 N ; pen can paint the look which accompanied the 
 words and their foulness and evil accomplished his 
 purpose, for my passion broke its bonds and with a
 
 216 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 deep oath of rage, I sprang from my bed and was 
 throwing myself upon him when with a loud cry he 
 called his companions to his assistance, and stood back 
 with them. 
 
 " I'll choke that lie in your throat if I die for it," I 
 cried. 
 
 " Now will you fight ? " 
 
 " Yes, where and as soon as you like," I cried pas- 
 sionately, reckless of all else in the world but the burn- 
 ing desire to punish him for his foulness.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE NIGHT 
 
 THE instant he had succeeded in getting me to ac- 
 cept his challenge, von Kronheim's manner changed 
 completely. He dropped his tone of sneering insolence 
 so promptly that I saw it had been assumed in order 
 to goad me into righting him, and for the moment I 
 half regretted that I had allowed myself to be so stung 
 into fresh rage by his lies as to have agreed to fight. 
 
 He spoke in a calm and level tone, bore himself with 
 a cool self-possession and treated me with a studied 
 and almost dignified courtesy of manner which consti- 
 tuted a striking testimony to his powers of self-com- 
 mand. 
 
 " This gentleman, Sir Stanley Meredith, and I have 
 an old quarrel, gentlemen," he said to his two com- 
 panions, " and we have agreed to settle it here and now. 
 Unfortunately, Sir Stanley has no friend with him, and 
 circumstances make it impossible that one should be 
 sent for. I trust you will need no assurance that your 
 interests will not suffer on that account," he said, turn- 
 ing to me. " These gentlemen are both well-known 
 supporters of my family, Captain von Unger and Cap- 
 tain von Schimmell, and either of them will act for you 
 as honourably as for me." 
 
 The two men bowed and twirled their moustaches 
 as I looked at them both and liked the appearance of 
 neither. 
 
 217
 
 218 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " It is desirable in your interests that in case any- 
 thing should happen to me there should be someone 
 able to speak to the facts from my side, and as my 
 servant is almost within call, he had better be present," 
 I replied in a tone as level as von Kronheim's. " He 
 will be an independent witness." 
 
 " He is alone ? " he asked, after a pause. 
 
 " He is alone." 
 
 " I have your word that you will return with him at 
 once if you go to fetch him ? " Nothing could have 
 shown so pungently as this the change in him, or have 
 so tended to restore my confidence that treachery was 
 no longer contemplated. 
 
 " Certainly, I will give you my word," I replied. 
 
 " Captain von Unger, will you see that Sir Stanley 
 can leave the house to fetch his servant? " and with a 
 bow the two stood aside for me to pass, while the third 
 man escorted me downstairs, opened the front door 
 and allowed me to leave the house alone. 
 
 The chill night air cooled me refreshingly as I walked 
 quickly to the gate of the grounds and called out for 
 Wilson. The faithful fellow was close at hand keeping 
 his vigil patiently, and came at once. 
 
 " I'm glad it's you, sir, I hope you are safe. There 
 have been strange doings in the house and I thought 
 something must be the matter when you didn't come 
 and I saw Miss Celia drive away." 
 
 " I want you in the house, Wilson," I answered. 
 " There have been strange doings as you say, and they 
 are not finished yet. What time is it ? And how long 
 since Miss Celia left?" 
 
 " Almost five hours, sir. It was just ten when she 
 went ; and it's close on three o'clock now. I didn't
 
 THE NIGHT 219 
 
 know whether to follow her, Sir Stanley, or, in fact, 
 what to do." 
 
 " I wish you had ; but you were right all the same 
 to obey my orders." 
 
 "Thank you, sir. I was sorely puzzled." 
 
 We said no more then and went back to the house, 
 and I was returning to the room upstairs when Captain 
 von Unger said : 
 
 " If you wish me to act for you, Sir Stanley, I will 
 do so ; and we can go into the room here to consult." 
 
 " As well you as another," I answered, ungraciously, 
 but added : " I am obliged to you for the offer, sir." 
 He bowed and led the way into one of the rooms on 
 the ground floor. 
 
 " You will probably desire to make some arrange- 
 ments in view of possibilities, and after we have settled 
 preliminaries 1 will leave you alone with your servant 
 for that purpose. You are the challenged party. Do 
 you choose pistols or swords? I presume from the 
 turn matters have taken the fight will be a entrance ? " 
 
 " We will fight with pistols and under any usual con- 
 ditions that ensure fairness to both parties." 
 
 "There is no chance of avoiding the meeting?" he 
 asked, as though the question were little more than a 
 necessary formality. 
 
 " None whatever, so far as I am concerned," I re- 
 plied. "The thing has to go through, and let it be 
 done as speedily as possible." 
 
 " I gathered that would be your wish. I will see 
 von Schimmell. Excuse me ; " and with a formal bow 
 he left us, Wilson staring after him in consternation. 
 His face was as pale as if he had seen a ghost when he 
 turned to me and asked :
 
 220 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Are you going to fight, Sir Stanley ? " 
 
 I told him very briefly so much as I deemed neces- 
 sary of what had led up to the meeting with von 
 Kronheim and that he was to be an independent wit- 
 ness that everything was fairly and honourably done 
 on both sides. 
 
 Then I hurriedly completed such preparations as I 
 had to make and wrote letters which I gave to him to 
 deliver in the event of my being killed. 
 
 To my sisters I penned very brief notes, charging 
 them with certain requests ; then I sent my lawyers 
 instructions as to certain affairs that remained unsettled, 
 and lastly tried to write to Celia. 
 
 This was the most difficult task of the kind I had 
 ever essayed. As I sat in dire perplexity how to begin 
 the letter, I seemed to realise something of the shock 
 which the blow would cause should the letter have to 
 be delivered, and my heart failed me at the thought. 
 At last, when the time was running short, I wrote 
 hurriedly : 
 
 " MY DEAREST. 
 
 " I may call you that now surely, for before you 
 commence to read this, Wilson will have given you the 
 news which brings the letter to your hands. I fear I 
 have proved a sad moral coward since I had not the 
 courage to resist certain taunts of the Count von Kron- 
 heim, but must needs rush into a meeting of which 
 this letter is the epilogue. I have served you badly, 
 Celia; and as my uncle foresaw, have proved a most 
 indifferent guardian of yourself and your interests. 
 Heaven knows it has not been through lack of love 
 for you that I have blundered, and it is of the irony
 
 THE NIGHT 221 
 
 of things that when I would have served you best I 
 have served you worst. My last word to you must, 
 therefore, be an apology, a plea for forgiveness ; a re- 
 gret that my power to help and cherish you has proved 
 so wofully short of my desire that my love is almost 
 shamed. It is a small thing to say my last thought 
 will be of you for all my thoughts arc of and for you 
 of the love I bear you and the love that I know you 
 bear me. May God be good to you, and uphold your 
 brave spirit and mercifully spare you from the fate 
 which my feeble hands and wits have proved so inca- 
 pable of averting, and, indeed, seem to have brought 
 nearer. My one love, good-bye. 
 
 " STANLEY." 
 
 I did not stay to read through what I had written, 
 but closed the letter and sealed it, and placed it and 
 the others in a large envelope, sealed that, endorsed it, 
 " To be opened only in the event of my death," and 
 gave it to Wilson with strict instructions how he was 
 to act in case I fell. 
 
 The good fellow was much affected. I knew that he 
 was attached to me; and the business being strange 
 to him, he was very nervous and had considerable dif- 
 ficulty in maintaining his self-composure. 
 
 When I had completed my arrangements and had 
 given him all my last instructions, I sent him out of 
 the room to wait by the door, and call me the moment 
 Captain von Unger returned. 
 
 I do not think I was afraid. I was not conscious of 
 any fear, but I certainly was full of regret that I had 
 allowed myself to be forced into meeting von Kron- 
 heim before Celir.'s safety had been secured. That
 
 222 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 was certainly the most pungent of my feelings at the 
 moment ; and could I have drawn back with honour 
 and have postponed the fight, I would certainly have 
 done so. 
 
 But it was impossible ; and I had to consider, there- 
 fore, how I should act towards my opponent. Should 
 I do my best to kill him ? I had no desire to do so ; 
 indeed, I had the strongest repugnance to the thought 
 of taking a fellow-creature's life. My rage was gone 
 now, although the memory of his foul words burned in 
 my soul like a branding iron on the soft flesh. His 
 offence was of the rankest, and merited any punish- 
 ment that could be inflicted. Moreover, I knew that 
 be was bent upon killing me if he could, and however 
 loath I was to spill blood, the instincts of self-defence 
 prompted me to do my utmost. 
 
 If I were to fire in the air and he were to miss me, 
 we should only have to fire again, and the thing would 
 go on until he assuredly would kill me in the end ; and 
 I was no Quixote to endure that. 
 
 Another thought in this connection was the cer- 
 tainty that if I were to kill or even seriously wound 
 him, Celia's safety would be secured, even if I myself 
 fell. Matters had reached such a pass in Saxe-Lippe 
 that any long delay in von Kronheim's schemes would 
 certainly cause its overthrow. The whereabouts of the 
 Duchess and Celia could not be indefinitely concealed 
 from the Duke's agents, and the discovery would mean 
 the instant collapse of the scheme. 
 
 Upon this reflection came another that startled me. 
 To attempt to kill my antagonist from any such motive 
 was murder, not duelling. To go outside the facts 
 which had led to the duel for an incentive to kill von
 
 THE NIGHT 223 
 
 Kronheim, amounted to murder, and the thought dis- 
 concerted me and plunged me into a whirl of casuistical 
 self-communing, from which I had not freed myself 
 when Wilson knocked at the door to tell me of Captain 
 von Unger's return. 
 
 " Everything is arranged, Sir Stanley," said the offi- 
 cer ; " von Schimmell and I have settled everything. 
 The fight will take place in the ball-room of the house; 
 a large, empty room, well lighted, and we have made 
 the conditions as exactly equal as possible. Your wit- 
 ness here will of course be present, and can examine 
 everything for himself on your behalf if you wish. 
 Shall we go there ? " 
 
 I assented briefly and followed him. 
 
 " You will each use your own revolver," he told me. 
 " And both weapons are loaded in one chamber only ; 
 the distance will be ten paces, and if after the first shot 
 is fired neither is hit, the weapons will be loaded 
 again, and the fight will continue until one of you is 
 incapacitated." He gave the details with a business- 
 like brevity and directness that was distinctly wel- 
 come. It was clear that he was no novice in such 
 matters. 
 
 We were first to reach the room and a glance showed 
 me that it was as described, well enough suited for the 
 grim work that was to be done in it. It was a large 
 square room, and a number of lamps had been arranged 
 along each side of it, so that there would be no glare 
 behind either von Kronheim or myself, either to help 
 or hinder our aim. 
 
 " The fixing of the lamps caused the long delay, Sir 
 Stanley," said my second, with the air of a man who 
 has had a difficult job to do and feels he has done it
 
 224 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 well. " It was awkward to prevent reflections in some 
 of the mirrors from interfering with the sighting, but 
 I think we have succeeded now. You will take your 
 positions where those chalk marks are on the floor " 
 two large crosses had been chalked on the bare boards 
 " and of course the choice will be decided by toss. 
 Here is the Count." 
 
 Von Kronheim came in then with his second ; and 
 I noticed he had changed his dress and in place of a 
 shooting jacket was wearing a long closely buttoned 
 frock coat. It was significant of his mood of set delib- 
 eration to leave no chance of success unutilised ; but 
 as my own jacket was black, there was no reason for 
 complaint. 
 
 He bowed very formally to me, looked closely at 
 Wilson, who was pale and nervous enough to make me 
 half ashamed of him, and crossed to the other side of 
 the room. His second explained to him the arrange- 
 ments just as mine had to me and he bowed his assent 
 to them. 
 
 The two seconds then stood together in the middle 
 of the room and beckoning Wilson to approach, hand- 
 ed him a large silver coin. 
 
 " You will spin the coin and let it fall to the ground," 
 said my man, " and Captain von Schimmcll will call 
 while the coin is in the air." 
 
 Wilson's fingers trembled so that he could scarcely 
 toss the coin up, and I saw von Kronheim smile dis- 
 dainfully. But after a couple of ineffectual efforts he 
 sent it spinning up almost to the ceiling. " Head ! " 
 cried von Schimmell, and then down it fell with a ring 
 and clatter on the bare boards and rolled almost to my 
 opponent's feet. Wilson examined it.
 
 THE NIGHT 225 
 
 " It is head, sir," he said, almost apologetically, as 
 he glanced at me, and picked up the coin. 
 
 " The Count will take this end," said his second, and 
 Captain von Unger looked round to me to take mine. 
 
 " I think von Schimmell has made a mistake," he in- 
 terposed to me, " I should have chosen this end had 
 I won ; " and his tone was only a little short of gleeful. 
 
 Up to this moment von Kronheim had not spoken, 
 but before he took up his position he addressed me. 
 
 " I suppose your witness knows the reason " 
 
 " Excuse me," interposed Captain von Unger, quick- 
 ly, " but is not this quite irregular ? Considering how 
 far matters have now advanced, any communications 
 should take place through us." 
 
 Von Kroeheim frowned and made a gesture of im- 
 patience. 
 
 " I have no objection," said I quickly. 
 
 " I say I suppose your man knows the cause of this 
 business, Sir Stanley. You have told him ? " 
 
 " So far as I deem it necessary." 
 
 " Earlier in the evening your master called me an 
 ' infernal scoundrel ' and a ' cursed coward ' ; and as 
 soon as I was at liberty to do so, I challenged him. 
 You ought to know that. I will not live with that 
 insult unavenged." The last words were like an un- 
 controllable burst of passion, in the strongest contrast 
 with his apparent self-control. 
 
 Wilson looked at me for instructions but I made no 
 sign and did not say a word ; and he answered for him- 
 self, somewhat inconsequentially : 
 
 " Very well, sir." 
 
 " I have one word to say to you, Sir Stanley ; " and he 
 showed us all a crumpled envelope which he had been
 
 226 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 holding in his clenched hand and then laid it on the 
 large stove covering. " I told you there was some- 
 thing I would give you a chance of fighting for. In 
 that envelope is the information you will need. 
 Gentlemen, you are witnesses, if you please, that if I fall 
 that envelope is to be immediately given to Sir Stanley 
 Meredith. I am ready," he added to his second, and 
 immediately took his place. 
 
 Captain von Unger then brought me my revolver, 
 showed me that it was unloaded, asked if it was mine, 
 and when I assented took it away to Wilson, and told 
 him to load it. He was then shown von Kronheim's 
 weapon, loaded also in one chamber only, and they 
 were then handed to us. 
 
 " You will be good enough to stand with the weap- 
 ons lowered, gentlemen," said my second, " until the 
 signal is given to you, when you will raise your weap- 
 ons and fire. I shall give the signal by counting 
 one, two, three in the customary way, and at the word 
 three you will fire. Are you ready?" 
 
 " Yes," we said both together. We stood staring 
 steadily each into the other's eyes and von Kronheim's 
 face was hard set and his brow frowning -heavily. For 
 my part at the supreme moment I- had no recurrence of 
 any of my former doubts about doing my utmost to 
 shoot him. The sight of him had scattered all my 
 qualms and weakness. He was dead set on taking my 
 life if he could possibly do so ; I had seen it in his 
 change of dress ; I had read it in his passionate out- 
 burst ; I read it again now in his look of deadly con- 
 centrated hate ; and I was no tame fool to be shot 
 down in cold blood without an effort. 
 
 " One, two, three," came the signal in measured
 
 THE NIGHT 227 
 
 tones, and at the last word I took a rapid but careful 
 aim and fired. The pistols spoke almost together; 
 but in the excitement and strain of the crisis we had 
 both fired wide of the mark, and neither of us was 
 injured. 
 
 Von Kronheim hailed the result with a scornful 
 laugh and a muttered curse. Then as soon as it was 
 manifest that we were untouched, the pistols were 
 loaded again, and we made ready for a second shot. 
 
 Again the signal came in the same measured tone ; 
 again for a critical second I glanced along my oppo- 
 nent's pistol barrel, at his evil, sinister face, and again 
 the weapons rang out almost simultaneously. To my 
 profound relief I found myself uninjured, although I 
 caught the hiss of the bullet, and felt the wind of it, 
 as it whizzed past my head. 
 
 But von Kronheim was hit ; his weapon fell with a 
 loud clatter, and he uttered a furious oath as his right 
 arm dropped helpless at his side. My bullet had gone 
 a long way from where I had aimed, but had struck 
 him as we afterwards found on the forearm, about an 
 inch from the elbow, breaking the bone and making a 
 horrible smash of the whole joint. 
 
 It must have caused him intense pain, but he clenched 
 his teeth and forced every sign of it except a deep- 
 ened pallor out of his face, while he demanded that 
 the fight should go on, that neither of us was incapac- 
 itated, and that he could shoot as well with his left 
 hand as with his right. 
 
 I was altogether unwilling to fight a crippled man, 
 and Captain von Unger, though afraid of offending his 
 patron, was of my opinion. But the Count was stren- 
 uous in his demand.
 
 228 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 *' It shall go on. It was so settled. Those were the 
 terms. I protest against any other result. I am per- 
 fectly able to shoot and-- ' But even as he spoke 
 
 the decision went against him. Despite his desperate 
 effort, speech failed him. He swayed unsteadily and 
 had to lean for a space on his second. Then he made 
 another frantic attempt to stand alone, collect his 
 strength, and to assert himself. But his wound would 
 not be denied, and with a last horrible curse on me and 
 his ill luck, he reeled against Captain von Schimmell 
 for the second time, and slipped to the ground.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 TRICKED 
 
 THE cause of von Kronheim's collapse was plain 
 the moment we examined his wound. My ball had 
 not only smashed the bones of the arm but had also 
 damaged the artery and he was losing blood at a rate 
 which would soon have cost him his life. 
 
 Fortunately I knew enough about things to be able 
 to improvise a tourniquet, and so stop the bleeding 
 until the doctor should arrive, and as soon as I had 
 finished the task I got ready to leave. No attempt 
 was made to detain me, and Captain von Unger went 
 so far as to offer me an apology for the part which he 
 had taken earlier against me. 
 
 " Do you know the nature of the work that has been 
 going on here?" I asked him, pretty sharply. 
 
 " I am an old friend and close associate of von 
 Kronheim," he replied, with a half apologetic, half 
 evasive air. 
 
 " You will have to answer for this business some day. 
 There will be a big bill to pay when the reckoning 
 comes ; and the old Duke is not the man to exact less 
 than the uttermost farthing." 
 
 " I am a Prussian ; " and he shrugged his shoul- 
 ders. 
 
 " And Berlin takes a keen interest in the matter too." 
 
 He did not like this and winced a little. 
 
 229
 
 230 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " What makes you think that, Sir Stanley? " 
 
 " I have my information direct from the German 
 Embassy in London." He changed colour slightly. 
 
 " At least I have done my duty honourably by you. 
 You can bear testimony to that." 
 
 " And I am obliged to you ; but that does not affect 
 the rest of the affair." He paused a moment, glanced 
 at me, frowned and then shrugged his shoulders again, 
 as he replied : 
 
 " Well, I must take my chance. We do not yet 
 know how the matter will end." 
 
 I understood him. If von Kronheim could yet get 
 the throne with Celia as his wife, he would be in a 
 position not only to protect but also to reward those 
 who had assisted him in this scheme. 
 
 At that moment Wilson came to me and asked if he 
 should go for the horses. He was still very nervous, I 
 thought, and when he repeated the question because I 
 did not reply instantly, I noted signs of suppressed 
 excitement in his manner. No sooner had I as- 
 sented than he rushed away at once, leaving me to 
 follow. 
 
 I walked leisurely after him, thinking closely of all 
 that had happened and what had better be my next 
 move. Matters had gone much better than at one time 
 seemed probable. Von Kronheim was badly wounded 
 and would probably be incapacitated for some days at 
 least, if not longer; but I had lost Celia none the less 
 certainly ; and where to look for her, I could not even 
 hazard a guess. 
 
 Moreover, I was no sooner out of the house than I 
 reflected how important it was for me to learn the doc- 
 tor's opinion about von Kronheim. I was profoundly
 
 TRICKED 231 
 
 glad I had not killed him ; but I hoped very sincerely 
 that his wound would lay him by the heels a sufficiently 
 long time to enable the tangle to be set right. 
 
 I stood *by the gates revolving these things when 
 Wilson came hurrying up with my horse and the gig, 
 and urged me with an impatience quite strange to him 
 to mount and ride away at once. 
 
 " There's no need for your hurry, Wilson. No one 
 is likely to stop us now. You needn't be nervous. I 
 am not sure indeed that I oughtn't to go back to the 
 house and wait for the doctor's report." 
 
 " Don't do that, Sir Stanley, don't do that, sir, pray," 
 he urged with such insistence that it annoyed me into 
 injustice. 
 
 " Well, my good fellow, if you're afraid, be off with 
 you. Only don't worry me." 
 
 " It's not that, sir, I'm not afraid, but " he checked 
 
 himself and added : " Of course, I'll wait if you wish 
 it, sir." 
 
 Remembering that his nerves had been badly shaken 
 by the events of the night I mounted my horse and 
 rode off slowly. But I was so anxious to know the 
 doctor's report, and to learn how the wound would 
 affect von Kronheim's movements, that before we had 
 covered half a mile I drew rein. 
 
 " Wilson, one of us must go back and find out what" 
 the doctor says of the Count's condition. It's the key 
 to everything just now, and I must know it." 
 
 " I^ e && m & vour pardon, Sir Stanley, I don't think 
 you'll find it necessary." 
 
 " What are you talking about, man ? " I cried angrily. 
 " What do you mean ? What is it that's making you 
 like this?"
 
 232 i FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " I think I know where to find Miss Celia, sir," he 
 replied, to my utter amazement. 
 
 " Where to find Miss Celia ! Why, how on earth did 
 you find that out ? How can you know it ? " and then 
 he told me. 
 
 " I didn't want to say yet, sir, but I suppose I must. 
 While you were all busy with the Count von Kronheim 
 I took that letter which he put on the stove before 
 you fought, sir, and and here it is ; " and he held it 
 out to me. 
 
 " You have acted very wrongly, Wilson. You don't 
 understand these things, I suppose, but I wouldn't take 
 that letter and read it for any consideration on earth ; " 
 I spoke as indignantly as I felt. " You have served 
 me very badly in this, very badly indeed. You must 
 drive back at once to the house and give it back to 
 Captain von Schimmell and explain." 
 
 " I was afraid you'd take that view of it, sir, so " 
 
 " What other view do you think I could take ? " I 
 cried angrily. 
 
 " So I read what was in it, Sir Stanley." 
 
 " What, read it ! That's the act of a scoundrel, 
 Wilson, and I'm ashamed of you," I cried. I was furi- 
 ous at this breach of honour. " Don't tell me what 
 you learnt, and come back at once and explain." 
 
 " I thought of Miss Celia, sir, and wanted to save 
 her." 
 
 " She is not to be saved by dishonourable tricks of 
 that kind. You have done me a shameful injury ; " 
 and without another word we returned to the house 
 where I sent for the two Captains and made Wilson 
 tell his own story. 
 
 " He has told me nothing of the contents of the
 
 TRICKED 233 
 
 letter," I said to them at the close, " and all I can 
 suggest is that you detain him here until after the time 
 when the information thus gained can be of any as- 
 sistance to me. You have brought this on yourself, 
 Wilson, and you have robbed me of your help at the 
 moment of all others when I most need it. Let it be 
 a lesson to you." He was terribly downcast and woe- 
 begone; and the two Captains did not know what 
 to do. 
 
 " You have acted as I should have expected you to 
 act, Sir Stanley," said my late second ; " but I really 
 would rather not take the responsibility of keeping 
 your servant here." 
 
 " How is the Count von Kronheim ? Can you ask 
 him ? Is the doctor here yet ? " I asked. 
 
 " Yes ; and he gives a half-and-half account of his 
 patient. The loss of blood weakened him, but there 
 is no danger to life. He will carry a stiff arm, for the 
 injury to the joint is irreparable; but he hopes to save 
 the arm." 
 
 " He will be confined to bed for some time then," I 
 suggested. 
 
 " An ordinary man would be, but von Kronheim is 
 not an ordinary man ; and that is all I can say. He 
 certainly is not well enough yet to be asked about your 
 servant." 
 
 " Well, do as you will," I said, " but the matter is 
 one he ought to settle ; " and I rode off by myself then 
 very much disturbed by the incident. The loss of Wil- 
 son's help at such a juncture was infinitely embarrass- 
 ing ; and it increased enormously the difficulties of 
 my task. 
 
 I had but one step that I could now take. I must
 
 234 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 keep watch in person on the house until von Kronheim 
 left it, and then follow him wherever he went. He 
 was certain to go to Celia sooner or later. It did not 
 seem possible that he would run the risk of being 
 moved until at any rate his wound had been rested for 
 some hours ; but as Captain von Unger had said, he 
 was no ordinary man, and I was sorely perplexed what 
 to do. 
 
 It was all but essential that by some means I should 
 let my sister know where to send to me, in the event 
 of any further communication coming from Katrine, 
 but the time necessary for me to go to Crudenstadt 
 and return to Mempach would be more than enough 
 for von Kronheim to slip away from the village and so 
 escape me. And if I once lost sight of him, I might 
 whistle for the chance of rinding him again in time to 
 thwart the scheme I knew he was meditating 
 
 Wounded and partially disabled as he was, he would 
 still be formidable to Celia when backed by the support 
 of her mother ; and this consideration made me stop 
 and turn back. 
 
