Anthony Hope

“ Yes, any business is a good enough excuse for leaving me! By heaven, I wonder if a king was ever served so badly as I am! Why did you trouble to get me out of Zenda? Nobody wants me, nobody cares whether I live or die."
To reason with such a mood was impossible. I could only assure him that I would hasten my return by all possible means.
"Yes, pray do," said he. "I want somebody to look after me. Who knows what that villain Rupert may attempt against me? And I can't defend myself, can I? I’m not Rudolf Rassendyll, am I?" ”

“ A MAN who has lived in the world, marking how every act, although in itself perhaps light and insignificant, may become the source of consequences that spread far and wide, and flow for years or centuries, could scarcely feel secure in reckoning that with the death of the Duke of Strelsau and the restoration of King Rudolf to liberty and his throne, there would end, for good and all, the troubles born of Black Michael's daring conspiracy. The stakes had been high, the struggle keen; the edge of passion had been sharpened, and the seeds of enmity sown. ”

“ For three years the Princess Flavia had been Queen. I am come by now to the age when a man should look out on life with an eye undimmed by the mists of passion. My love-making days are over; yet there is nothing for which I am more thankful to Almighty God than the gift of my wife's love. In storm it has been my anchor, and in clear skies my star. But we common folk are free to follow our hearts; am I an old fool for saying that he is a fool who follows anything else? Our liberty is not for princes. We need wait for no future world to balance the luck of men ”

“ We were fully awake to the fact that even Rupert's death would not make the secret safe. Rischenheim, although for a moment a prisoner and helpless, was alive and could not be mewed up for ever; Bauer was we knew not where, free to act and free to talk. Yet in our hearts we feared none but Rupert, and the doubt was not whether we could do the thing so much as whether we should. For in moments of excitement and intense feeling a man makes light of obstacles which look large enough as he turns reflective eyes on them in the quiet of after days. ”

“ I kissed her hand also; then we mounted, and we started, and we rode, as if the devil were behind us, for the hunting-lodge.
But I turned once to watch her standing on the terrace, with young Bernenstein's tall figure beside her.
"Can we be in time?" said I. It was what I had meant to say before.
"I think not, but by God we'll try," said Colonel Sapt.
And I knew why he had not let me speak.
Suddenly there was a sound behind us of a horse at the gallop. Our heads flew round in the ready apprehension of men on a perilous errand. The hoofs drew near, for the unknown rode with reckless haste. ”

“ Rudolf went on: "'The King will not leave the lodge to-day.' Thank God, then, we have to-day!"
"Yes, but Where's Rupert?"
"We shall know in an hour, if he's in Strelsau," and Mr. Rassendyll looked as though it would please him well to find Rupert in Strelsau. "Yes, I must seek him. I shall stand at nothing to find him. If I can only get to him as the King, then I'll be the King. We have to-day!"
My message put them in heart again, although it left so much still unexplained. Rudolf turned to the Queen:
"Courage, my Queen," said he. "A few hours now will see an end of all our dangers." ”

“ I was looking at Rudolf and saw his head turn suddenly and his eyes grow bright. I looked where his eyes had gone. There, on the top step of the broad marble flight, stood the Queen, pale as the marble itself, stretching out her hands towards Rudolf. The people had seen her: she it was whom this last rapturous cheer greeted. My wife stood close behind her, and farther back others of her ladies. Bernenstein and I sprang out. With a last salute to the people Rudolf followed us. He walked up to the highest step but one, and there fell on one knee and kissed the Queen's hand. ”

“ The Queen had begun to listen before now; her eyes were fixed on Sapt, and she had stretched out one arm to him, as if imploring him to read her his riddle. But a few words had in truth declared his device plainly enough in all its simplicity. Rudolf Rassendyll was dead, his body burnt to a cinder, and the King was alive, whole, and on his throne in Strelsau. Thus had Sapt caught from James the servant the infection of his madness, and had fulfilled in action the strange imagination which the little man had unfolded to him in order to pass their idle hours at the lodge. ”

“ Fritz, hadn't I done enough? You don't know what I've endured. And I must endure more still. For he will go now, and the time will be very long. But at last we shall be together. There is pity in God; we shall be together at last."
"If he goes now, how can he come back?"
"He will not come back; I shall go to him. I shall give up the throne and go to him, some day, when I can be spared from here, when I've done my—my work."
I was aghast at this shattering of my vision, yet I could not be hard to her. I said nothing, but took her hand and pressed it.
"You wanted him to be King?" ”

“ Certainly a quiet fell over the old Castle, that only the Constable's curt tones broke, as he bade Rudolf come by the back way to the stables and mount his horse.
"There's no time to lose," said Sapt, and his eye seemed to grudge the Queen even one word more with the man she loved.
But Rudolf was not to be hurried into leaving her in such a fashion. He clapped the Constable on the shoulder, laughing and bidding him think of what he would for a moment; then he went again to the Queen and would have knelt before her, but that she would not suffer, and they stood with hands locked. ”

