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'What wine will your Royal Highness take? asked old Hans in his soothing tones, when the soup was served. 'Sherry, was Prince Eugen's curt order. 'And Romanee-Conti afterwards? said Hans. Aribert looked up quickly. 'No, not to-night. I'll try Sillery to-night, said Prince Eugen. 'I think I'll have Romanee-Conti, Hans, after all, he said. 'It suits me better than champagne.
'Eugen, the lady with the red hat, the lady you are waiting for, is upstairs. She has sent us down to ask you to come up. Won't you come? 'Himmel! the poor fellow exclaimed, with a kind of weak anger. 'Why did you not say this before? He rose, staggered towards Aribert, and fell headlong on the floor. He had swooned.
'Who can it be? said Racksole. 'It is Eugen, was the Prince's low answer. 'EUGEN, Prince Aribert called softly. At the sound of his own name the young man in the cellar feebly raised his head and stared up at the grating which separated him from his two rescuers. But his features showed no recognition.
The Prince and the servant gazed at one another in a distressing and terrible silence. There was a slight noise, and Aribert looked aside. He saw that Eugen's body had slipped forward limply over the left arm of his chair; the Prince's arms hung straight and lifeless; his eyes were closed; he was unconscious. 'Hans! murmured Aribert. 'Hans! What is this?
Tell me, he went on, changing the subject quickly, 'how came it that you left the Prince, my nephew, at Ostend, and returned to Posen? 'His orders, Prince, and old Hans, who had had a wide experience of Royal whims and knew half the secrets of the Courts of Europe, gave Aribert a look which might have meant anything. 'He sent me back on an an errand, your Highness.
He could not for an instant believe that Hans was not the very soul of fidelity, and yet, despite himself, Racksole's words had caused him a certain uneasiness. At that moment Prince Eugen murmured across the table: 'Aribert, I withdraw my promise. Observe that, I withdraw it. Aribert shook his head emphatically, without removing his gaze from Hans.
The Racksoles, too, duly marked the attitude of Prince Aribert to his nephew: it was at once paternal and reverential; it disclosed clearly that Prince Aribert continued, in spite of everything, to regard his nephew as his sovereign lord and master, as a being surrounded by a natural and inevitable pomp and awe.
In this determination they were supported by the "Willy" von Hohenaus, by the various members of the Hohenlohe family, by Baron Schrader, Baron Hugo Reischach, chamberlain to the Empress Frederick, Prince and Princess Aribert of Anhalt, the latter being a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Prince and Princess Albert of Saxe-Altenburg, and last, but not least, Baron von Tausch, the chief of the secret police attached to the particular service of the emperor.
No word was uttered. A shadow had passed from over them, but only their eyes expressed relief and joy. 'Aribert! The faint call came from the bed. Aribert went to the bedside, while Nella remained near the window. 'What is it, Eugen? he said. 'You are better now. 'You think so? murmured the other. 'I want you to forgive me for all this, Aribert. I must have caused you an intolerable trouble.
I inquired from the hotel-folks if you had retired, and they said no; so I slipped out. I guessed where you were. Racksole interrupted her with a question as to what she meant by this escapade, but she stopped him with a careless gesture. What's this? She pointed to the form on the sofa. 'That is my nephew, Prince Eugen, said Aribert. 'Hurt? she inquired coldly. 'I hope not.
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