 No sooner had I formed the resolve to watch the 
 house than the practical difficulties of the task became 
 apparent. It was a secluded house shut in by trees, 
 and although I could watch the front, I could not at 
 the same time know what went on at the back. For 
 all I knew there might be a dozen ways of escape from 
 the place by the back, and all my vigilance might be 
 the merest waste of time. 
 
 It was broad daylight when I got back to the house 
 and commenced my watch. At first I sat in the saddle 
 in full view of anyone who should enter or leave. I 
 soon perceived the fatuity of this and fastened the
 
 TRICKED 235 
 
 horse to a gate some distance away, and went back 
 to watch on foot, concealing myself as best I could 
 considering the circumstances. Then came another 
 trouble. 
 
 As soon as matters were quiet, the want of sleep 
 and the fatigue and excitement of the night's doings 
 overpowered me with drowsiness, until only the 
 strongest exercise of will prevented me from falling 
 sound asleep. At length I could only fight against my 
 fatigue by walking up and down. The moment I stood 
 still or sat down a desire to sleep fastened on me, and 
 fight against it as I would, my eyes closed, my muscles 
 relaxed, and I had to move about again. 
 
 In this exhausting conflict with sleep some hours 
 seemed to pass and the country folk began to come 
 out to commence their daily work. Then both hunger 
 and thirst attacked me and I was beginning to specu- 
 late how to deal with the problem of keeping at my 
 post and yet getting food, when my faculties were all 
 suddenly quickened up and my attention claimed by 
 certain movements at the house. 
 
 A man whom I recognised as the servant who had 
 admitted me in the first instance came out from the 
 gate, looked sharply up and down the road for a cou- 
 ple of minutes, and seemingly satisfied with the result 
 of his scouting, went back to the house, leaving the 
 gate standing open. Something was going to happen ; 
 and all thought of sleep, food and drink was merged in 
 a feeling of intense gratification that I had taken the 
 precaution to conceal myself. 
 
 Then I heard the sound of horses' hoofs and car- 
 riage wheels near the house ; and it occurred to me 
 instantly that von Kronheim, despite his wound, meant
 
 236 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 to make a bolt of it. He concluded I had rushed off 
 to Crudenstadt and he meant to be away before I could 
 get back to set any watch upon him ; and I hugged 
 myself upon my shrewdness in returning at once in- 
 stead of giving him some hours' grace. 
 
 After some minutes Captain von Schimmell came to 
 the gate and like the servant looked sharply up and 
 down. They were resolved to get away without being 
 observed, and were obviously growing anxious to be 
 off. Having satisfied himself that the coast was clear, 
 he went back and the next moment a large heavy 
 travelling carriage drawn by a couple of horses came 
 swinging out into the road at a sharp trot and turned 
 in the direction away from the village. 
 
 At the possible risk of being seen I strained my 
 eyes to catch sight of the inmates ; but the windows 
 were both up and all that I could see was that one of 
 the persons in it was lying across the seats, swathed 
 in rugs or bedclothes. But that was enough for me. 
 Von Kronheim had been patched up by the doctor 
 and was taking the risks of the journey ; and as soon 
 as the carriage was well away down the road and no 
 one was to be seen about the house, I ran to my horse, 
 mounted, and set off in pursuit, at a pace which al- 
 lowed the carriage to keep some two or three hundred 
 yards ahead. 
 
 The pursuit was of course the easiest thing in the 
 world. The carriage was too heavy to travel quickly 
 and my horse was good enough to have kept up with 
 it had the pace been twice as fast. My one considera- 
 tion was to keep far enough in the rear not to rouse 
 suspicion, and as there was only the driver on the box 
 this was a simple matter. He was a dull clown too, for
 
 TRICKED 237 
 
 he never once turned his head to see if anyone was 
 following ; and I might have ridden up to within fifty 
 yards of him without exciting suspicion. 
 
 As soon as we had put a couple of miles between us 
 and the house, the pace slackened considerably. The 
 man probably had instructions to go gently on account 
 of von Kronheim's weak condition ; but fast or slow 
 was all one to me. 
 
 The morning air was refreshing ; the ride was doubly 
 welcome after the strenuous events of the night ; I was 
 in action once more, doing something for Celia's sake; 
 and was moreover so certain of being able to keep the 
 quarry in full view, that my spirits rose with every half 
 mile we covered. 
 
 I could have laughed aloud at the easy way in which 
 I had been able to dupe von Kronheim and in antici- 
 pation of his chagrin when he discovered that I was 
 close on his heels, despite his promptness in wishing 
 so much to elude me by this hurried flight. 
 
 Hurried indeed it could scarcely be called, however, 
 and after we had travelled for some two hours and had 
 covered perhaps ten miles, I began to feel surprise that 
 he should be content to move so slowly. But the 
 choice of pace was his affair, not mine, and so long as 
 I knew where he \vas going, it w r as a matter of indiffer- 
 ence whether we travelled at fifteen miles an hour or 
 five. 
 
 Presently, however, the carriage came to a dead stop. 
 The coachman got down from the box and examined 
 the harness of one of the horses ; and apparently found 
 something very much amiss, for he stopped so long in 
 putting it right that I was amazed von Kronheim 
 should endure the delay. This occurred at the foot of
 
 238 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 a somewhat long hill, and when at length the man 
 mounted to the box again, I saw him look back along 
 the road and then deliberately light his great pipe be- 
 fore urging his horses to mount the hill. 
 
 They went so slowly up the ascent that I began to 
 get impatient, for the road was very straight and I 
 could not venture to follow until they were close to 
 the top ; but as soon as practicable I followed at a 
 much brisker pace. 
 
 That the man should smoke while driving his master 
 struck me as a very curious fact. Von Kronheim was 
 about the^last man in the world, I thought, to allow 
 such conduct in his coachman, and I was conscious of 
 a feeling of uneasiness as I followed up the long drag- 
 ging hill. But I was soon to understand things. 
 When I reached the top, there was no trace of the car- 
 riage. I spied a turning on the right some little dis- 
 tance further on, where a belt of trees stood at the 
 corner. I hurried to this and found the carriage drawn 
 up, the horses browsing the grass at the wayside, and 
 the coachman lolling on the box smoking contentedly 
 and lazily. 
 
 When he saw me, he grinned knowingly. 
 
 " A fine morning for a ride, sir," he said drily, touch- 
 ing his cap. 
 
 I made no reply but rode up to the carriage window 
 and looked into it; and he turned round and watched 
 me and grinned again, this time more broadly, and not 
 liking the look on my face he straightened his features. 
 
 "What does this mean?" I asked angrily. But I 
 had no need to wait for the reply. I had been tricked 
 and like a fool had fallen into a trap that a booby 
 might have expected to be laid.
 
 TRICKED 239 
 
 " I was told to drive straight away for a couple of 
 hours or so, sir; that's all I know." 
 
 I jumped from my horse and opened the carriage 
 door. The rugs were as I had seen them and Von 
 Kronheim was not and never had been in the carnage. 
 
 " Where is your master, fellow ? " I cried. 
 
 " How am I to know? " was the sullen reply. " He 
 was at the house when I left ; perhaps you'll find him 
 there now." 
 
 I waited for no more. I had been thoroughly fooled; 
 and I mounted again and set off on my return ride as 
 fast as my horse could travel, wild with myself for my 
 blindness and stupidity at having been caught by so 
 shallow a trick, and lamenting with bitter vexation and 
 anxiety, the loss of the valuable time and the now 
 certain escape of von Kronheim.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 A STRANGE DEVELOPMENT 
 
 THE scene had been carefully planned to outwit me. 
 Some one had no doubt seen my return and had easily 
 guessed my intention to follow Von Kronheim should 
 he leave the house. They had therefore laid this little 
 trap, and I had blundered head over heels into it like a 
 wooden-brained fool. 
 
 The ride back was a bitter experience indeed : sug- 
 gesting as it did at every step the contrast between the 
 mood of exultant self-satisfaction in which I had pur- 
 sued the leisurely carriage, chuckling to myself like an 
 idiot on my astuteness, and my present smart of shame- 
 faced humiliation at my defeat. 
 
 I am afraid I was coward enough to vent some of 
 my anger on the poor patient brute that carried me, 
 urging him constantly with whip and heel to greater 
 exertions, and grumbling and cursing him when he 
 flagged in the swift pace I wished to maintain. The 
 beast was hungry and unrested, and lacking the mad 
 incentive which made me oblivious to the claims of 
 nature, and must have bewailed the evil stars that had 
 brought him out on such a luckless expedition. But I 
 expected him to show as keen a relish for the work as 
 I did ; and when at length his strength began to give 
 out and I was perforce compelled to let him walk, I 
 railed at him as though he and not myself was the 
 
 cause of all the trouble. 
 240
 
 A STRANGE DEVELOPMENT 241 
 
 But his very fatigue stood me in good stead. It was 
 the first sign of my returning good fortune and saved me 
 from what might have been an even greater embarrass- 
 ment than any I had yet experienced. Before we 
 reached Mempach he had been for some distance too 
 tired to travel faster than at a jog trot, and just as the 
 house came in sight he fell into a walk. My intention 
 had been to ride in hot haste to the house and ascertain 
 for myself whether von Kronheim was still there ; and 
 if he had gone to endeavour to get some clue to the 
 direction he had taken ; and had my horse been able 
 to travel fast I should have dashed up all unsuspecting 
 to the door. The slow pace gave me enforced oppor- 
 tunity of looking about me, however an opportunity 
 which fortunately I used even while it girded and irri- 
 tated me ; and what I noticed caused an abrupt change 
 of intention. 
 
 As I drew near the house I saw one or two men 
 moving warily among the trees and bushes which 
 skirted the side of the grounds ; and this circumstance 
 struck me as so strange, that instinctively I checked 
 myself as I was in the very act of turning rny horse 
 into the gate. Next I observed two or three saddled 
 horses standing half-concealed among some bushes ; 
 the saddles and bridles being of the regulation police 
 pattern, and the horses of the heavy stamp of military 
 or police animals. 
 
 The meaning of this discovery flashed upon me in- 
 stantly. Either the police had got wind of von Kron- 
 heim's whereabouts and were hunting him, or in 
 addition to having fooled me away from the place he 
 had prepared this reception for me on my return. In 
 either case I must keep out of their way, and with a 
 16
 
 242 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 fervent self-congratulation upon my own shrewdness, 
 and no thought that in truth I owed it to my horse's 
 fatigue, I held on my journey and breathed a silent 
 prayer that I might not be seen. 
 
 But they had seen me and no doubt had been watching 
 my approach with close interest. I had barely passed 
 the first gate before a man sauntered out and looked 
 at me with a studied unconcern that was obviously 
 assumed ; and before I had gone another twenty yards 
 two others came out from a gate in front and crossed 
 the road to speak to me. 
 
 " Good-morning," said one of them, and I reined up 
 and returned his greeting. " You seem to have trav- 
 elled far and to have had a rough time of it." Con- 
 sidering all I had gone through in one night, his 
 comment was no doubt more than justified by my 
 appearance. 
 
 " Yes, my poor brute is nearly done up. We've 
 covered some fifty miles without a rest. Isn't there a 
 place somewhere here where I can get him a feed, and 
 myself a breakfast ? I think I passed a village about 
 here on my way out." 
 
 " Where have you come from ? " 
 
 "Along the Lebenstein road ;" and I pointed back. 
 Fortunately I knew the name of the road. The two 
 men exchanged glances, and one pointed to a mark on 
 the horse and whispered to his companion. 
 
 " What is your name, please, whose horse is that, 
 and where are you going? " 
 
 " I am an Englishman named Stanhope, staying at 
 the Sonne Hotel in Crudenstadt and I hired the horse 
 from there. I am on my way back there now." It 
 was fortunate I had told the truth, for the man had
 
 A STRANGE DEVELOPMENT 243 
 
 recognized the horse as coming from the Crudenstadt 
 Hotel. " There is a village here, isn't there ? " I added, 
 quietly. 
 
 " Did you come this way ? " was the next question, 
 ignoring mine. 
 
 " Oh, yes but it looks so different in daylight," I 
 replied with a smile, as if to explain my ignorance. 
 
 " What time did you start ? " 
 
 " About three o'clock, I fancy." This was true in 
 the letter, but it had been three o'clock en the previous 
 afternoon ; and when he appeared more satisfied with 
 the answer, I added with another smile : " I am woe- 
 fully hungry, gentlemen, if you would like to ask me 
 any other questions I wish you would put them to me 
 over breakfast at the inn of the village if there is one, 
 that is." 
 
 " What was your business in taking a long ride at 
 such an unusual time?" 
 
 " I had no business to take it at all," said I, laugh- 
 ing broadly, " and have gained nothing by it unless we 
 call a most unusual appetite a gain. I have that. But 
 one does these eccentric things on the Continent ; and 
 then goes home and talks about the wonders of sun- 
 rises and all the rest of it. But, upon my soul, I 
 should have been much more comfortable in my bed 
 at the Sonne than in watching the sun rise." I spoke 
 quietly and naturally, and the two men smiled. 
 
 "Your name is Stanhope?" 
 
 " Yes, and if you will call on me at the Sonne, any 
 time this afternoon I shall be delighted to see you ; or, 
 if you will ride back with me now, I shall be more 
 pleased, for it will give me company at the fag end of 
 a tiresome journey. But I must breakfast first."
 
 244 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 The two men whispered together a moment and then 
 drew aside. 
 
 " You will find an inn in Mempach about a mile fur- 
 ther on, and while you are at breakfast, I will join 
 you and ride with you into Crudenstadt." 
 
 " Good ! auf wiedersehen, then," I returned, and I 
 urged my horse into a trot, as the two men went back 
 to the house. I knew I had had a narrow shave of 
 arrest, and that the danger was not yet over, and so 
 soon as I was out of sight I hustled my horse into a 
 semblance of a gallop, getting out of him the last 
 remaining ounces of strength. 
 
 At the inn I sent him to the stables and ordered 
 breakfast ; but finding from a time-table sheet that a 
 train started for Crudenstadt in a few minutes, I left 
 the house at once and hurried to the station and was 
 in Crudenstadt before the police official would prob- 
 ably have reached the inn at Mempach. 
 
 I drove to my hotel hurriedly, settled my bill, ar- 
 ranged in regard to the horses I had hired, and on the 
 plea that I was called in all haste to England, I had 
 my luggage carried to the station. In this way I broke 
 the trail when the officials should come in search of 
 Mr. Stanhope ; and the same afternoon went to the 
 Rheinhof, a larger hotel where guests were more nu- 
 merous, taking now the name of Blyth. 
 
 I knew that the risks of discovery were now vastly 
 increased ; but it was impossible for me to leave the 
 Capital until I had communicated with my sister, and 
 recommenced my search for von Kronheim. I was 
 afraid to trust a letter to Alice to the post ; the tele- 
 graph was out of the question ; a messenger might be 
 equally dangerous ; and I saw nothing for it but to risk
 
 A STRANGE DEVELOPMENT 245 
 
 being my own messenger. Accordingly I stayed in the 
 hotel until it was dusk and the hour came when her 
 husband would probably be away at the restaurant 
 which he frequented in the evening, and then making 
 such changes in my dress as I calculated would help to 
 prevent my too immediate recognition, I wrote a note 
 to her and went to the neighbourhood of her house 
 and loitered about on the remote chance of catching 
 sight of her. 
 
 This kind of loafing hide-and-seek work in semi-dis- 
 guise was profoundly distasteful to me, and they were 
 bitter minutes I spent looking furtively for a spy among 
 the people who were in the streets and keeping an eye 
 upon the door of my sister's house. The knowledge 
 that I was being hunted by the police was the main 
 cause of this uneasiness ; and the sense of degradation, 
 combined with the stinging consciousness that I had 
 so disastrously fooled away my advantage in the morn- 
 ing rendered me extremely unhappy. 
 
 The feeling became at length intolerable. I grew to 
 dread the glance of every man in the street, and to ex- 
 pect every minute to feel a policeman's hand on my 
 shoulder. I ended it therefore by crossing the street, 
 knocking at my sister's house and asking for her. 
 
 To my chagrin she was not at home, and the servant 
 who opened the door to me was one whom I knew to 
 be too closely in her husband's confidence for me to 
 entrust either a message or letter to his care. Neither 
 was I willing to enter the house lest the man should 
 have some instructions either to go and tell his master 
 at once of my arrival or to apprise the police. Saying, 
 therefore, that I would call later, I turned away, and 
 then had a most annoying and humiliating experience.
 
 246 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 Chancing to stand a moment in one of the streets 
 near and glancing back I found that the servant was 
 following me. It was coming to a nice pass when one 
 \vas to find spies in one's own sister's household, I 
 thought indignantly ; but it was easier to be indignant 
 than to shake the fellow off, and he stuck to me dog- 
 gedly for an hour and more, until I began to think 
 seriously of driving him away by force. 
 
 But chance favoured me. He was so intent on keep- 
 ing me in sight as I hurried through one of the busy 
 streets, that he ran against a burly working man who 
 by a happy chance was full of either beer or temper. 
 He seized my spy in his rough strong grip, pinned him 
 against the wall with one hand while he menaced him 
 with the other and growled out a quantity of very loud 
 angry abuse. When I turned the corner the alterca- 
 tion was still in the shrill stage, so that I escaped, and 
 jumping into a carriage was soon far away from the 
 scene. 
 
 I drove back to my sister's house and delivered my 
 letter, and returned to my hotel dispirited, worn out, 
 and profoundly ill at ease. 
 
 Despite my anxiety I slept heavily till daylight, 
 when I lay revolving the events of the previous crowded 
 hours and trying zealously to see a way out of the 
 maze. It seemed hopeless to continue the quest for 
 von Kronheim single-handed ; more than once it oc- 
 curred to me to go on the morrow to General von 
 Eckerstein and seek his aid, let the price of it be what 
 it might. 
 
 It was my hour of weakness. The sense of failure 
 lay heavy on me. I was full of alarm for Celia. In 
 my then mood it seemed so selfish to prolong the
 
 A STRANGE DEVELOPMENT 247 
 
 danger to her in the mere hope of gratifying my own 
 wishes. Heaven knew I loved her well enough to set 
 her happiness and safety above my own pleasure and 
 desires. 
 
 Then as a counterpoise came the remembrance of 
 her own unflagging bright courage. If I felt troubled 
 and uneasy and allowed myself to be dispirited, how 
 much more cause had Celia? And yet how determined 
 and quietly dauntless she had been ; with what pride 
 she had resisted those who would have coerced her ; 
 with what steady resolve she had stood her ground ; 
 and how unconquerable her love ! Was I to reward 
 her by running to the Minister in trembling haste to 
 give her up ? 
 
 The thought of her steadfastness after all she must 
 have gone through, shamed my hesitation and scat- 
 tered the cobwebs of my indecision to the four winds 
 of heaven. I would find her, if I had to search the 
 Duchy from end to end, and the coming day should 
 see me hard at work again, let the difficulties be what 
 they might. 
 
 As I lay planning the steps I could take, and rating 
 myself for my faint-heartedness, it occurred to me that 
 after all my search would not have to be over a very 
 wide field. And in this regard my surprise visit to 
 Mempach would almost certainly bear fruit. 
 
 It was not likely that von Kronheim would have 
 provided more than one house as a refuge in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Crudenstadt, and as I had driven him out 
 of this it was most probable that he would have been 
 compelled to send Celia and her mother either to his 
 own house which was a considerable distance from 
 the capital or to that of some one of her friends.
 
 248 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 The number of these was not likely to be great, and a 
 little ingenuity might soon discover any probable ones ; 
 and I was fortunately able to set inquiries on foot at once. 
 
 My sister came to see me and I found her brimful of 
 curiosity about my plans and anxiety for my safety. 
 Her great gift for assimilating the concerns of her 
 neighbours promised to stand me in good stead, for I 
 found that she knew almost everything about "that 
 horrible creature, Karl von Kronheim," as she termed 
 him ; and she gave me readily a number of places where 
 I could usefully begin my search, and promised to get 
 me several others. But what was even more valuable, 
 she told me of a man in Crudenstadt, named Stein, 
 who would be able to render me great assistance in my 
 search. 
 
 But I had to pay a price for the information by 
 taking her largely into my confidence. I told her 
 what had happened at Mempach, what my fears were 
 concerning Celia, and a good deal more. 
 
 " You'll not do any good, Stanley," she said, very 
 gravely and earnestly. " You can't fight against all 
 these Court influences. You can't do it. You don't 
 know Crudenstadt and I do. The old Minister, von 
 Eckerstein, is a man who is never beaten. If you were 
 to succeed in actually getting away with Celia scot-free 
 from Saxe-Lippe, he'd have her back again by fair 
 means or foul, and your marriage would be declared 
 void or morganatic or some such horrible thing; and 
 you'd be worse off than ever." 
 
 " I don't take him quite so seriously as that, Alice," 
 and I was inclined to smile at her exaggerated notions 
 of his power. " At any rate I shall try ; but I don't 
 wish to compromise you."
 
 A STRANGE DEVELOPMENT 249 
 
 "You will fail ; and what's more, I don't think you 
 ought to succeed. The question of the heirship to the 
 throne here is vastly more important than your mar- 
 riage ; you must see that. And Celia herself would 
 probably see it, too, six months hence. If I were 
 found to be helping you it would get both me and the 
 Major into an ugly complication." 
 
 " The Major is sufficiently aware of that, I fancy," 
 said I, drily, and my sister looked sharply at me. " I 
 mean that he considers it his duty to report my move- 
 ments to the authorities." 
 
 " It is his duty, in a way ; but Rudolf would never 
 do anything to injure you, Stanley." 
 
 " My dear girl, pray don't think I mean to set you 
 two by the ears ; but if you feel that you must tell 
 him anything that passes between you and me about 
 this matter, then we'll act no more together. He is a 
 Saxe-Lippe officer, I'm an Englishman, and our inter- 
 ests in this clash ; and that's all about it." 
 
 " I shall help you all I can, of course, and as you 
 don't wish it, I won't say anything to Rudolf. But 
 it's skating on thin ice for us all, and we may go 
 through at any moment. But I'm your sister, and 
 you don't suppose. . . ." 
 
 " No, I don't, Alice," I interrupted, with a smile, 
 " it'll all come right in the end," and I said no more, 
 deeming it best to leave matters where they stood 
 after her declaration. A day or two at the most must 
 surely see the climax of the matter. 
 
 As soon as Alice left me I went in quest of Stein, 
 and not finding him at his house left word for him to 
 come to my hotel ; and I went back there to wait. It 
 was better to lose an hour or two than to attempt any
 
 250 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 search by myself and although I found the enforced 
 delay very irksome, it turned out most luckily. 
 
 I had been waiting some two hours when a note was 
 brought me from my sister with an enclosure which 
 I recognised with infinite relief to be in the handwrit- 
 ing of Katrine. *I tore it open and the contents filled 
 me with greater amazement, I think, than anything 
 which had yet occurred. 
 
 " DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 " All is well. A most remarkable development has 
 occurred, and in a few hours a day perhaps, or at 
 most two days I shall, I believe, be able to restore 
 Celia to you. Be patient. I cannot tell you where 
 we are ; nor is it necessary for you to know. There is 
 to be a marriage, but it will be mine ; for Karl will 
 marry me, not Celia. I am the happiest girl now, who 
 once was the wretchedest. It is wonderful. I can scarce 
 believe it. But it is true all true. And you know 
 you can trust me. All the blackness is passed and the 
 sun shines again in my life. Patience, and you shall 
 know all. 
 
 " KATRINE."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE WORK OF RESCUE 
 
 I WAS still studying this most unexpected letter, 
 marvelling at the news, and speculating whether it was 
 genuine or another turn of von Kronheim's cunning, 
 when Stein arrived. 
 
 He was a keen looking little fellow with the reddest 
 hair I had ever seen. The mention of my sister's 
 name was a ready passport to his good graces. 
 
 " I need your services for a time," I said to him. 
 " I cannot say how long, but I will pay you well if you 
 serve me well, whether the time be long or short. 
 The friend who has given me your name, Frau von 
 Haussmann, assures me I can depend absolutely upon 
 your confidence." 
 
 "Absolutely," he said, nodding his head with a jerky 
 emphasis. " I would do anything to serve that lady. 
 She saved the lives of my wife and child by her kind- 
 ness and help when I needed both, and I don't forget. 
 In what capacity can I help you." I liked his quick, 
 intelligent, direct manner. 
 
 " I have to make some inquiries and want your 
 assistance." 
 
 " I, am at home in that work. What are the facts ? " 
 
 " Since I sent for you I have received a letter which 
 may much simplify matters, but unfortunately there is 
 no address to it." 
 
 2S 1
 
 252 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 "The post-mark?" he asked quickly. 
 
 " Unfortunately I haven't the envelope. It was 
 sent under cover to another person who forwarded it 
 to me." 
 
 " Can I go and see that person ? " 
 
 " Yes, of course, you can ; I had not thought of it. 
 It is the Frau von Haussmann herself. Go and see 
 her and ask for the envelope in which the letter came 
 that she has just sent me. You will, of course, speak 
 to no one else." 
 
 His answer was a sharp glance of rebuke, as though 
 I had reflected on his shrewdness. 
 
