s the wrong I have done
you?"

"What! Afraid of Joan?" cried he cheerfully. "Why, you dear old mother,
Joan is taking all the blame on her own shoulders. You will find she
agrees with me that you are the one to be pitied. You made a mistake
for which you have paid very dearly; but in no possible way can it
affect the remainder of our lives. There now, cheer up and prepare for
your journey!"

The Princess left the room leaning on Pauline's arm, nor, in passing,
did she bestow a glance on her husband. Prince Michael indulged in an
ostentatious shrug, and might have said something had not Alec's gaze
dwelt on him steadily. It is to be presumed that, not for the first
time, discretion conquered Michael's valor.

"A word with you, Beliani," said Alec, going to the table and unlocking
the drawer from which he had taken the money given to Sobieski. "You are
now in charge of the State's finances, I presume. I have here a sum,
roughly speaking, of one thousand pounds. To some extent, it is my own
money; but the greater part consists of instalments of the salary of
five thousand dollars a year I allowed myself as King. Do you think I
have earned it?"

The Greek could only mutter a surprised, "Yes. Who would deny your right
to a far larger amount?"

"Having your sanction, then, I take it," said Alec coolly. "Here too is
my passport, issued in Paris, for which I believe I am indebted to you.
It will now come in handy. May I ask in whose charge I leave the books
and papers on this table? Some of them may be of use to the State."

"I am afraid I cannot answer that question," muttered the Greek, with a
stealthy glance in the direction of the rival candidates.

"Well, settle it among yourselves," said Alec dryly. "Now I must be
off."

Without another word he passed from the room that had witnessed his
triumph and his fall. Yet his face was remarkably cheerful when he asked
an attendant if Lord Adalbert Beaumanoir's whereabouts was known. The
quiet elation in his manner led the man to believe that some specially
pleasing news had transpired during the conclave in the royal bureau.

It appeared that his Excellency, the English milord, had gone to the
music hall in the Koenigstrasse with a friend.

"Then send some one to say that he is wanted here at once," said Alec.

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Your Majesty!" How incongruous the two words sounded now in Alec's
ears! By a trick of memory his thoughts flew back to the Montmartre