“ She looked round warily, and sank her voice to a whisper as she answered:
"No, not now—nobody else."
"I was seeking a friend of mine," said Rudolf. "I want to see him alone. It's not easy for a King to see people alone."
"You mean——?"
"Well, you know who I mean."
"Yes. No, he's gone; but he's gone to find you."
"To find me? Plague take it! How do you know that, my pretty lady?"
"Bauer told me."
"Ah, Bauer! And who's Bauer?"
"The man who knocked. Why did you shut him out?"
"To be alone with you, to be sure. So Bauer tells you his master's secrets?" ”

“ There, in the bright moonlight, on the far side of the broad terrace, close by the line of tall trees that fringed its edge, we saw Rudolf Rassendyll pacing slowly up and down, with his hands behind his back and his eyes fixed on the arbiter of his fate, on her who was to make him a king or send him a fugitive from Strelsau.
"There he is, madame," said Sapt. "Safe enough!"
The Queen did not answer. Sapt said no more, and of the rest of us none spoke. We stood watching him as he struggled with his great issue: a greater surely has seldom fallen to the lot of any man born in a private station. ”

“ For the King was in bed, and had a beard; yet here was the King, fully dressed and clean shaven, and he was kissing the Queen's hand, while she gazed down on him in a struggle between amazement, fright and joy. A soldier should be prepared for anything, but I cannot be hard on young Bernenstein's bewilderment.
Yet there was in truth nothing strange in the Queen seeking to see old Sapt that night, nor in her guessing where he would most probably be found. For she had asked him three times whether news had come from Wintenberg and each time he had put her off with excuses. ”

“ Bernenstein looked aghast, Rischenheim nervous yet triumphant, Anton amused and gratified.
"The King!" he cried, and burst into a laugh. "You've drawn him, Rischenheim!"
The crowd heard his boyish exclamation and raised a cheer. Helsing turned as though to rebuke them. Had not the King himself desired secrecy? Yes, but he who spoke as the King chose any risk sooner than let Rischenheim go back and warn Rupert of his presence.
"Is that the Count of Luzau-Rischenheim?" called Rudolf from within. "If so, let him enter and then shut the door." ”

“ The two were back in their little room now, past the door that hid the bodies of the King and his huntsman. James stood by the table, old Sapt roamed up and down, tugging his moustache and now and again sawing the air with his sturdy hairy hand.
"I daren't do it," he muttered: "I daren't do it. It's a thing a man can't set his hand to of his own will. But the fate'll do it—the fate'll do it. The fate'll force it on us."
"Then we'd best be ready, sir," suggested James quietly. ”

“ James went out, and was back with the forms in an instant.
"Be ready when I ring," said Rudolf. And he added, turning to me, "Any easier, Fritz?"
"I can listen to you now," I said.
"I see their game," said he. "One or other of them—Rupert or this Rischenheim—will try to get to the King with the letter."
I sprang to my feet.
"They mustn't!" I cried; and I reeled back into my chair, with a feeling as if a red-hot poker were being run through my head.
"Much you can do to stop 'em, old fellow," smiled Rudolf, pausing to press my hand as he went by. "They won't trust the post, you know. ”

“ I saw women come and go weeping, and men bite their lips as they passed by. Rischenheim came, pale-faced and troubled; and while all came and went, there, immovable, with drawn sword, in military stiffness, old Sapt stood at the head of the bier, his eyes set steadily in front of him, and his body never stirring from hour to hour through the long day.
A distant faint hum of voices reached us. The Queen laid her hand on my arm.
"It is the dream, Fritz," she said. "Hark! They speak of the King; they speak in low voices and with grief, but they call him King. ”

“ Lovers count neither time nor danger; but Sapt counted both, and no more than a moment had passed before, with eager imperative gestures, he beckoned them to enter the room. The Queen obeyed, and Rudolf followed her.
"Let nobody in, and don't say a word to anybody," whispered Sapt, as he entered, leaving Bernenstein outside. The young man was half-dazed still, but he had sense to read the expression in the Constable's eyes and to learn from it that he must give his life sooner than let the door be opened. ”

“ But thus time went, and it was nearly five in the morning before I bade them farewell and mounted my horse. They took theirs and led them away to the stables behind the lodge; I waved my hand and gallopped off on my return to the Castle. Day was dawning, and the air was fresh and pure. The new light brought new hope; fears seemed to vanish before it; my nerves were strung to effort and to confidence. My horse moved freely under me and carried me easily along the grassy avenues. It was hard then to be utterly despondent, hard to doubt skill of brain, strength of hand, or fortune's favour. ”

“ It seemed indeed as though some strange influence were dominating Sapt; he went about the work like a man who is hardly awake. They placed the bodies each where the living man would be by night—the King in the guest-room, the huntsman in the sort of cupboard where the honest fellow had been wont to lie. They dug up the buried dog, Sapt chuckling convulsively, James grave as the mute whose grim doings he seemed to travesty: they carried the shot-pierced earth-grimed thing in, and laid it in the King's room. ”