 " I will go to her -house and follow her if she is not 
 at home. Will you wait for me here?" and without 
 hearing my reply he was off. 
 
 The promptness with which he acted instead of 
 wasting time in talking was distinctly pleasing, while 
 his foresight in anticipating the possibility of Alice's 
 absence and his condensed statement of an intention 
 to follow her and a request that I should wait for him 
 was full of promise. 
 
 In half an hour he was back. 
 
 " Frau von Haussmann is out, has been called away 
 somewhere, and will not be back until the afternoon," 
 he reported with the same condensed directness. " I 
 thought it best to come back and you can tell me some 
 of the facts. I can then, with your consent, of course, 
 make my arrangements." 
 
 Alice's absence was disappointing, but it was clear 
 we could do nothing to follow the clue of the envelope 
 until she returned, and I therefore told him so much 
 of the facts as I deemed necessary. We had to trace 
 von Kronheim, and I asked him to suggest the best
 
 THE WORK OF RESCUE 253 
 
 steps to take. I told him, of course, the likely places 
 which Alice had mentioned to me. 
 
 He sat twirling a straggling end of his ragged red 
 beard meditatively for a couple of minutes. 
 
 " You say the Count is hurt, badly ? " and his shrewd 
 little eyes seemed as if he had already penetrated the 
 secret of the duel and knew all about it. 
 
 " Very badly." 
 
 " Bad enough to need a doctor's help ? " 
 
 " Yes. Certainly, I should say." He smiled. 
 
 " Then it will be the simplest thing in the world. 
 A question to the doctors in each of the places you 
 name will tell us all we want to know without going 
 near the Count's house. Expense is no object, I un- 
 derstand," he added, as he was running his eye over 
 the list of places, and when I assured him it was not, 
 he was on his feet ready to start. 
 
 " We can do these three places and be back here this 
 afternoon in time to look for the direct clue. That 
 may fail us, too, and this will in any case fill in the 
 time usefully ; " and in this brief abrupt manner he 
 took charge of the expedition, and we set out at once 
 on the search. 
 
 There is no need to give the details of the work he 
 managed to cram into the space of a few hours, but it 
 gave me an insight into his rare energy, method and 
 capacity. We found no trace of von Kronheim, but he 
 was not in the least surprised or cast down in con- 
 sequence. 
 
 " We know three places where not to look," he said ; 
 " and in a hunt of the kind that is a great deal ; " and 
 leaving me to find my way to the hotel, he hurried to 
 my sister's house.
 
 254 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 At the hotel I waited an hour for him and he then 
 brought news that Alice had not returned. 
 
 " But I didn't lose my time," he added, in his jerky 
 manner. " I went in to wait and managed to get left 
 in the room where Frau von Haussmann received her 
 letters and I examined the waste-paper basket which I 
 found in it. She is a careful woman and seems to have 
 torn up the envelope. I did not know what kind of 
 writing to look for, so I brought all away that did not 
 appear to me quite useless." All the time he was speak- 
 ing he was emptying torn scraps of paper on to my 
 table from his pockets. " If you can catch a glimpse of 
 any writing you recognise, the rest will be easy," he said, 
 and in a moment I was deep in the task of trying to 
 discover some trace of Katrine's handwriting among 
 the waste. 
 
 " That is' it," I cried, at length, pouncing on a scrap 
 with half the word " Haussmann " upon it. 
 
 " Good. It's a peculiar kind of paper, too, and that'll 
 help us ; " and with a dexterity that to me was truly 
 remarkable, he singled out scrap after scrap of the 
 envelope and pieced them together most cleverly. 
 " My child's fond of this game," he said once, and then 
 gave a sudden exclamation : " Ah, here we are 
 Priesburg is the place we're seeking, Mr. Blyth ; " and 
 he held up the scrap with the obliterated stamp and the 
 postmark, and showed me where and how it fitted to 
 the rest of the envelope. 
 
 A reference to the list of places my sister had given 
 me completed the address Herr von Hoffnung, Schloss 
 Hoffnung, Priesburg. 
 
 " Shall we start, sir ? " cried this most indefatigable 
 man. " It's only fifteen miles or so from Crudenstadt
 
 THE WORK OF RESCUE 255 
 
 to the southeast. We can drive it in little over an 
 hour, and get there it's a few minutes to six now say 
 by half-past seven at the latest." 
 
 " Yes, go and get the best horses you can hire ; " and 
 almost before the words had left my lips he was out of 
 the room, and I was looking forward with a pleasure I 
 can scarcely put in words to striking once more a good 
 ringing blow in Celia's cause. What a contrast from my 
 overnight despondency ! But there, who could feel 
 despondency with such a man as this Stein to keep 
 one's confidence at boiling point. 
 
 It was a glorious evening for the drive ; the air was 
 bright and clear ; the horses strong, quick-moving and 
 fresh ; I was confident of success ; and I thoroughly en- 
 joyed the journey. On the way I took Stein some- 
 what more into my confidence, and we discussed the 
 best means of procedure. 
 
 I had no mind for any more heroics such as those of 
 the preceding night, and did not intend to trust myself 
 alone in the house. I had developed a zest for some- 
 thing much more commonplace, and my intention now 
 was to take no risks which could possibly be avoided. 
 
 " I think I had better go first to the house, sir," said 
 Stein, after thinking things out. " They can't do any- 
 thing to me more than kick me out ; and I don't sup- 
 pose they'll be any more anxious for a row than we 
 are. If you'll leave me to myself for half an hour, I'll 
 warrant to find out all we want to know and to get a 
 letter inside to either of the young ladies." 
 
 " How ? " But he shook his head knowingly. 
 
 " Don't ask how. If you don't know, you can't be 
 responsible. But I'll do it, somehow, if it's to be 
 done, of course ; and I'm not easily baffled."
 
 256 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " No, I should think not," I agreed, with a smile. 
 The contagion of his confidence was remarkable ; and 
 after a little discussion I agreed to the suggestion and 
 that I should write a line to Katrine, merely saying I 
 was near at hand, and would leave it to him to get it 
 delivered. 
 
 I found Priesburg was a smaller place even than 
 Mempach. It had once been a large village, but the 
 industry had died out ; it was full of empty houses, 
 many in ruins, and presented a most desolate and de- 
 serted appearance. The Schloss Hoffnung, we learnt, 
 stood three miles out in a very secluded spot in the 
 hills, wild and difficult of access. Altogether a dif- 
 ferent place from anything we had anticipated. It had 
 been, in times long past, one of the strongholds of the 
 district, and was an ideal spot for the use to which von 
 Kronheim had intended to put it. 
 
 We thought first of leaving the horses at a farmhouse 
 about a mile on the Crudenstadt side the nearest 
 house to the Schloss we were told intending to finish 
 the journey on foot, but changed this plan because of 
 what the people there told us. 
 
 " There's been a lot of coming and going there to- 
 day," said the farmer's wife. " Rare doings, I should 
 think." I pricked up my ears at that and listened while 
 Stein questioned. He had a rare gift of insinuating 
 himself into the good opinion of almost every one he 
 met. 
 
 " Very gay, are they?" he asked. 
 
 " Don't know about gay. My boy was up there this 
 afternoon and says it looked more like trouble and 
 fighting than pleasuring." 
 
 " Yes, I heard a couple of parties arrived there early
 
 THE WORK OF RESCUE 257 
 
 this morning, and somebody was ill. You've got a 
 nice place here." 
 
 " Don't know about nice, it's as full of damp as a 
 rotten orange. Yes, somebody's ill, sure enough ; but 
 there's been four or five more gentlemen driving and 
 riding up there not long since ; and my boy says they've 
 been carrying on in a queer fashion. I wouldn't won- 
 der if there's trouble there before long, I wouldn't. 
 However I mustn't grumble, for they've cleared me out 
 of most everything I'd got in the house. Milk, and 
 eggs, and fowls. But mayhap you know some of the 
 people there, and of course I oughtn't to talk." 
 
 " No, we've only got a little bit of business to do 
 there, and must get on. I think we'd better drive and 
 not leave the horses too far away from us, sir," he 
 added to me ; and we then resumed the journey. 
 
 I couldn't make head or tail of the woman's story, 
 unless it was the case that the Duke's agents had got 
 wind of von Kronheim's movements and were on his 
 track. 
 
 " You can't think of any second party who might 
 be after the Count, can you ? " asked Stein, breaking 
 a long pause. " It's quite clear there is a second 
 party." 
 
 " Yes, it's possible. He's playing a high game, and 
 it may be that it's got known." 
 
 " Umph ! Well, I'm afraid we're not going to have 
 just the plain sailing we hoped for. When we get 
 near the castle we'll hide the trap and go on foot to 
 
 see what it means. But I don't like the look 
 
 Hullo! what's this?" 
 
 The sound of a galloping horse reached us, and 
 round the bend in the lane came a man riding in hot
 
 258 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 haste. We drew aside to give him room, and with a 
 sharp cry he reined up, throwing his horse on to his 
 haunches as he recognised me. It was Captain von 
 Unger, and the meeting was profoundly unfortunate, 
 I thought. 
 
 " This is well met, Sir Stanley, indeed," he said, 
 riding to my side of the carriage. " Are 'you going to 
 the castle? There have been strange doings there. 
 Can I have a word in private ? " He spoke with an air 
 of great excitement. 
 
 " I'll get out and hold the horses' heads, sir," said 
 Stein, with his customary quick grip of the position. 
 
 "What do you wish with me?" I asked,*turning then 
 to the captain. 
 
 " Will you and your companionhelp us, Sir Stanley? 
 I was riding for help. It may seem a strange request, 
 but we are in a terrible mess up there. Von Kron- 
 heim's brother has got wind of what he is doing I 
 believe Hoffnung here betrayed us and has sent half- 
 a-dozen of his people to the place, and they are just 
 playing the devil with everything. For the moment 
 they've got the upper hand, and are even now getting 
 ready to carry of the Duchess Marie, her daughter and 
 von Kronheim, and so wreck everything. But if you 
 and your companion will help us, we can turn the 
 tables on them even now and save everything. But 
 minutes are precious." 
 
 " Why should I save von Kronheim ? " 
 
 " Because you can save the young Duchess Celia and 
 take her away. I can't tell you the reason I don't 
 know it myself, or I would, on my honour but I do 
 know that von Kronheim had given up his intention 
 to make the marriage which had so incensed you, and
 
 THE WORK OF RESCUE 259 
 
 was going to place the Duchess Celia in your charge 
 again. If you will help, I pledge you my honour that 
 if we are successful, she shall be placed in your charge 
 again at once. If Graf Wilhelm gets hold of her, I 
 need not tell you he will never let her go again at all 
 events, not until he is firmly on the throne of Saxe- 
 Lippe. To gain that end he might perhaps marry her ; 
 but if you know anything of him, you will know the 
 character he bears as wine to water compared with 
 that of his brother, my friend. She has never been in 
 such peril as threatens her now, Sir Stanley ; and this 
 just when she was on the eve of being entrusted to 
 you." 
 
 " What are the chances of rescuing her ? " 
 
 " Excellent. We were taken completely by surprise. 
 Von Schimmell is wounded, and von Kronheim is, of 
 course, out of everything, owing to his wound. But 
 they are only six men, and they caught us one at a 
 time. I escaped by rare luck. And if you will help, 
 we can treat them to a dose of their own prescription. 
 Your servant Wilson is locked up in the castle, but I 
 can release him ; old Schwartz will make another ; von 
 Kruppen is unhurt, and there are the servants. We 
 can do it easily. What say you ? " 
 
 I was ready enough after what he had said. I called 
 Stein to us and explained very briefly the position, 
 leaving him free to decide. 
 
 " I'll take my chance, sir, willingly," he said ; and 
 clambering at once into the carriage we started the 
 horses. He might have been an Irishman for his glee- 
 ful anticipation of a scrimmage. 
 
 When we had gone a little farther up the lane von 
 Unger led us by a side road to the fields at the rear of
 
 260 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 the castle, and we stabled the three horses and trap in 
 a barn there and locked them in. 
 
 " We can get into the castle by a small door at this 
 end, and I can in a few minutes liberate Wilson and 
 get hold of von Kruppen and Schwartz. Then we will 
 find out where Graf Wilhelm's people are, and make 
 our swoop on them as seems best. We are seven to 
 six as it is, and shall have all the advantages of a sur- 
 prise. They will never dream I can get back with help 
 for some hours to come. I thank heaven I met you," 
 he broke off, earnestly. 
 
 He knew the place well and led us successfully under 
 the cover of the shrubberies right up to the wall of the 
 castle to the postern door he had mentioned. 
 
 "We shall have to go cautiously now," he whis- 
 pered, when we were inside. " Even if they wereto 
 find us we could make a fight for it, but we can avoid 
 nearly all trouble if we take them by surprise." 
 
 "Where are the ladies' quarters?" I asked. 
 
 "At the other end. I believe the idea is to wait 
 until the light has pretty well gone and then leave the 
 castle. They are a rough, dare-devil lot, and not 
 likely to keep too good a watch. But they will need 
 to be handled cautiously, for they are all armed and 
 won't stick at much." 
 
 We had now passed up a flight of stairs and along a 
 corridor toward the middle of the building, and we 
 came to a deep oriel window recess behind the curtains 
 of which von Unger took us. 
 
 " Below us, just a few feet farther on, is the big hall 
 from which large rooms lead, and I expect the men are 
 now down there in the dining-saloon eating, or more 
 probably drinking. Will you wait here while I go in
 
 THE WORK OF RESCUE 261 
 
 search of the rest of our party? They will have one 
 man, or at most two, posted somewhere in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the rooms of the Duchess and her daughter, 
 and there is just a chance that while I am away some 
 one may pass either up to or down from those rooms. 
 In that case if there is any trouble will you deal with 
 him ?" 
 
 He went away then quickly and quietly, and his 
 back was scarcely turned before Stein began to show 
 impatience to get to work on his own account. 
 
 " I could slip down the stairs and find out where 
 everyone is in a couple of minutes," he said, persua- 
 sively. " And we could have a plan cut and dried by 
 the time he returns. No one would know I wasn't one 
 of the servants, for there must be at least two different 
 lofes of 'em in the place." 
 
 " You had better wait. We shall be much stronger 
 when we act all in a body." 
 
 " I could at any rate slip upstairs then and find 
 out where the ladies are and what's happening to 
 them," he urged next ; but again I vetoed the sugges- 
 tion. 
 
 " If anyone looks in here we shall be in an ugly fix," 
 he murmured, a minute later ; and his desire to be 
 doing something made him so exceedingly restless and 
 impatient that when Captain von Unger had been ab- 
 sent nearly half an hour, I could not keep him on the 
 leash. 
 
 " Don't get too far away from here, but keep within 
 call, and above all things don't let anyone discover 
 you," I said as a parting caution. The long absence 
 of von Unger made me anxious and the suspicion 
 crossed my mind that after all some treachery toward
 
 262 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 Celia and myself might be intended. Stein left me his 
 restlessness as an uncomfortable legacy, and as I peered 
 out from the curtains at the side of the recess and 
 strained my ears in vain to catch any sound of the 
 captain's return, I grew ill at ease. 
 
 The evening light was waning fast and heavy shadows 
 began to hang about the hall and corridors enveloping 
 the place in a darkening gloom, and still there was no 
 sign of von Unger. The time was approaching when 
 he himself had declared the attempt was likely to be 
 made to get Celia away ; and I began to fret and fume 
 sorely at his delay. 
 
 There was no sign of Stein either, and although I 
 was quite ready to believe he would be well able to 
 render a good account of himself whatever happened, 
 I was irritated that he did not return. 
 
 Then, just as my impatience was passing beyond 
 control, there came a sudden change. I heard a door 
 slammed on the floor below, followed by the steps of 
 some one running quickly across the hall, the smothered 
 sound of the laughter of men, the opening of a door 
 into the hall, and the finish of the laughter loud and 
 strident. Then a man's harsh voice cried : 
 
 " Hullo, you there. Who the devil are you and 
 what are you doing ? " 
 
 " I was going to light the lamps, my lord." This in 
 Stein's voice. 
 
 " And who the devil told you to ' light the lamps, 
 my lord?' " was the mocking reply. " Here, Richter, 
 who's this fellow ? Come down here, sirrah." 
 
 " It's my usual duty, my lord," said Stein, " but if 
 you don't desire it I'll tell the others it's not to be 
 done." I could hear by his voice that he was coming
 
 THE WORK OF RESCUE. 263 
 
 up the stairs, not going down ; and I felt that a crisis 
 was developing rapidly through his blundering. 
 
 " Do you hear what I say, you scoundrel, comedown 
 here. Devil take the fool, where's he gone. Here, 
 Richter, go and bring him back, he's got no business 
 up there." 
 
 " Let him go : he's only a blundering idiot of a serv- 
 ant," said a second voice. " We've something more 
 important to do than play hide-and-seek with a flunkey. 
 It's time we were off. The carriages will be here in a 
 moment." 
 
 The first voice growled out an oath and Stein re- 
 joined me. 
 
 " It was a near shave, but I've got their plan," he 
 whispered. " I overheard them. One man has gone 
 round to the stables to fetch up the carriages and their 
 horses ; two are upstairs guarding the ladies, and there 
 are three below. If we only knew where the captain 
 was who left us here we could catch- the whole lot in a 
 trap." 
 
 Wilson arrived just at that very moment, and brought 
 me the very information we needed. Von Unger sent 
 word that he and those with him were going to sur- 
 prise the two men upstairs and wished me to prevent 
 any of those who were below from interfering in the 
 event of anything being heard of the struggle. But 
 this I could not do as Wilson arrived just too late. 
 
 One of the three had gone upstairs just before Wil- 
 son's arrival and we had heard him say he would call the 
 other two up if there was any need of their presence. 
 
 Then came, all suddenly, a cry of surprise from true 
 upper part of the castle, followed by shouts and the 
 sound of a struggle.
 
 264 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " By God, there's something wrong ; come quick," 
 cried the man whose voice I had first heard, and he 
 and his companion came clattering up the stairs. 
 
 I darted to the stair head, followed by Wilson and 
 Stein and drawing my revolver I levelled it point blank 
 at the foremost. 
 
 " You can't pass here, gentlemen. Another step 
 and I shall fire." 
 
 They almost tumbled backwards in their sudden 
 astonishment, and we stood thus for the space of some 
 seconds, facing each other in dead silence, while the 
 
 o 
 
 noise and crash and cries of the struggle going on above 
 us resounded through the castle.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 TOGETHER ONCE MORE 
 
 WHOEVER the man confronting me was, he soon 
 made it plain that it was astonishment and not fear 
 that had checked him, for he looked me steadily in the 
 face and despite my revolver spoke quite calmly. 
 
 " By what right do you try to stop me ? " 
 
 " By force," said I curtly. " I have come to prevent 
 your carrying out the scheme you have formed, and I 
 mean to do it." 
 
 " Who are you ? I don't know you. What has this 
 to do with you ? " 
 
 " No matter who I am, but this business has much 
 to do with me." 
 
 " I shall brook no interference from you ; stand aside 
 and let me pass," he cried, angrily and imperiously. 
 
 "You will not pass here." 
 
 At this moment a loud cry for help came from above, 
 and then the sound of a pistol shot, followed by a 
 fresh cry in more urgent tones to the men we held at 
 bay. The leader of the two started and I saw his hand 
 go stealing to his pocket. 
 
 " If you attempt to draw on me, I shall fire," I said. 
 
 " Look out, sir," cried Stein quickly, at that moment. 
 He had fortunately kept his eye on the second man, 
 and I had just time to move aside as the report of his 
 pistol fired from behind the leader rang out. The 
 next moment Stein sprang at him like a terrier at a 
 
 265
 
 266 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 rat and the two went rolling down the staircase in a 
 wild scrambling struggle. 
 
 " Help him, Wilson, quick," I cried, and in the mo- 
 mentary confusion the leader rushed at me and tried 
 to wrest the revolver from my grasp. But I was both 
 taller and quicker tjjian he and stronger too, as it turned 
 out, for after a brief, fierce struggle I mastered him and 
 getting a chance I struck him a blow on the head with 
 the heavy barrel of my revolver which knocked all the 
 fight out of him and stretched him dazed and all but 
 unconscious at the head of the staircase. 
 
 Wilson and Stein had meanwhile won their tussle, 
 and telling them to bring their man up to his compan- 
 ion's side I left them to keep guard over the pair while 
 I hurried upstairs. 
 
 Matters there had not been going so well with our 
 side, but my arrival immediately changed the position. 
 So long as the fight below had continued, the men 
 above, though hard pressed by von Unger and his 
 companions, had held out in the hope that help would 
 reach them ; but when they saw a fresh opponent in- 
 stead of the sorely needed friend, they recognised the 
 inevitable and gave in. 
 
 The victory came not a minute too soon. Von 
 Unger had been hard put to it. The fight had been 
 man to man ; he had beaten his antagonist but one of 
 his companions was hurt, while Schwartz would have 
 been overpowered had not von Kronheim staggered 
 from his bed and winged Schwartz's man with his re- 
 volver. 
 
 He was now leaning against a doorway, exhausted, 
 white as his shirt and giving directions for the securing 
 and safe keeping of the prisoners.
 
 TOGETHER ONCE MORE 267 
 
 " It's a queer turn of the wheel that brings you to 
 my side, Sir Stanley," he said, turning to me ; " but 
 I'm more than grateful." 
 
 " I've not come to help you, but to take away Celia," 
 I replied curtly. " Where is she ? " 
 
 " I suppose you wonder why I let her go," he said 
 with a smile that was half a sneer. 
 
 " I ask no questions, and have nothing whatever to- 
 do with your motives. I shall not leave without her." 
 He looked at me malignantly as though inclined to re- 
 fuse to let her leave. " If you raise any obstacle now," 
 I said hotly, stung by his look and the thought of 
 treachery it roused, " I shall know what to do. I hold 
 the balance here and can undo in a minute what I've 
 helped to do." 
 
 " I'm not going to stop her, if you'll promise one 
 thing to get her out of the Duchy without a moment's 
 delay. I suppose that'll suit you ? " 
 
 " I make no conditions with you. Where is she? '* 
 At that instant there came a loud clattering and thump- 
 ing at a door close by. 
 
 " There's your answer. That's the dam's heels, and 
 the filly's close by," he cried, laughing at his coarse 
 jest. " Take her, and the sooner you're away the 
 better. Wait. Von Unger, you'd better bring her 
 out, or if the mother sees you, Sir Stanley, she may 
 stop you. She don't love you, and she isn't pretty in 
 her tantrums." 
 
 But here Schwartz turned round with a look of be- 
 wilderment in his eyes, and as if accidentally, put him- 
 self in Captain von Unger's way before the door of the 
 Ducliess's room. Von Kronheim saw this and laughed* 
 
 " Get out of the road, Schwartz," he cried, '* you're
 
 268 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 a useful fellow in your way but you don't understand 
 everything. And don't be an old fool now." 
 
 " If the young Duchess is going to leave, sir, I must 
 go too, and Her Grace must be told," said Schwartz, 
 doggedly. 
 
 " Didn't I tell you not to be a fool, man ? " this with 
 rising anger. 
 
 " You made an agreement with me, sir, and I must 
 respectfully ask you to keep it," was the reply in the 
 sullen tone I knew so well. 
 
 " And I must respectfully ask you to mind your 
 place and not interfere with my arrangements," was 
 the mocking reply. " Sir Stanley, if you will wait in 
 one of the rooms below, the young lady shall join you 
 within a few minutes. You have my word." 
 
 " I will give you ten minutes," I replied curtly, and 
 seeing the prudence of avoiding a meeting with Celia's 
 mother, I went downstairs and took Wilson and Stein 
 with me. 
 
 I could not understand the course things were taking 
 nor von Kronheim's motive for this complete change 
 of plan ; nor did I care to waste time in asking him for 
 it. To have Celia again in my charge was all I desired, 
 and I had convinced myself that von Kronheim meant 
 to give her up. Katrine had spoken of it ; von 
 Unger had assured me the project of the marriage had 
 been abandoned ; von Kronheim's manner had con- 
 firmed this ; and his short passage with Schwartz had 
 afforded corroboration. Most important of all, how- 
 ever, I was in fact master of the situation ; and with 
 Stein and Wilson to help me I knew I was quite capa- 
 ble of getting my own way, by force if necessary. 
 
 But there was no need for force. I waited in the
 
 TOGETHER ONCE MORE 269 
 
 hall a few minutes and then Captain von Unger came 
 down escorting Celia. 
 
 My heart gave a great leap of delight as our eyes 
 met and she put her hand in mine with a tender little 
 pressure. Despite all she had gone through and all 
 the strain and suffering, she was as confident, proud 
 and radiant as ever. Captain von Unger was tactful 
 enough to leave us at once. 
 
 " Believe me, Sir Stanley, this is a pleasant duty to 
 me," he said. " The Count desires me to say that he 
 urges you to leave the Duchy without a moment's un- 
 necessary delay," 
 
 " One moment. Miss Katrine Borgen, she is 
 well ? " 
 
 " I can answer that," declared Celia. " She is more 
 than well ; she is radiantly happy from some cause. 
 Vastly changed, Stanley. And Captain von Unger, I 
 should like to thank you for the courtesy I have al- 
 ways had from you. The Captain has been a great 
 friend to me, Stanley, when one was badly needed ; " 
 and she held out her hand to him. 
 
 "You have laid me under a deep obligation, then, 
 Captain von Unger," I said, as I shook hands with him, 
 
 " Take my advice then and lose not a moment in 
 crossing the frontier. The young Duchess has many 
 powerful enemies ; she is known now to many of them 
 by sight, and this makes them vastly more dangerous ; " 
 and with that we parted. 
 
 I sent Wilson and Stein to get the carriage, saying 
 we would follow, and Celia and I were once more 
 alone together. The evening had now closed in and 
 the great hall was shrouded in sombre shadows. Celia 
 glanced at me questioningly and with a delightful
 
 2;o FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 blending of diffidence and her old self-reliant buoy- 
 ancy. 
 
 " You have won, Stanley. What are we to do 
 next ? " 
 
 " Thank Heaven that all is well and that we are to- 
 gether again," I answered earnestly. 
 
 " I have done that already ; and I didn't mean that." 
 
 " I shall never cease to do it all my life, Celia." 
 
 " I like to hear that," she said, and smiled. " It is 
 promising." 
 
 "Promising?" I echoed, not understanding. She 
 lowered her eyes to the ground and fidgetted with her 
 glove. 
 
 " Promising, I mean, from one's guardian." Her 
 tone was indescribably significant ; and I saw her 
 meaning and laughed in my turn. 
 
 " But it is not that kind of guardian who says it." 
 She glanced up swiftly and as I moved closer to her, 
 drew away with an elaboration of diffidence that was 
 quite unnecessary. 
 
 " I have won my battle, too," she said, looking me 
 full in the face. What play she could make with her 
 eyes, and how lovely and full of love they appeared to 
 me. 
 
 " Do you mean in the conversion of a guardian ? " 
 She laughed softly. 
 
 " Is it that you won't understand ? Can you button 
 this glove for me?" and she put her left hand out to 
 me and seemed to challenge me with her laughing eyes. 
 I took it in mine, and as I felt the ring I had given her 
 on her finger, I saw her little ruse. 
 
 " Never anything but a comedy," I said, recalling 
 the old words and pressing the ring through the glove.
 
 TOGETHER ONCE MORE 271 
 
 " It will never need to come off now, Celia, at least not 
 until 
 
 " It is very dark here," she interrupted. 
 
 " But I think I can protect you now," and I slipped 
 my arm round her waist and drew her close to me. 
 
 " Isn't that a great lack of self-control fora guard- 
 ian, Stanley?" she asked, severely, turning her laugh- 
 ing winsome face up to mine. 
 
 " Then what is this? " and I stooped and kissed her 
 on the lips, and for the time all else in the world was 
 forgotten by us both. We were only roused from 
 dreamland by the sound of wheels outside on the gravel 
 drive. 
 
 It was Wilson with the carriage. 
 
 " I waited and as you did not come, sir, I thought 
 perhaps you wished me to bring the carriage to the 
 door for Miss Celia." 
 
 " Quite right, Wilson, I was detained," I said ; and 
 Celia laughed. 
 
 " Have you finished now, Stanley?" she asked with 
 mischief in her eyes and unconcern in her voice. 
 
 " No, but I can finish another time," I answered 
 gravely ; and then we both laughed with a happy heed- 
 lessness of everything except the new delight of being 
 together in complete understanding. 
 
 " Where are we going, Stanley ? " she asked, as we 
 went out to the carriage. 
 
 " For the life of me, I don't know," I cried with 
 reckless irresponsibility to circumstances ; and in all 
 truth I did not. " You have driven everything out of 
 my head," I whispered. " I am going back to Lon- 
 don, of course ; but which way, I haven't at present an 
 idea."
 
 272 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " I have no things," said Celia, producing a strong 
 feminine consideration. 
 
 " We can remedy that in the first town we come to," 
 said I ; " but I wonder ' I paused. 
 
 " Couldn't we go to your sister's house in Cruden- 
 stadt," she suggested. 
 
 " I was at that moment thinking about it. But I 
 am afraid of her husband. He is devoted to the Duke's 
 interest and knows all about things, and would very 
 probably rush off to the Duke's people and say you 
 were there ; yet I don't see where else to take you. 
 Could you manage without things till we are over the 
 frontier?" 
 
 " I could manage without things for twelve months 
 rather than fall into anybody's clutches again," was her 
 energetically spoken reply. 
 
 " Well, we'll get out of this first," and I whipped up 
 the horses, and rattled along the country lane for a mile 
 or two. Then I pulled up and held counsel with Stein. 
 
 The nearest point of the frontier was thirty-five miles, 
 he told me, a very difficult road which would be almost 
 impossible to find in the darkness. The next nearest 
 point was at least some seventy or eighty miles, by a 
 better but very circuitous road, also difficult to pick out 
 at night. The nearest station was about eight miles, a 
 little wayside place from which in all probability there 
 would be no trains till the morning. All of which 
 information was infinitely disappointing. 
 
 But Stein was ready as usual with a plan. He sug. 
 gested that we should return to Crudenstadt and that 
 Celia should go to his house, where, he declared, she 
 could remain in perfect safety until it was convenient 
 to leave.
 
 TOGETHER ONCE MORE 273 
 
 " Mine is only a small house, of course, but perhaps 
 it would be safer than a bigger one ; and I'll pledge 
 myself for the young lady's safety. My wife will be 
 only too proud to be of help." 
 
 " That will do very well," said Celia, readily. 
 
 " I would rather get away at once," I declared ; but 
 I could not help recognising the difficulties in the way. 
 It was exceedingly awkward for us to be careering; 
 about the country together all through the night with 
 a quite indifferent prospect of reaching any place of 
 safety even in the morning. 
 
 " I'm a most troublesome ward, Stanley, I'm afraid," 
 whispered Celia, dismally. 
 
 " I'm half afraid of Crudenstadt," said I, in much 
 perplexity. 
 
 " The last place people generally look for a thing is 
 under their own noses, sir," put in Stein. " There 
 would be a lot of curiosity too in any reachable place 
 if we drove up to-night, as we are with no luggage and 
 proposed to stay. Every official would want to ask no 
 end of questions." 
 
 " Crudenstadt be it, then," I agreed. What he said 
 was obviously true, but I could not shake myself free 
 from misgivings. Celia laughed at them as cobwebs, 
 however, and was cheerful, confident and so intoxicated 
 with the sense of freedom regained, that my uneasiness 
 had no chance of a long life. It was soon chased clean 
 away by the ripple of her laughter, the vigour of her 
 trust in me, the invincible refusal to look at anything 
 but the bright side of matters, and above all, perhaps, 
 by the hundred and one little means she found of 
 expressing her infinite delight at being once more 
 
 with me. 
 18
 
 274 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " I have heard of people being drunk with pleasure, 
 but I never knew before what it could mean," she said 
 once. " Upon my word it is almost worth while to 
 have endured the suspense just to feel the sweetness 
 of relief at its end." 
 
 She would not say a word about her experiences 
 with her mother, nor discuss the sudden and remark- 
 able change in von Kronheim's attitude, and would 
 scarcely hear a word about my plans for her. 
 
 " I am living in the present, Stanley, can't you un- 
 derstand?" and she nestled a little closer to me. 
 4t What matters past or future either just now? This 
 is an hour of life, let me revel in it and steep my 
 senses, all of them, in delicious ignorance of every- 
 thing but now. We shall have years to talk about other 
 things and times, and past and future, and discuss and 
 gabble, and chatter and j:>lan, and all the rest of it. But 
 such an hour as this can scarcely come twice in a life- 
 time ; " and when the lights of Crudenstadt began to 
 show ahead of us she sighed and declared she was sorry. 
 
 " I should have liked our drive to go on for hours," 
 she said, ruefully, and then in one of her quick changes 
 of manner and tone she added with a laugh : " and that 
 shows what a little lump of selfish humanity I am. 
 Heigho, but it has been an hour worth living." And 
 so in all good truth it had. 
 
 At the suggestion of the ever-vigilant and thought- 
 ful Stein, we turned away from the main road some 
 distance short of the town and drove in by a bye-road, 
 which took us in a few minutes to a point near his 
 house where he said they had better alight, so as to 
 prevent remark ; and I told Wilson to go with them 
 and join me afterwards at the hotel.
 
 TOGETHER ONCE MORE 275 
 
 " I shall make all preparations for getting away to- 
 morrow as early as practicable, and if I can I'll get 
 Alice to come and see you," I said to Celia. " But I 
 shall be guided only by considerations of safety. Good- 
 night, sweetheart ; and God grant all will be well to- 
 morrow. I shall be able to think more rationally and 
 calmly alone, and will plan everything." 
 
 " Irrationality has been very delicious, Stanley. I 
 rather dread sobriety, I'm afraid." She went away 
 then, and I watched her till the darkness hid her, and 
 then gathered up the reins and drove on to my hotel. 
 
 Just as I reached it a disquieting thought occurred 
 to me. I had forgotten to tell Wilson that he must 
 ask for me in the name of Blyth ; and if he came in- 
 quiring for Sir Stanley Meredith or Mr. Stanhope and 
 was then found to be my servant, it might be enough 
 to set tongues wagging and cause trouble. This both- 
 ered me. I could not make sure that even Stein would 
 think of the point, so small and yet possibly so danger- 
 ous ; and after considering it, I resolved to wait for 
 Wilson outside the hotel. 
 
 As soon as I had changed my clothes, therefore, and 
 ordered some supper, I stepped out into the street in- 
 tending to smoke a cigar on my watch ; but even as I 
 passed the door I heard a voice that gave me a most 
 unpleasant shock. It was that of the police official 
 who had accosted me at Mempach. He was sitting 
 at a table in the front of the hotel in conversation with 
 two or three other men. Fortunately his back was 
 towards me, so that he had not seen me, and I stepped 
 back hurriedly into the hotel, my heart beating uncom- 
 fortably fast. 
 
 At first, I jumped to the conclusion that he had dis-
 
 276 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 covered traces of my movements and was at the hotel 
 in search of me ; but this I dismissed on reflection as 
 the fear phantasy of a hunted man and hunted I cer 
 tainly felt for the moment. When I had shaken ofl 
 this exaggerated panic, I saw it was much more prob- 
 able that nothing more than chance had brought him 
 across my path in this embarrassing manner. But 
 even so, the incident was profoundly unwelcome ; and 
 the more closely one examined it the uglier it ap- 
 peared. 
 
 In the first place I must, if possible, avoid being 
 recognized, and clearly, therefore, I must not wait to 
 intercept Wilson. Again, if Wilson arrived and asked 
 for Mr. Stanhope, this official's presence might prove 
 worse than embarrassing. It was certain enough that 
 von Kronheim would have led him to expect me at 
 the Mempach house as Sir Stanley Meredith ; my meet- 
 ing with him there would give the connecting link be- 
 tween the identity of Stanhope with Meredith ; and 
 thus the train was now laid to myself as Blyth ; and 
 in a moment it might be fired by an indiscreet inquiry 
 by Wilson. 
 
 The very fact, too, that I was masquerading under 
 a couple of aliases was enough, in a place of such 
 machine-like bureaucratic routine as Crudenstadt, to 
 constitute an offence against the police regulations; 
 and altogether I felt quite as uncomfortable as I could 
 have felt had I really been a criminal in fear of arrest. 
 It would be too exasperating now at the eleventh hour 
 when Celia herself was safe if I was to be stopped 
 through such a trifle as this forgetfulness to tell Wilson 
 the change of name. 
 
 I hung about the office in the hall in the hope that
 
 TOGETHER ONCE MORE 277 
 
 he would come, but even that position I had to abandon 
 after about half an hour, for the official himself came 
 into the hotel and stood talking there with a friend. 
 What I endured in those minutes of suspense would 
 scarcely be believed, so utterly disproportionate to the 
 circumstances was my feeling ; and then as a climax 
 to my ill fortune, I heard some one run quickly up the 
 steps and Wilson's voice ask in his briskest and most 
 consequential manner for " Mr. Stanhope." 
 
 On leaving the hall I had stepped into the dining- 
 room, from which I could easily hear what passed. 
 
 " There is no one stopping here of that name," was 
 the reply. 
 
 " Oh, yes ; there must be. He is my master, and 
 told me to come here for him." 
 
 " Then he has not arrived yet." 
 
 " Perhaps I can help you," said the police official, 
 interposing in a dangerously suave tone. " I know 
 Mr. Stanhope. He was at the Sonne, I think?" 
 
 But Wilson was no fool, and I concluded that he did 
 not like the new speaker's looks. 
 
 " And who are you ? " he asked with almost imper- 
 tinent sharpness. 
 
 " I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Stanhope yes- 
 terday at Mempach, and was to have ridden in with 
 him to the Sonne. He invited me there. An exceed- 
 ingly pleasant man. Tall, broad, with a quick eye 
 and a shrewd manner. Good-looking Englishman trav- 
 elling here." 
 
 Wilson laughed. 
 
 "Oh, dear, no! My master's a short, red-haired, 
 pimply-faced man ; rather bandy-legged, horsey-looking. 
 You couldn't mistake him. The first thing he would
 
 278 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 do would be to have one or two stiff glasses of brandy 
 and water. Drinks, you know, like a regular fish. 
 Wired me he'd be in by train. He's sure to come later 
 on. Will you have a drink with me?" 
 
 Naturally a good liar, I thought ; and though I dis- 
 approve strongly of lies, I promised Wilson a five- 
 pound note in my thoughts for his readiness. 
 
 The official accepted the offer of the drink, no doubt 
 to pump Wilson, and it was ordered to be taken out- 
 side. 
 
 " Shall I reserve rooms for your master?" asked the 
 proprietor next. "And will you stop here yourself?" 
 
 "Safer to wait for the next train in, I think. He's 
 so eccentric, that a wire may come any moment, telling 
 me to go somewhere else." Then they went outside, 
 and I heard no more. 
 
 I was reassured. Wilson when once on his guard 
 was not at all likely to do anything that would em- 
 barrass me, and I ate my supper and went to bed in 
 comparative peace of mind so far as that incident was 
 concerned. But it whetted my anxiety to be out of 
 Crudenstadt, and I thought out as carefully as I could 
 the programme for the coming day. If all went well, 
 the next night would find Celia and myself on the 
 English Channel. 
 
 But in that calculation I was unfortunately reckon- 
 ing, as the issue proved, without a due allowance for 
 the astuteness of the Crudenstadt police ; and while I 
 slept the sleep of confidence, they were very much 
 awake and hard at work preparing my defeat.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 NET MAKING AND NET BREAKING 
 
 I WAS up betimes in the morning and felt in excel- 
 lent spirits at the prospect of speedy departure. As 
 Wilson was not with me, I packed my luggage and 
 had all in readiness when I went down whistling to 
 breakfast. 
 
 I had my plans all cut and dried, and had decided 
 that to ensure our safety, Celia and I would leave 
 Crudenstadt by different trains. The through train 
 left at mid-day and made only one stoppage before 
 reaching the frontier station, Angenheim, and I in- 
 tended that Stein should take Celia as far as that 
 station, with Wilson in attendance, if he turned up in 
 time. I could leave by a slower train an hour earlier 
 and take Stein's place as escort when the frontier was 
 reached. 
 
 It was a very simple matter but there was no need 
 for any more elaborate scheme and all I had to do 
 was to communicate my wishes to Stein and, if I could 
 find him, to Wilson. I decided that there would be 
 no risk in my paying a hurried visit to Stein's house 
 and telling Celia myself what I proposed. 
 
 I had just finished my breakfast when my sister 
 arrived, eager to know whether I had any news of 
 Celia and curious as to Stein's two visits of the pre- 
 vious day. 
 
 She was delighted with my news, congratulated me 
 
 279
 
 28o FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 most heartily and affectionately, and expressed a keen 
 desire to see Celia for herself. But this I did not 
 think advisable. 
 
 " I think you had better not, Alice. I don't say 
 there would be any actual risk, but the position is a 
 very ticklish one and as there is just a chance that a 
 visit from you might be noticed, we had better avoid 
 the risk. You can come and pay us a long visit in 
 London as soon as you like." 
 
 " But I go to the Steins' house sometimes to see the 
 daughter. She does some work for me sewing and 
 embroidery." 
 
 " It's very good of you to wish it, Alice, but I really 
 think it would be better not. I was sorely tempted 
 to bring her to you last night, for I was in a great fix 
 what to do ; and she was, of course, very keen to see 
 you." 
 
 " I'm glad you didn't, Stanley. I myself should have 
 been delighted, but " 
 
 " Well ? " for she hesitated, 
 
 " You know what I said about Rudolf's views and 
 
 what you thought and well, I'm glad you didn't, 
 
 that's all" 
 
 " \Ve'll leave it there and I can thank him for his 
 kind intentions when Celia and I are married." 
 
 " You needn't be horrid. He would do no more 
 than his duty," said Alice sharply. 
 
 " I don't care for people who are overswollen with a 
 sense of duty which drives them to do unpleasant 
 things. But we won't squabble about it." 
 
 " I should like to have sf*en Celia all the same," 
 she said as she rose to go, not altogether pleased, 
 as people are apt not to be when they wish to hunt
 
 NET MAKING AND NET BREAKING 281 
 
 with the hounds and run with the hare. And then 
 came an unexpected and most unwelcome interrup- 
 tion. I had breakfasted in a small coffee room and 
 the door was opened and my sister's husband entered. 
 
 He affected extreme surprise on seeing us ; but it 
 was not very well assumed, and did not impose upon 
 me, although it increased my dislike of him and roused 
 my suspicion. 
 
 " My dear Sir Stanley, I did not know you were in 
 Crudenstadt. Alice, Alice, why didn't you tell me ? " 
 and he shook his head at her with an attempt at a 
 roguish expression, while he held out his hand to me. 
 This was not at all like his usual conduct, for he was 
 of the order of solemn fools, and waggishness sat ill 
 upon him. 
 
 I made a show of cordiality, however, and as we 
 talked for a few minutes, he explained with a great 
 deal of overcarefulness, that he had come to the hotel 
 to meet a man about a horse. Then he pressed me 
 not to think of leaving Crudenstadt without going to 
 their house, and imitating his humbug I promised to 
 dine with them that day. 
 
 He stayed about a quarter of an hour and with 
 quite needlessly profuse expressions of cordiality 
 shook hands and left with Alice, whose face was a 
 study of genuine perplexity. 
 
 That his visit was an accident I wished to persuade 
 myself, but could not ; although I did not then see its 
 object But as the time was slipping away fast, I let 
 them get away and started for Stein's house, taking 
 care to see that I was not followed from the hotel. 
 
 I found Celia bright and cheerful as ever. She had 
 already made captives of everyone in the small Stein
 
 282 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 household and received me with such a flush of wel- 
 come that the Steins' daughter smiled significantly as 
 she left us and closed the door. 
 
 " Good-morning, guardian," said Celia, putting both 
 her hands into mine. 
 
 " Good-morning, ward," I returned, drawing her 
 toward me,, 
 
 " That smile isn't quite as free as I should wish, 
 Not more troubles, already, surely ? " and her bright 
 eyes searched my face shrewdly. 
 
 " No, not troubles. We are together again," and at 
 that she let me kiss her and kissed me in return. 
 
 " Are you very glad, Stanley ? I am oh, so glad. 
 I think I am about the happiest girl alive." Then 
 after a pause a very sweet pause it was too she 
 looked up and added : " Was there ever such an en- 
 ergetic man in the world before as that Stein ? Do 
 you know I'm ready to start ; have been ready an hour 
 or more. His wife and I last night made out a list of 
 the things I should want for my journey, and the two 
 of them were away early this morning and everything 
 was here ready packed when I came down for break 
 fast." 
 
 " Good. I had plenty of proofs of his energy yes- 
 terday. Where is he ? " 
 
 " Doing something of course. He simply cannot be 
 still. But tell me, you looked worried when you came 
 in ; why ? " 
 
 "Nothing; at least, I think it's nothing;" and I 
 told her briefly about the incident of the previous 
 night and of my brother-in-law's visit that morning ; 
 and there seemed so little in both matters and such a 
 remote chance of their being in any way connected
 
 NET MAKING AND NET BREAKING 283 
 
 that we laughed at it all. We were together, and it 
 was easy to laugh at things then. 
 
 I told her next my plan for our journey, and while 
 we were discussing it with delightful little interludes 
 of laughter and confidences, Stein arrived. I told him 
 and he readily agreed to go with Celia for the first part 
 of the journey. Then I asked him if he had seen any- 
 thing of Wilson and laughingly told him of my omis- 
 sion to tell Wilson in what name to ask for me at-the 
 hotel and what had occurred in consequence. 
 
 But he saw no reason for laughter in it. On the 
 contrary he looked unusually grave. 
 
 " Will you describe that officer to me ? " I gave him 
 the closest description I could, and he nodded his head 
 sagaciously. " I don't wish to alarm you, Sir Stanley, 
 but he is a very shrewd man and a positive sleuth- 
 hound on a trail. I saw him this morning in close con- 
 ference with Major von Haussmann." 
 
 "The deuce you did," I cried, taking alarm instantly. 
 "When?" 
 
 "When I was out with my wife making the few pur- 
 chases for the journey. It would be before his visit to 
 you. And then, where is Wilson ? I don't like the 
 look of it. I think I can see what it means. That 
 question of Wilson's last night set Grobler that's his 
 name thinking. Hewould-go to the Sonne and find 
 out that you had a servant there and his name. A couple 
 of questions would then get him your description at 
 the Rheinhof, and you would be instantly recognised. 
 But he does nothing for the moment, you say ? Why? 
 The, reason is plain. It is no longer Mr. Stanhope he 
 suspects, but Sir Stanley Meredith ; and off he goes to 
 the man of all others in Crudenstadt, your sister's hus-
 
 284 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 band, who can describe you best. The Major is de- 
 voted to the Duke's interest, and what is easier than for 
 him to have an appointment at the Rheinhof about a 
 horse, and for a clumsy waiter to show him into the 
 wrong room, where you are breakfasting?" 
 
 " By Jove, it never struck me," I said, in surprise at 
 the manner in which he pieced things together. " At 
 any rate I have got away and no one followed me ; and 
 they won't see me back again," and Celia whose face 
 had worn an expression of concern, smiled. 
 
 " Wait a moment, let us think, let us think. Was 
 there any need to follow you ? Who called to see you 
 at your hotel yesterday ? Stein. Who was twice at 
 the Major's house yesterday ? Stein. Who went 
 there straight from you and came back straight to 
 you? Stein. Who hired horses for you when you 
 went out of town yesterday ? Stein. Who went with 
 you in the carriage ? Stein. What business was it 
 likely to be that took you out of town in hot haste ? 
 The same that had taken you to Mempach the res- 
 cue of this beautiful young lady. Who was with you 
 in that business? Stein. All facts point to Stein. And 
 Grobler can read facts as fast as you and I can read a 
 book. What would be easier than for him to make half 
 a dozen inquiries and find out when and with whom, 
 Stein came home last night. While we were asleep, 
 Sir Stanley, Grobler was at work net making ; and the 
 question is whether we can even now creep through any 
 of the meshes." 
 
 As he rattled off these points one by one in a quick 
 jerky question and answer form, I felt my heart sink 
 lower and lower as each further point of confirmation 
 was scored.
 
 NET MAKING AND NET BREAKING 285 
 
 Even Celia sighed disconsolately. 
 
 " It may not be so bad as that," said Stein quickly, 
 as if her little sigh of sorrow had touched him closely. 
 " Wait, I have an idea. Grobler is clever, cunning, far- 
 seeing but he cannot see everything. If I understand 
 your plans, the thing you wish above all others is that 
 this young lady shall get safely to England." 
 
 " Yes," I assented eagerly. 
 
 " Well, then, you cannot go together. Can you send 
 for any one to fetch her, and will you trust her to my 
 wife to take her to some town out of the Duchy until 
 your friends can arrive ? " Celia's face clouded. 
 
 " It will be best, Celia," I said. 
 
 " I am not afraid to stay here ; but I will go if you 
 wish." 
 
 " Then listen, please," cried Stein, quickly. " We 
 must not lose an hour. At present Grobler knows 
 probably that you are both in this house at this moment 
 and reckons you will try to go to England together. 
 Grobler has a weakness. He loves sensation. It is 
 his one great fault. He would love to wait until you 
 are on the eve of departure at the very station where 
 there would be a crowd to see him stop you, so that 
 people should exclaim : ' That is Grobler's work again. 
 A great man, Grobler. A smart man, Grobler ! ' He 
 would infinitely rather do that than just come here and 
 fetch you. Now, he knows from your brother-in-law 
 that you have no friends here in Crudenstadt who will 
 help you in such a matter ; he has placed your servant 
 for the moment in safe keeping ; there remains only 
 who ? Stein. He thinks nothing of Frau Stein. Frau 
 Stein shall take charge of this precious young lady, there- 
 fore ; Stein himself will walk about the streets, will go
 
 286 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 to the railway station to make inquiries, will be a fool, in- 
 deed, and you, Sir Stanley, will go back to your hotel ; 
 or you will go to your sister's house to dinner as you 
 arranged ; and will make no effort to leave the town. 
 Grobler will thus have an eye on the two people who 
 he thinks are essential, and Frau Stein will just take a 
 quiet country jaunt with a young, very plainly dressed 
 companion." 
 
 " Good, excellent, the very thing," I cried ; but Celia 
 was not by any means so enthusiastic. 
 
 " But they will arrest you, Stanley," she cried in 
 alarm. 
 