“ Anton was driving, and on the other seat was a large nosegay of choice flowers.
"Where are you off to?" cried Anton, leaning forward with a gay smile.
"Well, where are you? To a lady's, I presume, from your bouquet there," answered Rischenheim, as lightly as he could.
"The little bunch of flowers," simpered young Anton, "is a cousinly offering to Helga von Tarlenheim, and I'm going to present it. Can I give you a lift anywhere?"
Although Rischenheim had intended to go first to the palace, Anton's offer seemed to give him a good excuse for drawing the more likely covert first. ”

“ Bauer is my tool, I am not his. I lay Rischenheim by the heels, send Rupert off howling with a ball in his arm, and carry my precious burden in triumph to Mr. Rassendyll. By the time I have played the whole game I am indeed proud of myself. Yet in truth—in daylight truth—I fear that, unless Heaven sent me a fresh set of brains, I should be caught in much the same way again. Though not by that fellow Bauer, I swear! ”

“ To save the King he had played the King in old days, but he did not love to play the King when the profit of it was to be his own. Hence he was unmoved till his care for the fair fame of the Queen and the love of his friends joined to buffet his resolution. Then he faltered; but he had not fallen. Yet Colonel Sapt did all as though he had given his assent, and watched the last hours in which his flight from Strelsau was possible go quickly by with more than equanimity. Why hurry Rudolf's resolve? Every moment shut him closer in the trap of an inevitable choice. ”

“ It is women to whom women turn, and women whom women fear. "But Helga writes no letters," said the Queen.
"Why, no," said I, and I smiled a grim smile. Well, Rudolf Rassendyll had never wooed my wife.
She rose, saying:
"Come, let us go to the palace."
As she rose, Rischenheim made a quick impulsive step towards her.
"Well, my lord," said she, turning towards him, "will you too go with me?"
"Lieutenant von Bernenstein will take care——" I began. But I stopped. The slightest gesture of her hand silenced me.
"Will you go with me?" she asked Rischenheim again. ”

“ With Rischenheim silent, Bauer was the only man, save Rupert himself, who knew the truth, the only man who threatened that great scheme which more and more filled our thoughts and grew upon us with an increasing force of attraction as every obstacle to it seemed to be cleared out of the way. But I would not look at Bernenstein, fearing to acknowledge even with my eyes how my mind jumped with his. ”

“ Old Sapt, having done his work, suddenly turned talkative.
"That moon there," he said, pointing his square thick forefinger at the window, "is a mighty untrustworthy lady. I’ve known her wake a villain's conscience before now."
"I've known her send a lover's to sleep," laughed young Bernenstein, rising from his table, stretching himself, and lighting a cigar.
"Aye, she’s apt to take a man out of what he is," pursued old Sapt. "Set a quiet man near her, and he dreams of battle; an ambitious fellow, after ten minutes of her, will ask nothing better than to muse all his life away. ”

“ Rudolf looked at him with some surprise. Then speaking in a low voice, lest the Queen should hear and be distressed, he went on:
"You must prepare it, you know. Bring it here in a shell; only a few officials need see the face."
Sapt rose to his feet and stood before Mr. Rassendyll.
"The plan's a pretty one, but it breaks down at one point," said he in a strange voice, even harsher than his was wont to be. I was on fire with excitement, for I would have staked my life now that he had some strange tidings for us. "There is no body," said he. ”

“ He drew from his inner pocket the Queen's letter. "Now if the King hadn't been a fool!" he murmured regretfully, as he regarded it.
Then he walked across to the window and looked out; he could not himself be seen from the street, and nobody was visible at the windows opposite. Men and women passed to and fro on their daily labours or pleasures; there was no unusual stir in the city. Looking across the roofs, Rupert could see the royal standard floating in the wind over the palace and barracks. He took out his watch; Rischenheim imitated his action: it was ten minutes to ten. ”

“ And of these Rupert alone, or perhaps Rischenheim also, knew that the King was dead, and how the issue of last night had shaped itself under the compelling hand of wayward fortune. The King lay in peace on his bed, his grave was dug; Sapt and James held the secret with solemn faith and ready lives. To Strelsau I must go, to tell the Queen that she was widowed, and to aim the stroke at young Rupert's heart.
At nine in the morning I started from the lodge. I was bound to ride to Hofbau, and there wait for a train which would carry me to the capital. ”

“ Rassendyll came again to Zenda a fury of chance seemed to catch us all in a whirlwind, carrying us whither we would not, and ever driving us onwards to fresh enterprises, breathing into us a recklessness that stood at no obstacle, and a devotion to the Queen and to the man she loved that swept away all other feelings. The ancients held there to be a Fate which would have its fill, though women wept and men died, and none could tell whose was the guilt nor who fell innocent. ”

“ With a sudden swift bound Rudolf was upon him; his hands gripped Rupert's wrists, and with his greater strength he bent back the Count's pliant body till trunk and head lay flat on the table. Neither man spoke; their eyes met; each heard the other's breathing and felt the vapour of it on his face. The girl outside had seen the movement of Rudolf’s figure, but her cranny did not serve to show her the two where they were now; she knelt on her knees in ignorant suspense. Slowly and with patient force Rudolf began to work his enemy's arms towards one another. ”