 "They will only help him to leave, request him to 
 cross the frontier ; and he may not then be quite so un- 
 willing; " and Stein wasted two seconds to chuckle and 
 rub his hands. " But this would not be possible if it 
 were not for one trifle that Grobler does not know, 
 and trifles are everything in this world. There are two 
 ways of getting out of this house. The door by which 
 we all came in, and a back way that no one ever uses. 
 I am sorry to give the secret away, for one never knows 
 the use to which one might wish to put it." 
 
 " Couldn't we both use it ? " cried Celia, quickly. 
 
 " No, my dear young lady ; no. Grobler would never 
 let you get away from Crudenstadt at all, if Sir Stanley 
 did not help to shut his eyes by showing himself freely. 
 Will you please be ready in five minutes, and write 
 out the telegram which is to hurry your friends from 
 England. I will prepare the good wife." . 
 
 Poor Celia. She was quite woebegone and down- 
 cast at the prospect of this fresh parting, and her eyes 
 and face were sad as she asked, putting her hands in 
 mine :
 
 NET MAKING AND NET BREAKING 287 
 
 " You think this is really necessary ? " 
 
 " It seems the only way, sweetheart. It is a heavy 
 price to pay for just one small slip of not giving Wilson 
 the name of Blyth. But it can't be for long." 
 
 " Any time will be long that we are kept apart," she 
 cried disconsolately. 
 
 " You trust these people ? " I asked. 
 
 " Oh, yes. I am sure they are sincere. But I'd 
 much rather stay with you, come what may. They 
 can't force me to do any thing I don't want to do. 
 Even the Duke himself could not." 
 
 " We can fight that much better from England," 
 said I. " Come, let us draft the telegram. There's no 
 need to tell you to be brave, for you're always brave. 
 I'll wire that Blossom and Aunt Margaret shall come 
 to fetch you ; " and I sketched out a telegram very 
 urgent in its terms to that effect. 
 
 " I shall eat my heart out thinking what's happening 
 to you." 
 
 " We'll arrange to let you hear everything. Stein 
 and his wife can easily communicate with each other." 
 
 " I would give the world not to go," she said, im- 
 petuously. " I am very nearly as much a rebel as I 
 was once before." Knowing her heart, I loved her 
 the more for her words; but I urged her none the less 
 to go. 
 
 Then Stein came in. He had seemingly trained his 
 wife in his own methods to be ready to go to the 
 world's end if need be at five minutes' notice for he 
 said she was waiting for Celia to go and change in 
 readiness. 
 
 While she was away I gave Stein money sufficient 
 for the purposes of the journey and told him to arrange
 
 288 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 for communication to pass between him and his wife ; 
 and when Celia came back, he left us just half a minute 
 to ourselves. 
 
 She was dressed in a sober, fashionless style, like a 
 country girl, and carried a sort of provision basket. 
 She dropped me a curtsey and with a laughing glance, 
 for all her trouble, she put her free arm akimbo and 
 said : 
 
 " Aunt is waiting for me, if you please. Shall I do, 
 sir?" 
 
 " God bless you, my darling," I cried, as I put my 
 arms about her, and drew her face to mine. 
 
 " These rustic embraces are very rough," she laughed, 
 though I could see the tears were very close to her 
 eyes. " I've dropped my basket." 
 
 "They must go now, please," said Stein, putting his 
 head in at the door. 
 
 Our hands met then in a firm clasp, and for the mo- 
 ment Celia had to fight not to give way. 
 
 " Good-bye, dearest," I whispered. 
 
 " It is very hard," she cried ; and then forced up a 
 laugh. " Not good-bye, auf Wiedersehen, Stanley," 
 and she threw me a kiss and was gone. 
 
 " Stand by the window, Sir Stanley, if you will, 
 please, and appear to be talking to some one, while I 
 get them out. There may be some one watching." 
 
 And thus, after Celia had left me, I had to stand 
 mumming at the window in make-believe, while my 
 heart was torn by anxiety and the pain of parting. 
 But, after all, that is only life in miniature.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE NET PROVES ITS STRENGTH 
 
 STEIN was a born stage manager lost to the profes- 
 sion. Even details did not escape him. 
 
 He came hurrying back to me after I had been car- 
 rying on my dumb show to an imaginary audience for 
 some minutes, and had a fresh idea. He had seen his 
 wife and Celia leave the house safely and his new idea 
 was a sensational exit for me. 
 
 " I want you to leave the house hurriedly with some 
 signs of excitement as if you had forgotten something 
 very important. Walk half the length of the street 
 then clap your hand to your pocket, look about you 
 and come rushing back ; and then dart off quicker than 
 ever." 
 
 " I don't quite see the 
 
 " We'll put Grobler's men off the scent, if they are 
 watching," he interposed, " I want you to make them 
 think something important takes you away from the 
 house and that you're coming back." He was very 
 much in earnest, but I had had enough of the mum- 
 ming and told him I would rather he took up that role ; 
 that I would stay where I was so long as he pleased, 
 and would then prefer to make a less picturesque exit. 
 He was disappointed in me I think ; but did not quite 
 appreciate how very anxious my doubts on Celia's 
 account made me. 
 
 I stayed while he told me more in detail the arrange- 
 
 289
 
 290 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 ments for Celia's escape that she was to leave the 
 town by a conveyance that was half carrier's cart and 
 half omnibus, and would take the train from a station 
 some miles out, and would make for Meeren a large 
 town some twenty miles on the other side of the Saxe- 
 Lippe frontier. From Meeren the telegram would be 
 sent to London. 
 
 The picture of Celia riding with a lot of peasants in 
 such a conveyance was not fascinating, and I thought 
 a little more train and a good deal less carrier's cart 
 would have been an improvement : but the thing was 
 done, and Stein was so proud of his astuteness that I 
 kept my criticism to myself and contented myself with 
 thanking him for his really invaluable help. 
 
 I was not a little curious as to the probable develop- 
 ments of the plan in regard to myself, and when I left 
 Stein's and went back to my hotel, I kept a sharp eye 
 for signs of any change. 
 
 I noticed only one thing. When I reached my hotel 
 the great Grobler for whose astuteness I had now a 
 much deeper respect, was sitting at the same table 
 where I had seen him on the previous night ; but al- 
 though I passed quite close to him he did not appear 
 to see me. As I was now not at all disinclined to be 
 seen, and purposely stopped close to his table, this sur- 
 prised me. Either his shrewdness had been a great 
 deal exaggerated, or he had some further design in 
 taking no notice of me. 
 
 The hotel proprietor's manner was a little strange 
 when I asked for him and said I was leaving that even- 
 ing and wished my bill made out. 
 
 " Mr. Mr. Blyth, I think ? " he said, insinuatingly. 
 
 " Yes, Blyth ; " and I spelt it.
 
 THE NET PROVES ITS STRENGTH 291 
 
 " Thank you, thank you," he returned with need- 
 lessly profuse gratitude and a queer sharp look that 
 amused me. I went up to my room then and made a 
 little discovery. In my hurry in the morning I had 
 left a handkerchief unpacked, and it was now laid on 
 one of my bags with the mark of my name in full, 
 " Meredith," left in open view. 
 
 I could afford to laugh at this now, but it might have 
 been a serious matter enough if Celiahad not been safe. 
 I thrust it into the bag, understanding the possible ex- 
 planation of the landlord's queer look. 
 
 I went out then resolved to show myself openly in 
 the streets of Crudenstadt and give my friend Grobler 
 the opportunity of making his public arrest : and I 
 found what a vastly different matter an arrest is accord- 
 ing to the point of view from which it is regarded. An 
 hour or two before, I had been on tenterhooks of anx- 
 ious suspense, seeing an enemy in every man who looked 
 at me ; whereas now I was positively anxious to be 
 stopped, questioned, and carried off to the minister. 
 The sooner I was arrested, the sooner I should be out 
 of Crudenstadt. 
 
 But nothing occurred, and I walked about in the 
 most conspicuous and public parts of the city until it 
 was time to go to my sister's for dinner. Still nothing 
 occurred ; and at last even this began to get on my 
 nerves. It must portend something untoward, I 
 thought, the surface was so smooth that devilment 
 must be at work below ; and I was disposed to fret and 
 worry because no one took any hostile notice of me. 
 
 At my sister's house I found some satisfaction, how- 
 ever. Her husband was profusely astonished to see me ; 
 and his effort at dissimulation was no more successful
 
 2 9 2 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 than his attempt at simulation had been in the morn- 
 ing. 
 
 " This is good indeed, Sir Stanley, very good," was 
 all he could say. 
 
 " I accepted your invitation, my dear fellow, what 
 else could I do but come and dine therefore ? " I re- 
 plied, quietly. 
 
 " Of course, yes, of course. We expected you, nat- 
 urally." 
 
 " I can see that," I said, drily. 
 
 " You are making a stay then in Crudenstadt ? " 
 
 " No, I am going to London to-night." What a lux- 
 ury it was to be able to tell the truth once more with- 
 out fear of complications. 
 
 " To London ! Oh yes, of course, you would go 
 there ; " which meant in plainer terms that he did not 
 believe me. Alice came in at that moment, and the 
 truth of his protestation about having expected me was 
 soon apparent. 
 
 " Why, Stanley, you're the last person on earth we 
 expected to see. We never dreamt for a moment you 
 were coming." 
 
 " So the Major implied in a way," I laughed and 
 quite enjoyed his blush of annoyance and confusion. 
 " Tell me candidly," 1 said to him pointedly, " where 
 did you think I was ? Locked up ? " 
 
 " I don't know anything about it," he answered most 
 ungraciously. His temper was very short. 
 
 " If it weren't ridiculous, one could almost think I 
 had hit the bull's eye and that you had had a hand in 
 it," I answered. " Did you meet that man about that 
 horse, by the way, at the Rheinhof?" Alice's face 
 clouded, and she threw me a look of warning.
 
 THE NET PROVES ITS STRENGTH 293 
 
 " I don't know what you mean." His tone was more 
 surly than before. 
 
 " Oh yes, you must. It is one of Grobler's horses 
 you are after ? I suppose you arranged it, when he 
 called last night. I thought perhaps that having set- 
 tled terms over night you were to call at the hotel this 
 morning to see the horse just for formal purposes of 
 identification ; " and I looked at him meaningly. I 
 was enjoying the scene, but he had lost his temper com- 
 pletely and at my last thrust he bit his lip and being 
 very dull of sense could only growl out : 
 
 " I don't understand you at all." 
 
 " Grobler of the police, I mean," I said airily. " He 
 came to see you last night, you were with him again 
 this morning before you came to my hotel, and after- 
 wards also ; you came, you said, about a horse ; and I 
 took it for granted that the transaction which brought 
 you to me was connected with Grobler. Surely I wasn't 
 wrong. Horses, among other things, are to be found 
 at hotels. What was the name of the horse you were 
 after? Blyth ? " 
 
 " Are you trying to poke your fun at me? " he stut- 
 tered furiously. 
 
 " My good fellow, certainly not. Fun's the last name 
 I should give to any horsey transaction of that kind," 
 and I smiled very drily, as I added : " Only as I am a 
 pretty good judge of horseflesh that kind of horse- 
 flesh you know I think you should have been candid 
 with me and told me the whole transaction." With 
 that I turned to Alice : " What a glorious day it's been, 
 and how the poor devils under arrest must lament their 
 imprisonment in such weather. But my brother-in- 
 law would hear no more and bolted out of the room
 
 294 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 with an explosion of German oaths of the most florid 
 character. 
 
 " What does it all mean, Stanley ? " cried Alice anx- 
 iously. 
 
 " Apparently that the Major has not come out of 
 that horse transaction of his with quite the satisfaction 
 he anticipated, but you must get the details from him. 
 It means also, I think, that I'd better dine at my hotel 
 after all. I'm not good for the Major's digestion ; " and 
 though she pressed me, I would not discuss the matter 
 further. I told her of my intention to leave Cruden- 
 stadt that evening and bade her good-bye. 
 
 A glance at my watch as I walked back to my hotel 
 raised my spirits. Celia must be well across the front- 
 ier and already approaching Meeren, and I sat down 
 to my dinner with an excellent appetite. 
 
 Matters had after all gone better than could have 
 been anticipated, and I reckoned that if I were allowed 
 to leave Crudenstadt without interference that evening, 
 I could easily make my way to Meeren and to Celia by 
 the following morning. I was half disposed to regret, 
 indeed, that we had planned to wire for my aunt to 
 come out and meet her. If I got away, there would 
 be no need for any such steps ; and I was considering 
 the advisability of sending a telegram on my own ac- 
 count to stop her, when the move for which I had 
 been waiting all day was opened against me. 
 
 The redoubtable Grobler was ushered in by a waiter, 
 and came across to my table. 
 
 " Permit me to take a chair here," he said, with a 
 very suave bow. " I wish to have a word with you." 
 
 " Certainly, I am quite at your service. Will you 
 join me in a glass of champagne? Herr Grobler, I
 
 THE NET PROVES ITS STRENGTH 295 
 
 think." Ifhe.could be polite, so could I. I had beaten 
 him so completely that I should have been a churl not 
 to be courteous. His glass was filled and we clinked 
 in the most approved Saxe-Lippe fashion and drank 
 each other's good health. 
 
 " I had the pleasure of meeting you at Mempach," 
 he began. 
 
 " And I owe you an apology for disappointing you 
 at breakfast there. But in truth I found it necessary 
 to hurry on to Crudenstadt. Pray pardon me." 
 
 " You were then Mr. Stanhope, I think you said." 
 
 " You scarcely caught the name right. I may have 
 mumbled it in the confusion of the moment, for of 
 course I didn't know your friendly intentions. Stanley, 
 I should have said, Stanley Meredith." 
 
 " And here ? " 
 
 " Ah, this was a formality necessary to the occasion. 
 We English often find our titles embarrassing and 
 travel incognito. A very thin incognito, of course, for 
 even our linen generally bears our full name. But 
 these little private affairs are not serious. For all of- 
 ficial purposes, of course, and to all high officials like 
 yourself, when we know who you are, we make our- 
 selves quite known. I am Sir Stanley Meredith." He 
 laughed at my airily given explanation. 
 
 " Young ladies will produce more serious conse- 
 quences and stranger changes than that," he said. " But 
 as a matter of fact I was looking for you in your real 
 character when I met you at Mempach." 
 
 " What a thousand pities you did not say so ! " I 
 exclaimed. 
 
 " I had a message for you and was anxious to deliver 
 
 it."
 
 296 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Better late than never, after all. CanI hear it now." 
 
 " Well, not exactly, but I have something more 
 urgent than a message now. I have a request, some- 
 what urgently worded, that you accompany me to the 
 Minister, General von Eckerstein." 
 
 " I shall be delighted. He is a most charming man. 
 May 1 fill your glass again ? No ? Well, I have finished 
 dinner, shall we go at once ? " and I rose. " By the 
 way, shall I tell them here what time to expect my 
 return? " I asked, as if indifferently. 
 
 " It might be superfluous," he answered, with a 
 glance and a shrug of the shoulders ; and with this 
 vague insinuation we left. He had a carriage at the 
 door and in a few minutes, during which we discussed 
 such matters as the weather, we were over at the Min- 
 ister's. I was absolutely confident of course. I had 
 done nothing except resort to an incognito and fool my 
 companions that morning at Mempach, and all that 
 could happen would be my expulsion from the Duchy. 
 
 The old Minister had obviously been waiting for me. 
 I was shown in at once while Grobler waited in another 
 room. 
 
 " You have given me a good deal of trouble, Sir 
 Stanley," began the General. 
 
 " I am sorry for that, your Excellency, but I fear it 
 was unavoidable." 
 
 "You don't appear to regret it, I think, judging by 
 your voice. Will you be good enough to give me an 
 account of your actions during the past two or three 
 days since I saw you, in fact." 
 
 " I think your Excellency's agents have somewhat 
 anticipated any such recital. Wouldn't it be a little 
 superfluous ? " It was a somewhat bold line to take,
 
 THE NET PROVES ITS STRENGTH 297 
 
 and he frowned and raised his eyebrows, heavy, hang- 
 ing, irregular brows they were, capable of expressing 
 much. 
 
 " You would rather not ? " 
 
 " I would rather write such a statement. I could 
 marshall the facts and apportion the details more ac- 
 curately. I shall be very pleased to send such a state- 
 ment." 
 
 " Send ? " and he shot a look at me. 
 
 " Send from any place to which you may decide 
 for me to go." For just a second there was a slight 
 relaxation of the t'ght thin lips. 
 
 " Would you do this from England ? It is very im- 
 portant." I started and then tried all I could to keep 
 the satisfaction out of my face. 
 
 " Your Excellency is not going to carry out your 
 former threat of expulsion?" 
 
 " It is very desirable that you should leave, but not 
 perhaps absolutely essential. I don't propose to deal 
 at all harshly with you. I should like you to think I 
 am rather sorry for you than otherwise. I am not 
 bitter. What are your plans ? " 
 
 " Before coming to you now, I had decided to return 
 
 to England, to London, to-night, but " I stopped and 
 
 with a gesture left him to understand I was at his be- 
 stowal. 
 
 " You think I may interfere with your plans ? " 
 
 " I've known such things happen," said I. 
 He paused and seemed to be thinking very busily. 
 
 " I don't think I need interfere with your arrange- 
 ments. I suppose you have your reasons for this 
 change. You seem now almost as ready to go away 
 as formerly you were eager to stay. Why is that ? "
 
 298 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " The urgency of my private affairs ; " I answered 
 promptly. 
 
 " Have you had any training in the diplomatic serv- 
 ice, Sir Stanley ? " he asked, as gravely as if it were a 
 crucial point in the issue. 
 
 " Regrettably no ; or my answers might not be so 
 plain, simple, and direct." I gave the answer in atone 
 quite as sober as his own ; and his eyes seemed to smile 
 at it, although his features were as placid as before. 
 
 " I don't think I need detain you any longer then. 
 You will pledge me your word, that will be quite suf- 
 ficient, that you will leave Crudenstadt to-night, go 
 straight out of the Duchy, and across the frontier for, 
 say, a twelvemonth." 
 
 I was about to give the pledge congratulating my- 
 self hugely upon the course matters had taken, when 
 some instinctive prompting of caution made me pause. 
 I think it was no more than a glance of his keen eyes 
 and a sharpening of his voice suggestive of eagerness ; 
 the recollection of my sister's phrase that the General 
 always got his way came to me. 
 
 " Is such a pledge necessary, your Excellency? It 
 is not exactly a pleasant feeling to be treated as though 
 one had committed some heinous offence requiring one 
 to be warned off a certain country." 
 
 " Don't take it too seriously, Sir Stanley. I don't 
 suggest it in any offensive sense. Not for a moment. 
 But you have given us a good deal of trouble, and if I 
 look on you as a sort of formidable firebrand, it's rather 
 a compliment to your energy and influence." 
 
 " Such a compliment is of course very flattering," 
 said I, blandly, " and you will therefore be glad that in 
 any case I am leaving to-night ; " I liked the matter
 
 THE NET PROVES ITS STRENGTH 299 
 
 less the more he pressed it. " In the ordinary course 
 of things I shall not return. I would rather leave 
 it there." 
 
 " Isn't it a simpler matter for you to give me your 
 word than that we should have to instruct our agents 
 to watch for you and prevent your return and to start 
 all the worries incidental to making it an official affair ? 
 Surely, it is not much to ask, Sir Stanley." 
 
 " It is more than I can see my way to grant, your 
 Excellency." I spoke firmly, for I had now made up 
 my mind. He was vexed at the refusal, and sat think- 
 ing some moments. 
 
 " I think you are a little unreasonable ; but I don't 
 know that your movements are now of so much im- 
 portance that I need press the point. At any rate 
 you are leaving to-night ? " and he looked for my 
 assent. 
 
 " Yes, I told you that was my intention." The ex- 
 pression in his eyes changed and he regarded me very 
 intently, and then speaking with greater deliberation 
 than ever, said : 
 
 " That ' was ' has a doubtful sound in my ear. I be- 
 gin to be half afraid we are going to cross swords 
 again, Sir Stanley, and I dislike nothing more than 
 fighting a once-defeated antagonist. Why not accept 
 defeat, give me the promise I ask, and leave Cruden- 
 stadt? Believe me, I have none but friendly feelings 
 for you." 
 
 14 I .am leaving to-night," I repeated, but his change 
 of manner chilled me. 
 
 "For London direct? You will not travel by 
 Meeren? " 
 
 " I shall travel by the most convenient route. Why
 
 300 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 Meeren ? " I tried to ask the question lightly, but the 
 words almost stuck in my throat. 
 
 " Because of a telegram that was to have been sent 
 from there, but was not ; " and he laid before me the 
 draft of the telegram I had handed to Celia. 
 
 I stared at it in dumb dismay. Try as I would, the 
 shock of failure, the ruin of my hopes, the absolute 
 overthrow of my plans, completely undid me. From 
 the lofty pinnacle of victorious confidence, I fell in a 
 second to the lowest depths of humiliated defeat ; and 
 the fall left me stunned beyond even the power of pro- 
 test. I know that I changed colour and could feel 
 myself trembling. 
 
 My antagonist was more merciful than I had ex- 
 pected. While I was lying amid the ruins of cherished 
 desires and suffering the pangs inseparable from such a 
 blow, he turned to his table and busied himself with 
 some papers, thus giving me time to collect my self- 
 possession. 
 
 It was the hardest stroke I had ever endured, and 
 perhaps it was unmanly to show such weakness and not 
 to be able to face it with a smile and a shrug of the 
 shoulders ; but I could not ; and it must have been a 
 minute or two it seemed an hour to me before I 
 could rally my wits. 
 
 " This has hit you very hard, Sir Stanley," said the 
 old man, " and I am honestly sorry to have had to 
 cause you this pain. I had intended to let you leave 
 Crudenstadt in ignorance of it, and send the news after 
 you. But it seemed doubtful whether you were really 
 going, and hence this " and he pointed to the paper. 
 
 " Will you tell me what has happened?" 
 
 " Yes, we got wind of the fact that the young
 
 THE NET PROVES ITS STRENGTH 301 
 
 Duchess was again with you, and you were closely 
 watched, with the result that we traced her to the 
 house of the Stein family, and the rest was easy. That 
 telegram was found on the woman with the young 
 Duchess." 
 
 " Where is Celia now?" 
 
 " I can only answer that she is in quite safe keeping." 
 "And what do you intend to do with me ? " 
 " I intend nothing. I should wish you to be prudent 
 enough to leave Crudenstadt and not return. You can 
 do no good by remaining, and may cause the young 
 Duchess infinite pain. We know that you have done 
 the Duke a great service by tracing and rescuing her 
 from the younger von Kronheim ; and although your 
 motive was no doubt to serve yourself rather than the 
 Duke, we are not indisposed to treat you with every 
 consideration. Now that the young Duchess is with 
 us, your personal movements are not of such impor- 
 tance, and we shall not attempt to interfere with your 
 freedom of action unless, of course, you make it 
 necessary. But I would appeal to your honour, to 
 your chivalry, to your regard for the young Duchess 
 herself, to save her and us from the embarrassment of 
 your continued presence." 
 
 " I am free to leave you now," I asked, rising. I 
 spoke bluntly, ungraciously, for the blow was still 
 unbearable. 
 
 " Certainly, and I hope you will return to say you 
 will take my advice." He held out his hand and I 
 hurried away.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 SCHWARTZ BRINGS STRANGE NEWS 
 
 THE rest of that day I passed in a state of acute de- 
 pression, aggravated with a stinging sense of humil- 
 iation at my failure and intense concern for Celia ; but 
 a night's rest did something to restore the balance of 
 my mind and to arrange the chief facts of the position 
 with some regard to perspective. 
 
 That is to say, I ceased to rail against the fates, my 
 own blindness, Grobler's acumen, which I now respect- 
 fully appreciated and the iniquitous tyranny of the 
 authorities of Saxc-Lippe ; and instead of that began 
 once more to speculate whether and how I could, after 
 all, outwit them and get Celia out of their hands. 
 
 For one thing, I threw off all attempts at disguise. 
 I removed to the best hotel and took rooms in my own 
 name for myself and Wilson, who rejoined me that 
 evening. I saw Stein, heard from him the story of 
 what had occurred. He told me that he had received 
 a very sharp reprimand for his share in the work, and 
 that, although his wife had been released from custody, 
 she had been thoroughly frightened by threats of seri- 
 ous punishment for the attempted abduction of a mem- 
 ber of the reigning family. 
 
 The plucky little man himself was as full of fight as 
 ever ; but I knew he would be a marked man in the 
 future, and thus of no use to me in any further enter- 
 prise, so I thanked him for all he had done, and com- 
 pensated him liberally. 
 302
 
 SCHWARTZ BRINGS STRANGE NEWS 303 
 
 " We made two mistakes, Stein," I said, as he was 
 leaving me. " Both were very slight in themselves, 
 but they ruined everything. I forgot to tell Wilson of 
 the change of name, and so put Grobler on the move ; 
 and you reckoned he did not know there was a second 
 exit from your house. As you said yesterday trifles 
 are everything." 
 
 On the day following my interview with the Minister, 
 I made a long solitary excursion in the mountains that 
 lay to the West of Crudenstadt, and spent the whole 
 day in none too cheerful meditation. I thought long 
 and very earnestly over General von Eckerstein's ap- 
 peal to me to give up Celia and, of course, found 
 many reasons for resolving to do precisely the oppo- 
 site, and to persevere in my quest of her until she 
 herself called a halt. 
 
 I would fight openly, I decided ; openly so far as to 
 leave no room for doubt as to my intentions ; and when 
 I got back to Crudenstadt at night, I. wrote a short note 
 to the Minister telling him that I could not comply 
 with his wishes, and that I should remain in Cruden- 
 stadt. 
 
 " One thing, and one thing only, will cause me to 
 alter my decision," I concluded, "and that is the re- 
 quest from my cousin herself." 
 
 I felt better after I had written and despatched the 
 letter, and could take a much more cheerful view of the 
 situation. Celia was parted from me, it was true but 
 she was not in the hands of either of the von Kron- 
 heims ; she was in no personal danger ; I had un- 
 bounded confidence in her faith ; I knew her heart 
 would not change, and that her high courage would 
 make it exceedingly difficult for the Duke or anyone
 
 304 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 else to coerce her into a marriage. My courage must 
 at least be equal to hers, and we would fight on. Love, 
 patience, courage, persistence, and time, must be valu- 
 able allies in such a contest as ours, let the Court 
 intrigue be what it might. 
 
 On the second day I reached another stage, and 
 began to consider the possibility of getting an inter- 
 view with Celia so strong is the mental resilience of a 
 combination of love and youth. I did not know where 
 she was, of course, but I should find that out ; and I 
 saw that my best course would be to maintain an abso- 
 lutely correct social attitude, to make as many friends 
 among the Crudenstadt notabilities as possible, and 
 then push my inquiries and efforts. I went to my 
 sister's house, therefore, patched up a peace with her 
 husband, announced my intention of remaining some 
 time in the capital, and told Alice I wished to know 
 people. 
 
 In three days my plans were beginning to get into 
 shape, and I was preparing for a long siege, when they 
 were once more changed, and the thin veneer of hope 
 with which I had endeavoured to cover over the solid 
 substance of my difficulties, was deepened and thick- 
 ened once again into the glorious confidence of assured 
 success. 
 
 The cause was a visit from Schwartz. I was told at 
 my hotel that some one was waiting to see me who 
 would not give his name. I told them to let Wilson 
 see him ; but Wilson was out, and with the waiter who 
 came back to tell me this came also Schwartz. 
 
 " I did not give my name, Sir Stanley, for fear you- 
 would refuse to see me, and I must see you, 
 sir."
 
 SCHWARTZ BRINGS STRANGE NEWS 305 
 
 " You run a perilous risk of a thrashing by pressing 
 yourself on me in this way," I cried, angrily, when the 
 waiter had left us. " I have nothing to say to you ; 
 and you'd better go lest the temptation to punish you 
 passes bounds. You're an infernal scoundrel ! " 
 
 " There's a plot, sir, and you ought to know it," he 
 said, keeping a wary eye on me and obviously afraid 
 for his skin. 
 
 " I've had more than enough of you and your plot- 
 tings, and want nothing more to do with you." 
 
 " It's about Miss Celia, sir, and Miss Katrine ; and 
 the reason why you were allowed to bring Miss Celia 
 away." I couldn't help being interested in this, but 
 my contempt for the fellow was so intense I could 
 scarcely look at him and keep my temper." 
 
 " I don't want to hear a word of it," I said. " Carry 
 your wares to some other market ; I don't want to buy 
 them or have anything more to do with a rascal who 
 deceived me as you did." He stood wringing his 
 hands in dismay. 
 
 " I'm not trying to sell the information, Sir Stanley. 
 But it affects Miss Celia so closely that heaven only 
 knows what mischief may follow if something isn't 
 done. Miss Celia isn't the Duke's daughter at all, Sir 
 Stanley," he said, lowering his voice. " It's Miss 
 Katrine ; and the Count found it out and let you get away 
 with Miss Celia, in the hope you'd be able to carry her 
 out of the Duchy. Oh, I don't know what I ought to 
 do ! " And Schwartz, who was usually very reserved 
 and taciturn, was almost as agitated and disturbed as 
 an hysterical woman. 
 
 " Shake your wits together, man ! " I cried, sharply. 
 "Is this true? Do you know what you're saying?'* 
 20
 
 3 o6 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 There was no longer any thought of not listening to 
 him, I was wild to hear every word he had to say. 
 
 "May I sit down, Sir Stanley?" He was shaking 
 like a leaf. 
 
 " Yes, of course you can ; " and I rang for a waiter 
 and ordered a bottle of champagne and gave Schwartz 
 a tumblerful. Now, just tell me things in proper 
 order," I said, when I saw the wine had pulled him 
 together. 
 
 " It's all perfectly true, Sir Stanley. I saw some- 
 thing was in the wind some days ago, but only knew 
 the truth yesterday, and got away as soon as I could 
 to find you. I've been shamefully treated because I 
 interfered to prevent your bringing Miss Celia away ; 
 and I'm ill with it. I'm too old to stand it now." 
 
 " Well, well ; tell me the facts," said I, for he was 
 beginning to tremble again. He made a big effort 
 and then gave me an account of what had occurred. 
 And a wild and singular story it was. 
 
 An old woman named Barle, who was in the Baroness 
 Borgen's service, had made a confession to the effect 
 that Katrine and not Celia was the daughter of the 
 Duchess Marie. According to Schwartz, the woman 
 had been in the service of the Duchess Marie at the 
 time Celia was born, and the child was entrusted to 
 her care. Her sister had been in the Baroness Borgen's 
 service ; and, when all the Crudenstadt Court was ring- 
 ing with the scandal about the Duchess and my uncle, 
 these two women had conceived the wild idea of saving 
 the Duchess's child from the fate which, in the com- 
 mon belief awaited her, by changing the two children. 
 An opportunity had been found without difficulty. 
 The two babies were sufficiently alike in colouring to
 
 SCHWARTZ BRINGS STRANGE NEWS 307 
 
 make the exchange possible, and there was, in fact, no 
 one to discover or even suspect the change that had 
 been made. 
 
 Soon after that Bade had found means to get taken 
 into the Baroness's service, so that she might have 
 charge of the child and watch over her. She had re- 
 mained with her ever since, keeping her extraordinary 
 secret, and believing that she had saved the child's life; 
 for, when my uncle had brought away the other child so 
 mysteriously, all Crudenstadt believed that in his jealous 
 madness the Duke had caused her to be put to death. 
 
 That belief had sealed the women's lips, partly from , 
 fear that they would be desperately punished if the 
 fraud were found out, and partly because of their con- 
 viction that, if the Duke found his child to be still 
 living, he would kill her as they believed he had killed 
 the other. 
 
 Thus the news that the supposed Celia was alive 
 had plunged the old nurse into a condition of the 
 wildest perplexity and embarrassment until she had 
 been driven to make the confession. Her object was 
 no friendliness or even remorse for what she had done. 
 It was her intense devotion to Katrine, and the fear 
 that if she kept silence any longer, Katrine would be 
 deprived of her rightful position and her place be taken 
 by another. 
 
 " Do you believe this, Schwartz ? " I asked him, at 
 the close. 
 
 " Count von Kronheim has sifted it, Sir Stanley, 
 and declares there is no room for doubt. The old 
 nurse, Barle, has been careful to get together as many 
 proofs as possible of the truth of the tale. Her sister 
 has been found and admits everything."
 
 308 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 The story staggered me with its wild, sensational ex- 
 travagance. Could it possibly be true? If true, with 
 what relentless coincidence had Fate worked out the 
 lives of mother and daughter, wrecking each in the mad 
 maelstrom of love passion. Katrine's frenzied love 
 for von Kronheim was a grim companion picture to 
 the fatal love which had broken her mother's life and 
 destroyed her reason. 
 
 And how pitilessly had their own ill deeds worked 
 out the tangle and ruin of their lives. The very 
 man whose ambitious brain would have led him to seek 
 out Katrine from all the world as his wife had ruined 
 her and threatened to cast her off with all the slights 
 of contemptuous contumely. 
 
 The mother, too, in the blind, egoistic, selfish craving 
 to restore her own tarnished honour, had connived with 
 this heartless rascal to plunge her own daughter deeper 
 down into the mire of dishonoured neglect and dis- 
 grace. It was indeed a tangled skein which the 
 wretched old crones had woven for the undoing of the 
 child whom they had meant to save. 
 
 But it was not the eccentric, squalid muddle pro- 
 duced by the attempt to trick destiny away from its 
 appointed track that fascinated me. If the tale were 
 true, the barriers that stood between Celia and myself 
 were swept away and every inducement for others to 
 keep us apart had gone with them. 
 
 " Why have you come to me, Schwartz ? " I asked 
 him after a long pause, for I couldn't understand his 
 object. 
 
 " Because of the Count's new scheme, sir." 
 
 " New scheme ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. What he is aiming to do is to pass off
 
 SCHWARTZ BRINGS STRANGE NEWS 309 
 
 Miss Katrine for Miss Celia, marry her and declare 
 that she was the child entrusted to Sir Henry and that 
 Miss Celia has always been with the Baroness, her 
 mother." 
 
 This was a novel development, indeed. I had not 
 thought of Celia as this blase adventuress's daughter ; 
 and the notion was peculiarly distasteful. 
 
 " He daren't do that, of course. He can't. It's 
 absurd." 
 
 " What he daren't try, no one can say, Sir Stanley, 
 and what he can't do is not much easier to define. 
 But I don't believe that Sir Henry would have allowed 
 such a thing for a moment, even for the Duchess 
 Marie's sake ; and so I came to you." 
 
 " Miss Celia is already in the Duke's hands." 
 
 " The Count does not suspect that. He thinks that 
 she is back in London, and I thought so too, until I 
 heard at Frau von Haussmann's that you were still 
 here, sir. He meant to do this behind your back, Sir 
 Stanley." 
 
 " We will go at once and prepare the way for him 
 then," said I, promptly, " and you shall tell the story 
 as you have told it to me, to the Duke's right hand, 
 General von Eckerstein." 
 
 We drove to the Minister's house, but when I sent 
 in my name he declined at first to see me. Not accept- 
 ing the rebuff I sent a message that my business was 
 very urgent ; but this had no more effect, and his sec- 
 retary asked me politely to put my business in writing, 
 or to tell it to him. 
 
 I thought a moment and then wrote : " I am pre- 
 pared to give up my attempt to marry the Duke's 
 daughter ; " and sent that in under seal. It had the
 
 3 io FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 necessary effect. \Ye were admitted and the General 
 received me with effusive cordiality, but stared hard at 
 Schwartz. 
 
 " I am delighted to get your message, Sir Stanley. 
 Believe me, you have decided as was only possible for 
 a man of honour." 
 
 " There is possibly a misunderstanding," I answered, 
 quietly ; " and before anything else is said, you must 
 hear the story which I have heard within the last 
 hour." 
 
 "This is your handwriting?" and he held out the 
 note. 
 
 " Certainly, but things are not quite what they seem. 
 They are very different, indeed, from what they were 
 when we last met." I explained who Schwartz was 
 and then left him to repeat what he had told me. 
 
 The Minister listened to the long recital with an at- 
 tention that told his deep interest, only interrupting to 
 put a question when any point was not quite clear. 
 He made some notes of the matter and at the end put 
 a further string of sharp, searching questions. 
 
 " This is an old servant of yours, Sir Stanley ? " he 
 asked me, and I read in a moment his suspicion. 
 
 " No. He was my uncle's servant for many years, 
 entirely in his confidence, and after my uncle's death 
 he turned against me and took the side of the Duchess 
 Marie in the matter of my proposed marriage. He 
 was the means of my cousin being removed from my 
 house. From then until now he has been against me. 
 The story has come upon me with the same startling 
 suddenness as upon you. I beg you to understand that." 
 
 His face did not lose the thoughtful, impassive, 
 judicial look it had worn throughout, and I had no
 
 SCHWARTZ BRINGS STRANGE NEWS 311 
 
 indication of his opinion until he said with an air of 
 decision. 
 
 " I will not believe a word of it. Not a word. It 
 comes too late in the day to impose upon me. It is 
 falsehood, warp and web alike." 
 
 " You will at least test the truth of it," I said. 
 
 " It has no truth to test, sir," he answered sharply. 
 
 " You suggest that it is some kind of conspiracy, 
 then ? " 
 
 " I do not suggest anything, Sir Stanley ; that is not 
 my business. I don't care where the tale had its 
 origin, or who dreamed or concocted it. I don't believe 
 it, and don't regard it as worth a minute's serious con- 
 sideration." 
 
 " You will at least tell my cousin what is alleged.'' 
 
 " I do not know your cousin, Sir Stanley. But if you 
 refer to the young Duchess Celia, I shall certainly not 
 disturb her peace of mind by repeating any such fables." 
 
 " You will not find others so readily disposed to be 
 silent," I said with warmth, for his attitude both sur- 
 prised and angered me. But it was a mistaken move, 
 since it showed my anxiety and made me pose as a kind 
 of champion of the truth of the story. 
 
 " You are rather trespassing upon my indulgence, 
 Sir Stanley, and I am very busy," he answered coldly. 
 
 " Celia shall hear of it by some means. I will take 
 care of that," I cried. " You have no right to set 
 yourself up as the sole judge in a matter of this kind 
 and to decide without even investigating a single fact." 
 
 He struck his table bell sharply. 
 
 " I have no wish or intention to stop and wrangle 
 with you, but I warn your Excellency that I will find 
 some higher authority to whom I can appeal."
 
 312 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " Sir Stanley Meredith desires his carriage," he said 
 to the secretary who came in. " I bid you good even- 
 ing, Sir Stanley. You will probably hear from me ;" 
 and with that implied menace I was virtually turned 
 out of his presence. 
 
 But I was very confident none the less and full of 
 fight. I had plenty of ammunition now for the heav- 
 iest guns and it would be my fault if I did not use them 
 with good effect.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 CELIA WRITES 
 
 MY rebuff at the hands of General von Eckerstein 
 did not cause me any very serious apprehension, and the 
 one point that did affect me was the implied threat 
 that he would make me leave the Duchy. This was 
 what he meant, of course, by saying I should probably 
 hear from him. But even on that issue I was quite 
 prepared to fight and to offer a very stubborn resist- 
 ance. 
 
 That he should have peremptorily refused to believe 
 in the strange story which Schwartz had brought was 
 perhaps the only course he could have taken. It had 
 surprised me at first ; but on reflection, I did not see 
 how else he could have acted. Whether he did actu- 
 ally disbelieve it or not, was another matter ; but hav- 
 ing regard to the fact that it spelt disaster to his set 
 plans in regard to the succession, I saw his necessity to 
 make a show of disbelief. 
 
 I felt certain, moreover, that despite his words he 
 would be compelled to investigate it ; and as investiga- 
 tion would necessarily take some little time, I must 
 control my impatience so far as possible. 
 
 True or false, however, Celia and I must regard the 
 story as true, and I must find means to let her know 
 all about it, and must further take action of some kind 
 from my side. 
 
 There were three possible courses for me to adopt.
 
 3H FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 One was to attempt to take proceedings as Celia's 
 guardian to regain possession of my ward ; the second 
 would be to appeal from the Minister's decision to the 
 authorities in Berlin, even to the Emperor himself; 
 and the third was to start a campaign of publicity in 
 the press, beginning with the English papers. 
 
 The position of things in regard to the succession 
 was so delicate and awkward that a vigorous blast of 
 publicity would, I believed, almost certainly blow to the 
 four winds the house of cards scheme which had been 
 constructed over Celia's claims. But there was one most 
 powerful objection to such a course consideration for 
 Celia herself. To have her name placarded all over 
 Europe and her romantic history, with the story of 
 the Duchess's madness and shame, mumbled and 
 mouthed by all the gossipping harpies of a dozen 
 countries was a prospect that appalled me. It might 
 or might not scatter this Saxe-Lippe scheme, but it 
 would make Celia the object of an intolerable blaze of 
 the fierce light of scandal. 
 
 I could use the threat, however, even if I could never 
 make good my words, and use it I would for all it was 
 worth ; and before I had taken any steps I received 
 news which showed me that such a threat would have 
 far greater effect than I had at first anticipated. 
 
 This was from no other source than from Celia her- 
 self; for to my intense delight a packet from her 
 reached me through the agency of my sister. It was 
 a very long letter too long for me to give in full for 
 she was keeping a strict record of all events ; and she 
 sent it me just as it had been written from time to 
 time, with certain additions for my eyes alone. She 
 told me just how she and Frau Stein had been in-
 
 CELIA WRITES 315 
 
 tercepted, and her deep and bitter chagrin in conse- 
 quence. 
 
 "That was nrp chief thought, Stanley. I could 
 scarcely spare even a moment's consideration for the 
 poor frau, who sat in trembling expectation of being 
 hauled off to prison for the rest of her life. Her con- 
 cern was no more for me than was mine for her, and 
 her one exclamation was : ' However will poor Stein 
 manage to live without me ! ' She was not long in 
 suspense, poor soul, for they let her go after giving her 
 such a scolding as one would give in dear old England 
 to a naughty child, and had she been a child in reality 
 she could not have cried more copiously or promised 
 more earnestly not to be naughty again. Poor, honest, 
 homely soul ! invaluable as a domestic machine, but 
 not very brave, 
 
 " Me they treated with the honour due to a notabil- 
 ity in disgrace. I did not cry need I tell you that ? 
 I would not let them see what I felt ; but I thought 
 of you and how you would have had me carry my 
 head high and show the boldest of fronts to the world. 
 I did it. But, ah me, what a crushed heart it was I 
 brought back to Crudenstadt ! so bruised, so sore, so 
 aching, that it seemed to me impossible the officials 
 should not see what a mockery was the smile on my 
 lips and the confidence I strove with all my will to 
 force into my manner. 
 
 " If they could only have seen me later when I was 
 alone, when the acting was over, the gewgaws and dress- 
 ing laid aside, and I was myself, and myself only in the 
 dark hours of that night ! What a miserable little 
 cheat they would have thought me ; what a skeleton 
 coward to have been tricked out in all the fraudulent
 
 316 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 finery and pageant of courage, confidence and pride! 
 Your poor Celia that night was poor indeed, broken, 
 weak and, oh, so desolate ! 
 
 " But that was my hour of weakness, and I was so 
 miserable that I have never had another. I won't 
 have one. I won't let myself give way. Whenever 
 the temptation comes and I think every woman must 
 have known of such temptation when the thought of 
 relying on somebody else instead of on oneself only is 
 the one consolation I just laugh at myself, and put it 
 off. I reflect that by and by when you and I are to- 
 gether I may be as weak as I please, for you will fight 
 my battles, and I shall not need to worry. 
 
 " By all which you will see I am now as confident as 
 ever. Even more confident, perhaps, for I am finding 
 out many things, and among them the extreme dif- 
 ficulties that exist in coercing a wilful young woman 
 even in Court circles. Shall you think me very wicked 
 if I confess that sometimes I have actually enjoyed 
 myself in my new surroundings ? I can see half a 
 frown on that grave face of yours, and I believe I al- 
 most caught the faint echo of a sigh of apprehension 
 as you read that. But you are wrong. It is not that 
 kind of enjoyment. Puzzle that out for yourself, 
 Stanley, and then read on and see the kind of enjoy- 
 ment I do mean. 
 
 " They brought me to a big house in Crudenstadt 
 which I find is the abode of His Excellency, General 
 von Eckerstein. He is the Duke's confidential adviser, 
 I am told and I don't envy the poor Duke in that case. 
 There is a Mrs. Generaf a feeble, querulous invalid 
 amiable by nature, but whose amiability has been un- 
 fortunately spoiled by her husband's immense position
 
 CELIA WRITES 317 
 
 immense in his and her eyes. She would have made 
 a capital wife for him had he remained, say a colonel 
 in a marching regiment, where she would have en- 
 chanted all who came near ; but as her husband seems 
 to be virtual ruler of the Duchy, her health and her 
 limited capacity have proved her undoing. As the 
 General rules the Duke she wants to rule every one 
 else and she does not take kindly to such a little Eng- 
 lish rebel as I am. 
 
 " But there is another rebel in the house the young- 
 est daughter a delightful girl who has become my 
 closest friend, takes the deepest interest in me, has 
 heard from her unwary mother all about a 'dreadful 
 Englishman named Meredith who persecuted me ; ' 
 and she will go through fire and water to help me. 
 She knows, your sister, and hence our postal arrange- 
 ments are now organised. 
 
 " Now as to my enjoyment. You are the cause of 
 this as of everything happy in my life. I didn't hear 
 any sigh when you read that, sir. From the moment 
 of my entering the house, His and Her Excellencies 
 have not ceased to try and instil into me a sense of 
 my ' high position/ and its chiefest duty to accept 
 the exalted mission in regard to the succession and 
 consequently to renounce England and Englishmen. 
 Here is a typical scene of the kind : 
 
 " I am reading in my room I have lovely rooms and 
 all that luxury can do to make me forget what I don't 
 forget, is done for me. I am indeed a most distin- 
 guished person. Enter His and Her Excellencies : 
 
 " ' Your Grace is at liberty for a few minutes ? ' the 
 General always is spokesman and a dexterous-tongued 
 spokesman too.
 
 3i8 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " ' Certainly so far as a prisoner can be at liberty ; ' I 
 sigh with exaggerated emphasis, and lay down my book. 
 
 " ' Prisoner is a strange term to come from so hon- 
 oured and illustrious a guest in my house.' 
 
 " ' I am sorry the term grates upon your Excellency's 
 ears ; but it may serve to let you understand how the 
 thing itself chafes me. Guest or prisoner, which you 
 will, is the arrangement to be permanent ? ' 
 
 " ' If your Grace would only see reason, a word 
 would be enough to change everything. Your illus- 
 trious father, the Duke, is only too anxious for that 
 word to be spoken.' 
 
 ""' What word is that ? ' and with aggressive provo- 
 cation I glance down at my finger at a certain ring. 
 And then His Excellency frowns heavily and Her Ex- 
 cellency bridles. 
 
 " ' You have but to signify your acceptance of the 
 high mission to which you have succeeded by birth.' 
 
 " ' I accept it cheerfully and at once. I have no other 
 desire in life.' But I have played this trick three or 
 four times and the General knows it now. The frown 
 deepens. 
 
 " ' I refer to your Grace's succession to the Throne,' 
 he says, a little sullenly. 
 
 "' Oh that! ' and I try to make my manner espe- 
 cially contemptuous as though Thrones were a drug in 
 the market. 
 
 " ' I wish your Grace would be serious,' he remon- 
 strates. Then I flash fire. 
 
 " ' You mean I ought to wear a long face ; pretend 
 to be vastly overwhelmed with the honours offered me; 
 believe that this kind of ice-house splendour spells hap- 
 piness ; and play at being ready to give up for it the
 
 CELIA WRITES 319 
 
 only real happiness I desire. Put off my talisman, per- 
 haps ' and I hold out my left hand conspicuously and 
 defiantly ' promise to be false to the man whose truth 
 is pledged to me ; break my oath and dishonour my- 
 self on the canting Court plea of the exigencies of my 
 high mission. God forbid I should be such a dishon- 
 ourable hypocrite.' 
 
 " ' I am grieved to see your Grace maintains the 
 same regrettable attitude.' 
 
 " ' You mean you are sorry to find that I love Sir 
 Stanley Meredith and am a girl who will not pluck my 
 love out at ten minutes' notice at the false bidding of 
 some dishonourable notions of honour ! ' Then having 
 been sufficiently indignant, I pause, look at their Ex- 
 cellencies and with a dramatic and rather rhapsodical 
 gesture, exclaim : ' But what nobler examples could I 
 have than your two selves? I appeal from present 
 words to that dear love which like a glorious sun has 
 warmed and goldened all your lives. You have loved 
 with the love and truth that have defied the years, and 
 would you counsel me to be false ? ' 
 
 " ' That is very different,' murmurs Mrs. General in 
 a tone that shows she is anything but unmoved. But 
 the General himself is flint against sentiment. 
 
 " ' It is the lot of Rulers, your Grace, to enjoy many 
 privileges and blessings, but in return and as a coun- 
 terpoise, it may be, it is required of them to subject 
 some of their most cherished desires to the welfare of 
 their people ; ' and that is the preface to a long disser- 
 tation upon my duty and an appeal to me to yield to 
 the pressure of the position and throw myself at the 
 feet of the Duke. But my answer is becoming stereo- 
 typed already.
 
 3 20 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " ' I have no desire to rule. I will marry no one but 
 Sir Stanley Meredith, unless he bids me. I am pledged.' 
 I say this very firmly and pick up my book again to 
 end the interview. 
 
 " So you see it is still our comedy ; and now you 
 know what I mean by rather enjoying it." 
 
 The letter then in the diary form gave me a clear 
 picture of her life at the General's, and under a two 
 days' later date had the following : 
 
 " In one of my interviews with the General to-day, 
 there was a most surprising admission made. The 
 Duke, it seems after all, does not know of my existence, 
 while someone else is claiming to be me. My gaoler 
 as I called him to-day to his infinite horror is as a 
 rule particularly guarded in his speech, but to-day he 
 was worried 1 believe the Duke is ill, though the se- 
 cret is wel'l kept and he let drop a phrase about my 
 decision being too late if not made at once. Some sort 
 of instinct seemed to push the words of my answer in- 
 to my mouth. 
 
 " ' Your Excellency should have told the Duke about 
 me before, and he would have known my decision.' I 
 saw in a moment by the way the reply affected him 
 that I had forced open one of the most secret pigeon- 
 holes of his thoughts. 
 
 " ' I am not quite sure that I understand your Grace,' 
 he said. 
 
 " 1 mean that the Duke does not even know of my 
 existence, because for some purposes you have been 
 keeping the matter from him : possibly you thought 
 that the difficulty of reconciling him to me would be
 
 CELIA WRITES 321 
 
 immensely increased if I were found to be obstinately 
 opposed to the whole thing. You wished, no doubt, 
 to be able to present me to him as a dutiful, obedient 
 and loving daughter instead of what I am, an alien bit- 
 terly opposed to you and to the scheme ; and now, 
 finding I continue obstinate, you tell me I may be too 
 late. I am glad to hear it, your Excellency.' 
 
 " I have never seen him so moved as he was then and 
 I am sure I had guessed right. He stared at me with 
 eyes that seemed to glance fire ; I felt the power in him 
 and half trembled even as I smiled. 
 
 " ' Your wilfulness is the sown seeds of disaster for 
 the unfortunate people of the Duchy,' he said sternly, 
 in a voice as hard and harsh as an anvil-ring. ' You 
 take a fearful responsibility. There is talk of another 
 
 claim 'he checked himself, and rising abruptly, 
 
 begged me to excuse him. I believe he was half beside 
 himself with suppressed rage." 
 
 A few lines lower Celia told me the chance had come 
 of despatching her packet to me and the letter closed 
 hurriedly. 
 
 The news was of the utmost importance. If Celia's 
 sharp little wits had really penetrated the Minister's 
 secret I could readily understand his uneasiness, and I 
 resolved to turn it to the best account. His conceal- 
 ment of the facts concerning Celia might cause the 
 claim on Katrine's behalf to reach'the Duke first for 
 von Kronheim had plenty of means to get at the Ducal 
 ear and in such an event there was abundant ground 
 for anticipating any amount of confusion and trouble. 
 
 I wrote my letter to the Minister at once, therefore, 
 on the lines I had resolved, and added the sting that
 
 322 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 I sought an interview with the Duke himself to explain 
 Celia's position ; and I sent Wilson with it, giving him 
 instructions to deliver it only into the hands of the 
 Minister or his secretary. 
 
 Then I set about making such inquiries as I could 
 concerning the Duke's health. But as Celia had said, 
 the secret was well kept, and I could find out nothing. 
 
 I was in high spirits, however. Celia's delightful 
 letter with its abundant proofs of her high confidence 
 and undimmed courage, and above all, of her staunch 
 fealty to our love under the ordeal of separation, could 
 not fail to fill me with a belief that we should yet tri- 
 umph over all the troubles and obstacles. 
 
 On reflection I was strongly inclined to think she 
 had found the very kernel of the Minister's policy. He 
 had known well enough the objection which his master 
 would raise to any reconciliation scheme. The Duke's 
 hatred of his mad wife had become the consuming 
 passion of his old age ; and one almost insuperable ob- 
 stacle to the recognition of her child as his own daughter 
 and heiress was the abandonment of this moodily 
 nursed and cherished belief in his wife's falseness. 
 
 To acknowledge the daughter now would be tanta- 
 mount to admitting full belief in the mother's truth ; 
 to sweep away at a blow all the props and foundations 
 of his bitter, relentless hate ; to confess himself in the 
 wrong and his wife right ; and to show himself to the 
 world as a jealous persecutor, unjustified and with no 
 plea of excuse save that of his wilful, malignant blind- 
 ness. To wring such a confession from a man whose 
 intolerance of counsel was only equalled by his dogged 
 adherence to a view once expressed and a plan once 
 formed, was a task which might well tax the powers of
 
 CELIA WRITES 323 
 
 even so astute a minister as von Eckerstein. The lat- 
 ter's influence had only increased when the Duke's 
 powers were known to be waning ; but there was one 
 subject the Duchess on which his strength of feel- 
 ing never altered or faltered ; and the task would thus, 
 even under the happiest auspices, have been one of 
 infinite difficulty. 
 
 But the auspices were anything but happy. If there 
 was one thing the Duke would brook from no man, 
 woman or child, it was open opposition. In his declin- 
 ing years something could be done by a show of yield- 
 ing and subservience ; but the assertion of rights, the 
 formulating of claims, the signs of even mild contradic- 
 tion and the symptoms of direct opposition found him 
 as hard as basalt against which arguments, facts, 
 entreaties, and invective broke with no more effect than 
 sea spray against the rock. 
 
 It was easy to see, therefore, how loth the minister 
 was to take Celia to him in any other than a mood of 
 submissive pliancy ; and how utterly confounding to 
 his plans was her attitude of resolute antagonism. The 
 difficulties would have been great enough with a girl 
 willing to throw herself at the Duke's feet as a suppli- 
 ant, and ready to promise any and everything in 
 return for the blessing of ducal forgiveness and recog- 
 nition. But with Celia, the very embodiment of active 
 arid stinging antagonism, it was no wonder he had put 
 off the task of telling him that she was in Cruden- 
 stadt. 
 
 Piecing together the facts I had, therefore, and guess- 
 ing more, I was not altogether surprised to receive a 
 note in reply to mine, requesting me to call on the 
 Minister the next morning. It was a good sign and
 
 324 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 pleased me. He had turned me out of his presence 
 less than a week before, with an implied threat of ex- 
 pulsion from the Duchy ; but his threat had been no 
 more than air; and now, unless I read the facts all 
 wrong, he was going to ask me to help him. 
 
 I was anxious for the interview and I went to it full 
 of confidence. As I was ushered into his presence the 
 recollection of Celia's description of her interview 
 flashed into my thoughts and I had all I could do to 
 restrain my temptation to smile. 
 
 " You have written me a very strong letter, Sir Stan- 
 ley," he began. 
 
 "Iam glad your Excellency appreciates its strength. 
 I meant it to be strong, because-it appears to me strong 
 measures must be adopted. I mean, of course, from 
 my side," I hastened to add. " You tried your strong 
 measures, you took forcible and unlawful possession of 
 my ward, and you threatened to turn me out of the 
 Duchy. Under such circumstances a milk and water 
 policy would be useless." 
 
 " The young lady is not your ward." 
 
 " Pardon me, she was my uncle's ward, and I am my 
 uncle's heir and successor. She was actually on her 
 way to England under the conditions I had arranged 
 when your agents intercepted her and carried her, 
 where I shall yet find her." 
 
 " She is in my own house." 
 
 " Then you are detaining her most illegally. By 
 what right, I should like to know, do you imprison 
 young girls in your house ? " and I put a good show of 
 indignation into my manner. " Wherever she ought 
 to be, she should not be here. If she is my ward, 
 restore her to me. If she is the Duke's daughter, take
 
 CELIA WRITES 325 
 
 her to the Duke's residence. But you have no right to 
 keep her here." 
 
 " Is this necessary? " he asked quietly, with a signifi- 
 cant look. 
 
 " It is my protest against your conduct," I cried, 
 warmly. 
 
 " Veiy well, now that you have made it, let us get 
 to other matters. Do you mean that you are going to 
 flaunt the story of the young Duchess and of her ill- 
 fated mother who by the way is once more under 
 restraint all over the world, through the medium of 
 that precious boon of England your free press ? " 
 
 " I can understand your dislike of a power that 
 threatens to be so embarrassing." 
 
 " And you are then going to Berlin? I have no ob- 
 jection to that, and I have no objection to any legal 
 process; but surely your chivalry will not let you per- 
 secute with the sword of publicity this young lady 
 whom you profess to regard and esteem." His taunt, 
 quietly spoken, hurt, and I was sorry I had even used 
 the threat ; but I could not show a sign of weakness. 
 
 " I hope to gain my end without that becoming 
 necessary." 
 
 " Necessary ! " he said, with a very biting accent. 
 " Well, we won't labour that point, but will presume 
 you will prefer to act as an Englishman of position, a 
 gentleman and a man of honour." I relished his irony 
 none the more for the fact that apparently it was mer- 
 ited. " I mean to be frank with you, Sir Stanley, and 
 invite you to be so with me ; and I shall give you 
 ample reasons why there can be no publicity. First, 
 let me tell you that the Count Carl von Kronheim has 
 made this claim, on behalf of his wife, whom he now
 
 326 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 calls the Duchess Celia ; and the Duchess Marie sup- 
 ports it. In doing this, they gave me a clue to their 
 whereabouts, and I have placed the Duchess once more 
 in the hands of those who will know how to take care 
 of her ; and have provided a place of residence also for 
 the Count and his wife. He says nothing openly of 
 the extraordinary story of the change of children." 
 
 " You have not investigated the story ? " I asked, as 
 he paused. 
 
 " Well, in a way, yes. And a fresh complication has 
 occurred. It appears that the adventuress I can call 
 her nothing better and will for the moment call her 
 nothing worse who is the mother of the Count's wife, 
 the Countess Borgen, has been greatly exasperated 
 by his conduct to her in the last week or two, and has 
 taken a woman's revenge. She has given me in detail 
 the distressing facts of the past life of the girl through 
 whom the Count makes his claim. I will not go into 
 them " 
 
 " I know something of the story," I interposed. 
 
 " Well, I will only say it shows her to be a quite im- 
 possible claimant. Von Kronheim is a reckless dare- 
 devil like all his family indeed and having concocted 
 the fraud is determined to make the most of the 
 claim." 
 
 " Does Baroness Borgen support that changeling 
 story?" I asked eagerly, for it was the pith of the 
 matter to me. 'iw 
 
 " She says nothing either way and is contented to 
 have made her other revelations. But my opinion is 
 that von Kronheim, rinding that he could do nothing 
 to bend the Duchess Celia to his plans and she is not 
 exactly pliable in any hands has hatched this change-
 
 CELIA WRITES 327 
 
 ling story in order to gain his end that way. It is noth- 
 ing but impure fable from start to finish, and it may 
 be so regarded," he said, speaking with very deliberate 
 emphasis. 
 
 " I do not take that view of it, nor will my cousin," 
 I made haste to say. " You have not tested it." 
 
 For a moment he did not reply, but sat fingering his 
 papers and then turning to me he said with what struck 
 me as forced calmness : 
 
 " It is that which has induced me to see you, Sir 
 Stanley. I feared you would take the impossible view 
 that this story might be true. As a matter of fact the 
 witnesses have disappeared ; the two women, I mean," 
 and he stared dead into my eyes. 
 
 "Convenient," I exclaimed, with a shrug of the 
 shoulders. 
 
 " Most inopportune and unfortunate," he returned, 
 in the same dead level tone. 
 
 " They must be found, your Excellency." 
 
 " Yes, they must be found," he agreed, still in the 
 same tone. "But it may be difficult and will take 
 time. The story is none the less a fable, and the 
 young Duchess must meanwhile take her rightful posi- 
 tion. And you, Sir Stanley, will help in securing this 
 end." As he said this his eyes fastened on me with a 
 look of almost fascinating intentness. I seemed in 
 that instant to realise all that Celia had meant about 
 feeling the power in him. I was saturated, so to speak, 
 with the instant and overpowering conviction that he 
 knew he could beat me ; that for his confident declara- 
 tion he had reasons so strong that I could not hope to 
 resist ; and that in some way he held both Celia and 
 me fast in his grip. It was a most absorbing, eerie
 
 328 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 sensation, and I tried to shake myself free from it, as 
 I laughed and cried incredulously : 
 
 " I help you ! " but the laugh died away under the 
 set stare of his stern, beady eyes. 
 
 " Yes, you will help me, I repeat," he said, after a 
 long pause. " Not through any thought for the Duke 
 or any of the great interests'involved but because you 
 hold dear the reputation of the young girl you call 
 your ward." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " I asked. I was no longer 
 incredulous, but deeply earnest, full of troubled dread 
 and impatient to know what this strange secret was he 
 was keeping back. 
 
 For a moment he played with my impatience. 
 
 " If you would not blight her life, you will have to 
 do this," he said. 
 
 " Quick, man, quick," I cried impetuously and an- 
 grily ; so deeply had he worked upon my feelings. 
 " Say what you mean." 
 
 He paused even then, and after a moment, speaking 
 with calculated deliberation, he bared the new weapon 
 he had prepared for my undoing. 
 
 " If you would not see that sweet young girl whom 
 you cherish and have hoped to marry branded in the 
 eyes of Europe as the daughter of a convicted mur- 
 deress, you will give the help that is needed. And 
 that is the only alternative before you."
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 DEATH TO THE RESCUE 
 
 IT was some moments before I could realise the full 
 significance of General von Eckerstein's words and all 
 
 o 
 
 that they meant to Celia and me ; and I sat staring at 
 the tense, relentless, grim face whose eyes were fixed 
 steadfastly on me as if they would burn their way into 
 the innermost recesses of my soul. 
 
 The power of my antagonist positively appalled me, 
 crashed through the barriers of my confidence and 
 stifled the instinctive prompting to doubt the truth of 
 his words ; and I sat shrinking from his implacable 
 purpose and overwhelmed by the consciousness of his 
 capacity and intent to force his way to the end he had 
 in view. 
 
 " This is not true," I said at length ; but the protest 
 sounded feeble even in my ears. 
 
 " Don't buoy yourself with false hopes. I have my- 
 self investigated every detail of the case, although the 
 facts have only recently come to my knowledge. The 
 victim was the child of the girl, Katrine, and the 
 Baroness Borgen put it to death with her own hands 
 to save the reputation of her daughter. The crime 
 was cowardly and callous, and revoltingly barbarous in 
 some of the details of disposing of the body. I will 
 spare you them ; but they are such that every mother 
 in Europe would lift up her voice and cry for vengeance 
 upon the murderess, were the story told." He spoke 
 
 3 2 9
 
 330 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 with clear belief compelling deliberation. " It is in 
 every respect a terrible story." 
 
 Then I tried to force myself to oppose him. 
 
 " This is nothing to Celia," I cried, passionately. 
 
 " Can a mother's crime be nothing to her daughter ? " 
 he asked, coldly. " Is it nothing that all through her 
 life the world would point to her as the daughter of 
 one of the most infamous and inhuman women of the 
 age ? Is it nothing that day after day, week after 
 week, year after year, her own heart is to whisper to 
 her in every hour of weakness, in every moment of that 
 solitary self-communing which no human soul can 
 escape: 'I am the daughter of a murderess? My 
 mother's hands were red with blood ' ? Is it nothing 
 that when her own babes are drawing from her breast 
 the life the giving of which is the rarest delight that 
 nature bestows, she is to be haunted by the tainting 
 thought ' They are the offspring of a murderess ' ? 
 Ask any woman, Sir Stanley, if your own heart doubts, 
 and then tell me it is nothing if you can. If she were 
 vile, callous, cruel, infamous like this woman, it might 
 be nothing ; but being what she is God help 
 her!" 
 
 " She must never know it ! " I exclaimed involun- 
 tarily. 
 
 11 But it is you who would force the knowledge upon 
 her," he answered, deliberately. " When the trial takes 
 place and the facts come out in all their bare horror, 
 how can she fail to know what must be common knowl- 
 edge from one end of Europe to the other ? Nay, 
 where is the daughter's place but by the side of her 
 mother? Do you know her so ill as to think she is a 
 coward to shrink even from such an ordeal if she con-
 
 DEATH TO THE RESCUE 331 
 
 ceived it her duty ; or believe that she would take any 
 less standard of duty ? " 
 
 His words burned like brands in the grasp of a tor- 
 turer, and I sat, unable to answer, even to protest. It 
 was nothing less than the horrible truth that he spoke ; 
 and in my thoughts I could see her doing just what he 
 said facing the world with scornful defiance, but suf- 
 fering, ah, God, as only such a heart as Celia's could 
 suffer. 
 
 " It is you who would put her this," he added after 
 a moment, weighing his words and watching intently 
 their effect upon me. " It is you who persist in ac- 
 cepting this wild, sensational fable. It is you who, to 
 suit your own purposes, Sir Stanley, repudiate this 
 young girl's history as given to us by your uncle, and 
 declare that she is not the daughter of the Duchess, but 
 the daughter of this infamous woman, at least " here 
 he paused, and his expression changed to one of almost 
 diabolical cunning as he added with slow, deep signifi- 
 cance : " That was your belief. She is the daughter of 
 one or the other." 
 
 I knew his meaning well enough and what he was wait- 
 ing for me to say ; and struggle, resist, and fight as I 
 would, I could not slip from the coils he had wound 
 round us. 
 
 " She must never know it ! " I exclaimed again, 
 
 O ' 
 
 giving utterance to my one all-absorbing thought. 
 Come what might the knowledge must be kept from her. 
 " You mean then that you will agree with me in dis- 
 believing this changeling story," he said, with a cold 
 distinctness of tone. " She is not the daughter of this 
 infamous wretch. You see she cannot be? You see 
 now the unnaturalness of the fable ? The impossibility
 
 332 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 of such a relationship ? In that case, it follows she 
 must be daughter of the Duchess Marie, and as such 
 must take her rightful position. You see that too now. 
 And what is more, you understand how the friends of 
 one so exalted might be willing for her sake to keep 
 silence about even such a crime as this, where the 
 criminal has been falsely associated with her." 
 
 It is impossible to convey a description of the subtlety 
 with which he said this. But it was a blunder. Up to 
 that point I had been stunned by the logic of facts ; 
 but this was different. He was proposing a bargain 
 his silence for my consent. And in a moment the in- 
 stinct to continue the fight against him revived, and I 
 began by tearing the veil from his pretence. 
 
 " Let us speak in plain terms, if you please," I said, 
 nervously at first, but then with more composure. 
 " You mean the price of this silence is that I agree to 
 help you to induce my cousin to take her position as 
 the Duke's daughter ; and you propose to force me to 
 pay it by threatening to obtain publicity for this story 
 by prosecuting this woman for the deed you allege 
 against her." 
 
 " The young lady you call your cousin a mistaken 
 term in either event, Sir Stanley is the daughter of 
 either the Duchess Marie and so next in succession to 
 the throne, or of the Baroness Borgen, whose crime 
 stands unpunished. I believe she is the young Duch- 
 ess." 
 
 " And if we will not accept that belief you threaten 
 to proclaim her the daughter of a murderess ! " 
 
 " If she be not the young Duchess there is no longer 
 any State reason for saving a criminal from a rightly 
 merited punishment."
 
 DEATH TO THE RESCUE 333 
 
 That was another blunder, and I fastened on it 
 instantly. 
 
 " No reason ! " I answered indignantly, " on the con- 
 trary there is more reason than ever, according to the 
 logic you apply. If we accept the view that this wo- 
 man is Celia's mother then- her crime was perpetrated 
 to save the reputation of whom ? " I asked trium- 
 phantly. " Of whom but of her who is the young 
 Duchess herself ? And the victim was that same young 
 Duchess's love child. Surely that is scandal enough to 
 impel even you to silence." 
 
 But he would not yield a jot or tittle of his ruthless 
 doggedness. 
 
 " That fact would not transpire, and if it did, the for- 
 tunes of that young woman can never affect the State. 
 She is, as I have said, impossible. We have to look 
 only at the effect upon the Baroness's daughter." This 
 shuffling evasion angered me, and the anger came as a 
 welcome relief. 
 
 "It is infamous, your Excellency, nothing less than 
 infamous. You treat the happiness of this pure and 
 innocent girl as a mere pawn in the sordid game of 
 statecraft about the succession." 
 
 " The exigencies of the young Duchess's high posi- 
 tion render some amount of self-sacrifice inevitable. 
 Think before you decide." 
 
 " I have been thinking, God knows, as hard as I can. 
 I must have the proofs of this wretched woman's crime." 
 
 " The facts are here at your disposal," he answered 
 readily. " I have had them prepared for you without 
 the names of course ; but every word set down is ca- 
 pable of the fullest proof." 
 
 I plunged at once into the papers he laid before me.
 
 334 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 I need not give the loathsome details of the crime here 
 and it is sufficient to say they were gruesome, barbar- 
 ous, and utterly revolting, and I rose from the des- 
 cription of them horrified, sickened, and appalled. 
 The deed was all that the minister had described and 
 worse than the worst he had suggested. 
 
 The thought that Celia should even have cause to 
 believe herself the child of such an inhuman creature 
 as the fiend whose work was here described was intoler- 
 able ; and again I resolved that she should never know 
 the story, if efforts of mine could prevent it. 
 
 Hot upon this resolve came the passionate conviction 
 of the impossibility of such a relationship. My senses 
 rose in rebellion against the thought ; and my former 
 assertions of a belief in the changeling fable became in 
 an instant like black treachery against Celia. Come 
 what might, the falseness of that infernal story must be 
 proved. She was not, could not be the daughter of 
 this infamous Baroness Borgen, and my energies, nay, 
 my life itself must, if necessary, be devoted to proving 
 the falsity of what an hour before I had sought with 
 equal earnestness to believe. 
 
 While I was plunged in this maelstrom of troubled 
 thought the Minister had been writing, and when at 
 length I looked up from the papers, I found his eyes 
 bent upon me with an intensely earnest expression. 
 
 " You have finished ? You take my word now ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " I would doubt the existence of my God if I thought 
 that Celia could be this fiend's child," I cried, some of 
 the passion in me finding vent in the outburst. " The lie 
 of that slander must be proved. I will not rest till it 
 is done."
 
 DEATH TO THE RESCUE 335 
 
 "You are right, Sir Stanley, and if I can prove it 
 now?" he asked. 
 
 " I will do anything you ask. Anything in the 
 wide world." 
 
 " You will help me to influence the young Duchess ? " 
 The question came rapidly, like the sharp, vigorous 
 thrust of a rapier, and, absorbed by my concern for 
 Celia, I answered quickly : 
 
 " With every power at my command ; " and then, 
 realising all I was promising, I added " if that should 
 prove necessary." The condition irritated him. 
 
 " I must have an unconditional pledge, Sir Stanley," 
 he insisted. But the demand was not warranted. It 
 was unjust, too, and superfluous. " What do you 
 mean by necessary ? " he added when I paused. 
 
 " I will give no other pledge," I answered more 
 quietly, " and you should ask none. Your object is 
 gained in our recognition of the real position of the 
 young Duchess and I will pledge my honour to help 
 in securing that. I have no right, nor have you, to 
 fetter her action when once her status is acknowledged." 
 
 "You must give me your pledge to renounce the 
 scheme for this impossible and preposterous marriage. 
 I can be content with nothing less," he asserted, with 
 deliberate emphasis. 
 
 " What will you do, then, when I say I will not give 
 it? And I will not. Do you mean you would try to 
 put all this vile and painful slander upon her when she 
 is proved, acknowledged, and proclaimed as the Duke's 
 daughter and heiress ? " 
 
 " I must have your word," he said, sternly, not heed- 
 ing my remonstrance. " I will have it." His tone 
 rose almost to passion as he thrust his chair back and
 
 336 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 began to pace the room. " I will have nothing less. 
 Do you know what this is that I have been writing 
 while you read ? It is the warrant for that woman's 
 arrest the signal for all this to commence ; the match 
 that shall fire the lurid flames, and if you do not give me 
 
 your word, I will " he stopped suddenly as 4 the door 
 
 was opened, and Celia herself came in, followed by the 
 Minister's secretary, gesticulating in energetic protest. 
 Her face was flushed, her. expression proud and indig- 
 nant, but her eyes as they met mine beamed with love, 
 tempered, however, by a light of mischievous enjoy- 
 ment of the scene. I knew the look well enough. 
 
 " If I must be a prisoner in your Excellency's house, 
 I must at least request that your servants shall not in- 
 terfere with me. Your secretary here has tried to stop 
 my entering the room, and would almost have ventured 
 upon force, I think." 
 
 A wave of the hand dismissed the rather bewil- 
 dered secretary. 
 
 " Your Grace has taken an inopportune step in 
 coming here," said the Minister, angrily. 
 
 " I do not think so," Celia answered, quietly, and then 
 came and put her hands into mine. " Do you, Stanley ? " 
 
 Grateful and sweet as the sight of her always was to 
 my eyes, it must be confessed her arrival was not with- 
 out embarrassment at that moment. I stood newly 
 pledged to use my utmost endeavours to urge her to 
 acknowledge her relationship to the Duke, and thus 
 even the little innocent action of putting her hands in 
 mine was in its way disconcerting. To cover the pause 
 of thought and also to solve the difficulty, I carried 
 her fingers to my lips with a touch of old-fashioned gal- 
 lantry, and then released them.
 
 DEATH TO THE RESCUE 337 
 
 " To me your coming can never be inopportune, 
 you know that ? " 
 
 All the assumption of indignation fell from her then, 
 and with it faded the light of mischief, giving place to 
 some doubt and signals of troubled concern. 
 
 " Sir Stanley Meredith and I have been discussing 
 your Grace's affairs," said the Minister. " He sees now 
 that the proofs of your birth are irrefutable, and that 
 your Grace's duty is to take those steps which are 
 inseparable from your position." 
 
 Celia was not by any means so impressed as he had 
 expected, but the clouds cleared from her face, and she 
 smiled. 
 
 " If Stanley approves any course of action for me, 
 I am sure it will not be a disagreeable one," she 
 said. " I am very weary of all this talk about my posi- 
 tion, which seems, so far, to abound in disagreeable 
 duties without a single corresponding pleasure. But if 
 you have a fresh definition of them, Stanley, I'll 
 promise to listen patiently," and with a very pretty 
 assumption of submissive patience, she sat down and 
 looked at me. 
 
 " What his Excellency tells you is a fact. I can no 
 longer doubt that you are the Duke's daughter. It is 
 no longer possible to doubt it, indeed." 
 
 " And that means ? " she asked, looking at me sharply, 
 and ostentatiously fingering her ring. 
 
 " That you should take the necessary steps to secure 
 a reconciliation with your father, the Duke." She 
 started as I referred to the relationship, her fingers fell 
 away from her ring, and her hand -- gripped the arms of 
 her chair. 
 
 " It is, then, serious," shesai:! ir. ; '.c\v voice. Then, 
 
 22
 
 338 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 after a pause, she added quickly, " What has happened 
 to cause this? " 
 
 The Minister was beginning to reply, when she inter- 
 fered with a peremptory little gesture of authority. 
 
 " Pardon me, your Excellency, I prefer to hear it 
 from Sir Stanley Meredith." She had met *me with 
 my own weapon, and her face wore an expression in 
 which were blended challenge, love, mischief and re- 
 sentment. 
 
 " Yes, it is very serious," I answered, earnestly. 
 " Certain facts have come to my knowledge I cannot 
 tell you them but they make further doubt impossi- 
 ble ; and it is my sincere and honest advice to you, to 
 to seek this reconciliation." She listened with a strained 
 intent which brought a frown to her face, and it re- 
 mained there after I had finished, and while she thought. 
 
 " You learnt these facts from General von Ecker- 
 stein ? " 
 
 " You do not think I should urge this if I were not 
 thoroughly convinced ? " and the protest in the ques- 
 tion had the effect I desired. It convinced her ; but 
 the sight of her sudden pain smote my heart. 
 
 "No, I trust you absolutely." The words came in 
 a low, faltering tone ; but she would not let her suffer- 
 ing have the upper hand. " We can speak of that part 
 again. " Does this entail a change in in everything ?" 
 
 Brave as she was, she could not prevent her lip 
 trembling so that she had to press it tightly and hold 
 it with her white teeth. 
 
 " Everything, your Grace," said the Minister, re- 
 lentlessly. But Celia flamed upon him proudly. 
 
 "That is the first word of hope I have had since I 
 came in. When an enemy is so ready to demand every-
 
 DEATH TO THE RESCUE 339 
 
 thing, I may know the demand is exaggerated and that 
 I can hope." 
 
 " God knows I am not your Grace's enemy. I have 
 served your house with all my heart," cried the Minis- 
 ter, stung deeply by the taunt. 
 
 " I wish you had done them any other service than 
 this," she retorted, untouched by his protest ; and then 
 a silence fell on us, which Celia broke presently by say- 
 ing: " Do you say it involves everything, Stanley?" 
 There was no fence now, no playing with words, no 
 pretence, nothing but the plain question straight from 
 her heart ; and love, fear, agony and appeal were in her 
 eyes and voice. 
 
 " H-is Excellency and I were discussing that very 
 point when you came in, Celia. I had agreed with him 
 that you should certainly take your position here as 
 the Duke's daughter, but that it was not for him or 
 me to say as to to anything beyond that." 
 
 " I was sure of it," she cried instantly, turning on 
 him in triumph, while she pressed her lips to her ring, 
 and added, in a tone of infinite relief : " On that con- 
 dition I will do anything, everything you wish. Tell 
 me, please, what I am to do." 
 
 " I can best discuss these matters with you privately," 
 he answered, scarcely attempting to suppress his anger. 
 
 "Why? nay, I will not," she cried in the same tone, 
 gathering confidence every moment. " I am either Sir 
 Stanley's ward, in which case he has a right to be pres- 
 ent, or I am the Duchess Celia, and can claim to have 
 the presence and assistance of my truest friend and 
 most trusted adviser. When your Excellency has done 
 a tithe for me of what I owe to Sir Stanley, it will be 
 time for you to dictate conditions; but not until then."
 
 340 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 His chagrin at this was little short of amusing. 
 
 " I appeal to you, Sir Stanley, to withdraw," he said 
 next. 
 
 " With all respect I must decline. You have gained 
 your end, and this is a point which should not be 
 pressed. Indeed, I have a strong desire to know pre- 
 cisely how the matter stands with the Duke." 
 
 Celia took up that and answered promptly and point- 
 edly. 
 
 " The truth is, I have good reason to say, that the 
 Duke knows nothing whatever of my presence in Cru- 
 denstadt, and probably not even of my existence." 
 
 " Is this so, your Excellency ? " I asked, as if in the 
 deepest surprise, while Celia threw me a swift glance 
 of understanding. 
 
 He made no reply, and I repeated the question. 
 
 " In a measure it is so," he said slowly. " You do not 
 understand nor can you appreciate the difficulties of 
 the case." 
 
 " But without the Duke's recognition, how on earth 
 can you hope to make such a claim as this good ? It 
 is of the very essence and pith of the matter. What 
 do you propose to do ? " 
 
 " I shall lay the case before him now with all des- 
 patch." 
 
 "And if he will not or does not recognise me, what 
 then?" cried Celia, wickedly enjoying the old man's 
 perplexity. 
 
 " He will do so, your Grace need have no fear." 
 
 " My feeling is not fear ; it is hope. But if he does 
 not?" 
 
 " There is no such possibility," he said, doggedly, 
 almost angrily.
 
 DEATH TO THE RESCUE 341 
 
 " But if he does not ? " she insisted again. 
 
 " Your claim would fail, of course. But it is not pos- 
 sible with the influences that can be brought to bear. 
 I must respectfully decline to discuss such an alter- 
 native. And now I must suggest that this interview 
 should end. Nothing more can be done." He spoke 
 very sternly and shortly. 
 
 " I shall see you again, Stanley," said Celia, rising. 
 
 " I must respectfully protest against that," exclaimed 
 the Minister, sharply. " I cannot permit it of my own 
 authority, and such a meeting can only take place with 
 my master's sanction." 
 
 " I have already asked you to procure me an au- 
 dience with the Duke," I declared, for his imperious 
 tone angered me. 
 
 " And until that can take place and you can procure 
 the necessary sanction, such a meeting as this is im- 
 practicable." 
 
 " You have overcome greater obstacles than this, 
 Stanley," said Celia, rebelliously and smiling to me as 
 she held out her hand. "Your Excellency now can 
 scarcely think my coming was inopportune," she said 
 as she passed him. But he made no reply except to 
 bow, as he held the door open for her, his face dark, 
 stern and very angry looking. 
 
 " And now, Sir Stanley, we will resume our confer- 
 ence where it was interrupted. You accept my terms ? " 
 he said abruptly. 
 
 " The matter is different from what I understood. 
 The Duke himself has given no indication of 
 
 " I cannot discuss that with you," he interposed, 
 curtly and peremptorily. 
 
 " As you please, sir, but I will discuss nothing at all
 
 342 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 until I know what the position will be should His 
 Highness refuse to recognise his daughter. And I 
 must protest very strongly indeed against the tone 
 which you are adopting. You are no dictator in the 
 matter, and the assumption of such a role can only in- 
 crease the difficulties of an already sufficiently difficult 
 matter." 
 
 He didn't like the protest, but it had its effect. 
 
 " I do not pose as dictator," he said not graciously, 
 but with far less curtness. " But this question of the 
 Duke's attitude is superfluous. I assure you of that. 
 I do not deny for an instant that His Highness's 
 avowed recognition of the legitimacy of his daughter's 
 claims is of the very essence of the affair. Without it, 
 the claim must fail as a matter of course. But I know 
 my master intimately, and how keenly he feels on the 
 subject of the succession ; and I can pledge myself with 
 absolute .confidence that he will recognise her. It 
 would therefore be grievous were you and the Duchess 
 Celia to build anything upon the chances of his not 
 doing so. That is all. And of course the mere fact of 
 recognition must put all thought of this sadly obstruc- 
 tive marriage quite out of the question. That is why 
 I urge upon you, therefore, the extreme necessity of 
 your abandoning it at once. It must be, Sir Stanley. 
 Facts, not I, dictate the urgency." 
 
 His moderate tone had much more effect upon me 
 than his previous threats, and after a pause I answered : 
 
 " I can say no more now, than to promise to think 
 over the situation most carefully ;" and I was about to 
 leave him when there came another of those swift al- 
 most dizzying dramatic turns which had so marked the 
 latter developments of the struggle.
 
 DEATH TO THE RESCUE 343 
 
 The secretary entered hurriedly, looking pale and 
 much excited. 
 
 " Your Excellency is wanted at once, if you please. 
 There is terrible news. His Highness the Duke is 
 dead." 
 
 " Dead ! " we both exclaimed, in the same breath ; 
 and the interchange of rapid glances told how the 
 same thought had been started in each. 
 
 " Has died suddenly of heart failure," continued the 
 secretary. 
 
 " Good God ! " exclaimed the Minister, under his 
 breath ; and in the excitement of the moment he ap- 
 peared suddenly to forget all about my presence, and 
 hurried away, leaving me in a condition of great per- 
 plexity and scarcely less excited than himself. 
 
 I recalled his words almost the last he had said to 
 me. Without her father's recognition Celia's claim 
 must fail. This dramatically sudden death had inter- 
 vened to make such a recognition for ever impossible. 
 In a moment the whole intrigue about the succession 
 was thus scattered to the winds and Celia would be 
 free again. 
 
 The secretary lingered, looking at me and expecting 
 me to leave. 
 
 " Shall I tell them to call your carriage, Sir Stanley ? " 
 he suggested, after a moment or two. 
 
 " No," I answered, firmly, my decision taken. " My 
 ward must know this at once. I must see her." 
 
 " Pardon me. I cannot without authority " he 
 
 began, but had no need to complete his protest, for 
 Celia herself came in. 
 
 " I wondered if you were still here. Is the news of 
 the Duke true. They tell me he is dead." She was
 
 344 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 pale and spoke in a low voice with every sign of being 
 much disturbed and nervous. 
 
 " Yes, it is true. I have this moment heard it from 
 this gentleman. He died suddenly of heart failure." 
 
 " What will it mean to us ? " she asked, wistfully. 
 
 " Everything, I think." 
 
 She closed her eyes, locked her fingers tightly, sighed 
 and then involuntarily crept a step or two closer to 
 me, but remembering the presence of the secretaiy, 
 checked herself. Then a servant came in search of 
 her. 
 
 " Her Excellency would be glad to see your Grace," 
 he said. 
 
 " I will come. I had better, hadn't I ? I shall see 
 you again soon," she whispered. 
 
 " Very soon," I promised, and our hands clasped. 
 
 It meant so much for us, it was not humanly pos- 
 sible to feel sorrow. We were lovers, and although it 
 was death that had swept the barriers out of our way, 
 we could not in that moment think of anything but 
 our love.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 AT LAST 
 
 I WAS right in my instinctive forecast. The death 
 of the Duke meant everything to us. The days he lay 
 in state were days of continuous intrigue about the 
 succession, and for a time I half feared that Berlin 
 would declare in favour of Celia's cause. That it was 
 not so, General von Eckerstein had himself mainly to 
 blame. 
 
 Berlin had been misled, even as we had, in regard to 
 the Duke's knowledge of Celia and his recognition of 
 her legitimacy ; and the strongest censure was passed 
 on him, both for his lack of frankness and for his pro- 
 crastination. 
 
 A very high and mighty personage came to Cruden- 
 stadt and was extremely successful in entirely misun- 
 derstanding Celia's position. The General fell almost 
 into disgrace, and was brushed aside as a person of 
 quite secondary importance who had committed grave 
 blunders. 
 
 The great personage saw me and explained the po- 
 sition with much condescension, distant urbanity and 
 delightful misappreciation of Celia's wishes. At great 
 length he expounded the many weighty state reasons 
 why Celia could not be supported, and when I argued 
 any of them, he elaborated and explained them in an 
 almost apologetic vein. 
 
 " I really cannot admit any such claim. It is very 
 
 345
 
 346 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 painful for the young lady a very charming young 
 lady, I believe for I have thought it best not to see 
 her, as we cannot encourage her to hope for support, 
 but of course very English," and he smiled as he 
 pointed out this distressing fact. " It would have been 
 all so different had the late Duke admitted the claim 
 and been reconciled to her ; it would have changed 
 the whole position. She owes this disappointment 
 entirely to General von Eckerstein, indeed. We should 
 have had no locus standi for interference then. But I 
 put it to you ; look at the evidence. Did you ever 
 see such a complication ? " 
 
 " It was considered very clear," I ventured, secretly 
 rejoicing at the line he was taking. " It is a very serious 
 matter for my ward." 
 
 " Considered ! Yes, it may have been. But what 
 does it rest on? Nothing; indeed, less than nothing. 
 We have the statement of the servant, Schwartz, and 
 we had the confirming assertion of the unfortunate 
 Duchess Marie ; but in the first place her mind is af- 
 fected, and in the second she has changed her ground, 
 and supported somebody else's claim a person who 
 is absolutely outside the pale of possibility. What 
 other evidence is there ? " and he spread his hands out 
 with an expression suggestive of the preposterous ab- 
 surdity of the case. 
 
 " There is my uncle's written statement," I suggested, 
 looking deeply impressed by his eloquence, but yet 
 bound to urge Celia's claim. 
 
 " Yes, but what does it amount to ? Of course, it 
 is very sad for your ward, and very disappointing, 
 but- 
 
 " Very," I answered, when he paused. " It would
 
 AT LAST 347 
 
 be difficult to gauge the measure of her disappoint- 
 ment," as indeed I knew. " But she must try to bear 
 up against it." 
 
 " If only the Duke had admitted the claim it would 
 have been so different. Of course, you see that ? " 
 
 " You have put it now so strongly that she could not 
 fail to see it as clearly as I do," I said, as if convinced 
 now and able to contend no longer. " And what do 
 you think would be the best course for her to pursue? " 
 
 " It is about that I wished to see you ; " and for an 
 instant he became very serious. "The position is very 
 delicate. The Duke's son will succeed, despite his 
 health, but with a strong Regency. What will be done 
 afterwards I can't say. But I was going to suggest to 
 you, Sir Stanley you English are as practical as our- 
 selves generally do you think it would be possible to 
 prevail upon your ward to leave Crudenstadt and re- 
 turn, say, to London ? " 
 
 " It might be possible," I admitted, doubtfully, with 
 a grave nod of the head. 
 
 " Her continued presence here might become em- 
 barrassing, you see. I don't for a moment attribute 
 to her anything but the most prudent intentions, but 
 you can't answer for what other people might try to 
 do in her jiame. If you could prevail upon her to 
 absent herself for a time at any rate you would be 
 rendering us and in point of fact her as well, a valuable 
 service.; what think you ? " 
 
 " I have some influence with her," I admitted. 
 
 " You will use it I am sure in the best interests of 
 all," and he beamed upon me through his spectacles; 
 and manifestly plumed himself upon his successful 
 diplomacy and the clever way in which he was hand.
 
 348 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 ling me and getting all he wanted. I felt quite sorry 
 Celia herself was not present, and after an appearance 
 of reflection, I said : 
 
 " The matter is so important that my ward herself 
 ought really to be present and hear what you say. It 
 might strengthen my influence with her, you see." 
 
 " If you think so by all means, but there is just one 
 other point. When the claim is once abandoned, it 
 might be more satisfactory if your ward's assent to the 
 abandonment were in writing. Only a form, of course, 
 but in these matters some people rather stickle for 
 forms." 
 
 "That might also be possible," I agreed, after a 
 pause. " If you were to put it to her, I think perhaps 
 I could see my way to assist you ; " and I looked very 
 serious indeed. 
 
 As the interview took place in General von Ecker- 
 stein's house it was an easy matter to get at Celia, and 
 she came in, looking very pale and anxious, but on 
 seeing me and reading intuitively the expression on 
 my face, her own brightened. 
 
 The illustrious Berliner had not seen her before, so 
 I told her in a tone of awe suited to his rank who he 
 was, and made haste to open the matter. 
 
 " A crisis has been reached in your affairs, Celia, and 
 His Highness has been speaking to me on the matter. 
 You will have to prepare yourself to receive his com- 
 munication with fortitude. His Highness has grave 
 doubts whether your claim to the throne of the Duchy 
 can possibly be maintained." Her eyes which had 
 been fixed on the floor while I spoke, flashed up at me 
 now, and lingered a moment on mine with deep mean- 
 ing, and then turned upon his Highness. " Such a
 
 AT LAST 349 
 
 disappointment as is involved in this decision for you, 
 Celia, may be difficult to bear, but you must be brave," 
 I added. 
 
 " Is it quite decided ? " she asked in a tone which 
 showed me she had caught the spirit of the scene, and 
 she looked almost appealingly in the great man's face. 
 
 His Highness had been looking intently at her, and 
 I was much mistaken if his obviously very impression- 
 able nature had not found her beauty a very great 
 surprise, and a very attractive one. It was perhaps 
 just as well that he had made his decision first and 
 seen the object of it afterwards. 
 
 " Your ward is much older than I had expected, Sir 
 Stanley," he said ; and the remark showed how badly 
 he had got his facts up ; but both Celia and I appeared 
 to find a suggestion of something more than mere sur- 
 prise in his words, for a very suspicious colour crept into 
 her cheeks, and I could have smiled, if I had not been 
 on my most correct behaviour. " I am distressed to 
 be the means of causing so much disappointment and 
 pain to so beautiful a young lady ; but the exigencies 
 of State unfortunately know nothing of such matters." 
 
 " Is it quite decided ? " asked Celia again, eager as I 
 thought to get the fact officially announced. 
 
 " I fear I must say quite," was the reply, and then 
 he went again over the ground of the decision as he 
 had with me. " Sir Stanley tells me," he concluded, 
 " that he has some influence with you." 
 
 " Indeed," interposed Celia, with a glance of excel- 
 lently assumed surprise. 
 
 " I correctly understood you, Sir Stanley?" 
 
 " As guardian, of course," I said, apologetically. 
 
 " Ah, if I were only your ward," retorted Celia.
 
 350 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 "If His Highness decides as he says, Celia, that re- 
 lationship will revive ; I think you must see that," I 
 explained in an appropriately grave tone. 
 
 " Never," she cried, quite audaciously, as she twirled 
 her ring. 
 
 " I shall be sorry if your residence at Crudenstadt 
 has destroyed old associations in the way your protest 
 suggests." 
 
 " I don't remember that obedience was ever the chief 
 characteristic of my wardship," and her eyes were 
 laughing at me in flat rebellion right under the eyes 
 of the great personage, who appeared considerably 
 puzzled by this passage. 
 
 "You may put it, your Highness," I said turning 
 to him, " that I will use such influence as I possess to 
 help you in achieving the end you desire." 
 
 He bowed courteously, and then looked in much 
 doubt at Celia. 
 
 " I suggested to Sir Stanley that it would be advis- 
 able if you could be prevailed upon to leave Cruden- 
 stadt, at any rate for a time.'' 
 
 " In the unimportant matter of my personal move- 
 ments I have always allowed my guardian's decision 
 to prevail," said Celia, demurely, and with an excel- 
 lent parody of the great man's manner. 
 
 " Then you will leave ? " he said, and his tone was 
 one of unmistakable satisfaction. 
 
 " If my guardian so decides, I shall feel I have no 
 option." His Highness glanced at me as though he 
 had scored another success. 
 
 " There is one other point, more or less a formality," 
 he said, with an engaging smile. " It refers to the 
 abandonment of your claim. I was explaining to Sir
 
 AT LAST 351 
 
 Stanley in your interest that if the fact were put in 
 writing it would tend to clear the air of all possible 
 complications and be so much better for all parties." 
 
 " And does my guardian actually advise me to do 
 that ? " asked Celia, open-eyed as with astonishment. 
 
 " I said it was possible you might be induced to do 
 so, Celia. I only spoke as I thought, of course." 
 
 " But if I do this, I am only a girl, what is to be- 
 come of me ? " she exclaimed in most theatrical dismay. 
 
 "You need have no fear on that head," said the 
 great man. But that was not what Celia meant or de- 
 sired, and I interfered : 
 
 " Of course, if you resumed your position as my 
 ward, your welfare would be again the charge of us all." 
 
 " Of you all ! " she cried again, pressing me most 
 daringly, her face crinkled in perplexity and her eyes 
 dancing with gleeful mischief. 
 
 " As head of my family, you would be my special 
 charge, Celia," I said, and at that direct statement, 
 she had to lower her face to conceal the blush which 
 it brought. " I think I can say that Celia would recog- 
 nise the prudence of such a step, your Highness." 
 
 " I felt convinced of that and as a matter of form " 
 this seemed to be one of the stock-in-trade phrases of 
 his illustriousd iplomacy " I had a paper just thrown 
 together. If you would look at it now, Sir Stanley, 
 the matter might be completed, and I could acquaint 
 Berlin." 
 
 I read it through and found it, as I had anticipated, 
 a very carefully drafted renunciation by Celia of all 
 claims to the throne ; and it was signed and sealed 
 there and then with all the necessary formalities. 
 When these were concluded, I asked :
 
 352 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 " When do you think my ward should leave Cruden- 
 stadt ? " 
 
 " The sooner the better," was the prompt reply. 
 
 " To-night ? " 
 
 " If it be practicable for the necessary preparations 
 to be made ? " he answered with a questioning glance 
 at Celia. 
 
 " I could try. I have before now had to travel at 
 very short notice and without any preparations. And 
 if it is really a matter of urgency, I think I could do 
 it," she declared. 
 
 " There's only an hour to catch the mail," said I. 
 
 " I'm afraid that's altogether too short a notice," 
 suggested the great man. 
 
 " Still, to serve the State, I'll make an effort," cried 
 Celia ; and then suddenly her powers of pretence gave 
 way, she laughed brightly and ran out of the room like 
 a happy schoolgirl going home for the holidays. 
 
 His Highness stared after her, greatly puzzled. 
 
 " She is a very beautiful girl, and a very unusual one, 
 Sir Stanley. Upon my word I almost think she is 
 glad to go." 
 
 " She has a very affectionate nature, your Highness, 
 and likes England," I replied with preternatural gravity. 
 " She is moreover very much attached to my sister, 
 too." 
 
 " Umph. Your sister is a very lucky girl," he said 
 drily. " And perhaps of about your own age ? " Which 
 seemed to show that even illustrious personages are 
 not impervious to the truth. 
 
 " My sister is years younger than I am," I answered ; 
 "about the same age as Celia herself." 
 
 " Ah ! " he smiled, meaningly, and shook hands very
 
 AT LAST 353 
 
 cordially. " I congratulate your sister and yourself, 
 Sir Stanley. We have been playing a little comedy, it 
 seems, and it might have saved time had you told me 
 before. But you will catch that train, I've no doubt, 
 and in any case could not have caught an earlier one ;" 
 and with that we parted. 
 
 We did catch the train and a most delightful journey 
 it was back to England. Celia had very little luggage, 
 but she was taking a bulk of high spirits and happiness 
 that proved quite unpackable, even in her great heart. 
 The sunshine of her delight defied restraint and burst- 
 ing out constantly, lightened and brightened every 
 mile of the way, and filled the stuffy carriages, the 
 monotonous stations, our whole world in fact, with a 
 radiance that was like a new life that we were carrying 
 with us home to England. 
 
 A quiet wedding six weeks later opened for us the 
 real new life, and we started on another journey to 
 make that long ramble about the world which I had 
 planned once before. In the course of it, four months 
 later, we found ourselves once again in Crudenstadt. 
 
 The visit had been made possible by a letter which 
 came to us just before our marriage from the great 
 Personage at Berlin. It brought renewed congratula- 
 tions and a most lovely wedding present for Celia ; 
 and then told us that under the altered circumstances 
 we need certainly not regard ourselves as bound to 
 avoid Crudenstadt. 
 
 We were curious to go there. Alice made very much 
 of us both, and even her husband was cordial, having, 
 of course, no reason to be anything else. My sister as 
 usual had much news to tell us. 
 
 The succession question was still simmering ; the
 
 354 FOR LOVE OR CROWN 
 
 young Duke Constans was still alive and nominally on 
 the Throne, but no one ever saw him and he was drink- 
 ing himself to death. The Regency still held the 
 power and under it, our stern old antagonist, General 
 von Eckerstein, had managed to regain some of his 
 influence. Karl von Kronheim and the Baroness Bor- 
 gen were dead ; the former was killed in an accident 
 when riding, mad with drink ; the latter had died with- 
 in a week of the time of our troubled visit, and with 
 her died the story of her crime. Katrine had dis- 
 appeared, and although we had our own thoughts, 
 nothing was ever heard of her. It was a gruesome 
 story altogether. The two old women admitted the 
 falseness of the changeling fable ; but even this proof 
 of the reality of her claims did not make Celia wish to 
 press them, or even to stay in Crudenstadt. 
 
 We left the next day, but not before we had had a 
 last look at the General's house which had been Celia's 
 prison, and then at the Duke's Residenz, which might 
 have been hers. 
 
 " It is a splendid place," said I, " a gorgeous home 
 to have renounced." 
 
 " It has one fatal flaw,'' answered Celia, pensively. 
 
 "A flaw? How do you mean?" She turned and 
 smiled. 
 
 " There is no love there, and no Stanley in all the 
 Duchy. I would ten thousand times rather have my 
 own kingdom." 
 
 A preference which, thank Heaven, my dear wife has 
 never repented. 
 
 THE END.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL UBRARY FACILITY 
 
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