CHAPTER XII. JENNIE TOUCHES THE EDGE OF A GOVERNMENT SECRET.
True to her promise, the Princess von Steinheimer was waiting at theimmense railway station of Vienna, and she received her friend withgushing effusion. Jennie left the train as neat as when she had enteredit, for many women have the faculty of taking long journeys withoutshowing the dishevelled effect which protracted railway travelling seemsto have upon the masculine, and probably more careless, portion ofhumanity.
"Oh, you dear girl!" cried the Princess; "you cannot tell how glad I amto see you. I was just yearning for someone to talk English to. I am sotired of French and German, although they flatter me by saying that Ispeak those two languages extremely well; yet English is my own tongue,and it is so delightful to talk with one who can understand everyblessed word you say, which you can easily see those who pretend tospeak English in Vienna do not. What long chats we shall have! And nowcome this way to the carriage. There is a man here to look after yourluggage. You are coming right home with me and are going to stay with meas long as you are in Vienna. Don't say, 'No,' nor make any excuse, nortalk of going to an hotel, for a suite of rooms is all ready for you,and your luggage will be there before we are. Now let us enter thecarriage, for I am just pining to hear what it is you have on hand. Somedelicious scandal, I hope."
"No," answered Jennie; "it pertains to Government matters."
"Oh, dear!" cried the Princess; "how tiresome! Politics are so dull."
"I don't think this case is dull," said Jennie; "because it has broughtAustria and England to the verge of war."
"What a dreadful idea! I hadn't heard anything of it. When did thishappen?"
"Less than a month ago," and Jennie related the whole circumstance,giving a synopsis of the Premier's speech.
"But I see nothing in that speech to cause war," protested the Princess."It is as mild as new milk."
"I don't pretend to understand diplomacy," continued Jennie, blushingslightly as she remembered Lord Donal; and it seemed that the samethought struck the Princess at the same moment, for she lookedquizzically at Jennie and burst out into a laugh.
"You may laugh," cried the girl; "but I tell you that this is a seriousbusiness. They say it only needed a second 'new milk' speech from thePremier to have England answer most politely in words of honey, and nextinstant the two countries would have been at each other's throats."
"Suppose we write to Lord Donal in St. Petersburg," suggested thePrincess, still laughing, "and ask him to come to Vienna and help us? Heunderstands all about diplomacy. By the way, Jennie, did Lord Donal everfind out whom he met at the ball that night?"
"No, he didn't," answered Miss Baxter shortly.
"Don't you ever intend to let him know? Are you going to leave theromance unfinished, like one of Henry James's novels?"
"It isn't a romance; it is simply a very distressing incident which Ihave been trying to forget ever since. It is all very well for you tolaugh, but if you ever mention the subject again I'll leave you and goto an hotel."
"Oh, no, you won't," chirruped the Princess brightly; "you daren't. Youknow I hold all the trump cards; at any time I can send a letter toLord Donal and set the poor young man's mind at rest. So you see, MissJennie, you will have to talk very sweetly and politely to me and notmake any threats, because I am like those dreadful persons in thesensational plays who possess the guilty secrets of other people andblackmail them. But you are a nice girl, and I won't say anything youdon't want to hear said. Now, what is it you wish to find out about thispolitical crisis?"
"I want to discover why the Premier did not follow up his speech withanother. He must have known when he spoke how his words would be takenin England; therefore it is thought that he had some plans whichunforeseen circumstances intervening have nullified. I want to know whatthose unforeseen circumstances were, and what these plans were. For thepast fortnight the _Daily Bugle_ has had two men here in Vienna tryingto throw some light on the dark recesses of diplomacy. Up to date theyhave failed, but at any moment they may succeed; it was because theyfailed that I am sent here. Now, have you anything to suggest, Madame laPrincesse?"
"I suggest, Jennie, that we put our heads together and learn all thatthose diplomatists wish to hide. Have you no plans yourself?"
"I have no very definite plan, but I have a general scheme. These menI spoke of are trying to discover what other men are endeavouring toconceal. All the officials are on their guard; they are highly placed,and are not likely to be got at by bribery. They are clever, alert menof the world, so hoodwinking them is out of the question; therefore Ithink my two fellow journalists have a difficult task before them."
"But it is the same task that you have before you; why is it not asdifficult for you, Jennie, as for them?"
"Because I propose to work with people who are not on their guard, andthere is where you can help me, if you are not shocked at my proposal.Each official has a wife, or at least most of them have. Some of thesewives, in all probability, possess the information that we would like toget. Women will talk more freely with women than men will with men. Now,I propose to leave the officials severely alone and to interview theirwives."
The Princess clapped her hands.
"Excellent!" she cried. "The women of Vienna are the greatest gossipsyou ever heard chattering together. I have never taken any interest inpolitics, otherwise I suppose I might have become possessed of someimportant Government secrets. Now, Jennie, I'll tell you what I proposedoing. I shall give a formal tea next Thursday afternoon. I shall inviteto that tea a dozen, or two dozen, or three dozen wives of influentialofficials about the Court. My husband will like that, because he isalways complaining that I do not pay enough attention to the ladies ofthe political circle of Vienna. He takes a great interest in politics,you know. If we discover nothing at the first tea-meeting, we will haveanother, and another, and another, until we do. We are sure to invitethe right woman on one of those occasions, and when we find her I'llwarrant the secret will soon belong to us. Ah, here we are at home, andwe will postpone the discussion of our delightful conspiracy until youhave had something to eat and are rested a bit."
The carriage drew up at the magnificent palace, well known in Vienna,which belongs to the Prince von Steinheimer; and shortly afterwardsJennie Baxter found herself in possession of the finest suite of roomsshe had ever beheld in her life. Jennie laughed as she looked round herapartment and noted its luxuriant appointments.
"These are not exactly what we should call 'diggings' in London, arethey?" she said to the Princess, who stood by her side, delighted at thepleasure of her friend. "We often read of poor penny-a-liners in theirgarrets; but I don't think any penny-a-liner ever had such a garret asthis placed at his disposal."
"I knew you would like the rooms," cried the Princess gaily. "I likethem myself, and I hope they will help to induce you to stay in Viennaas long as you can. I have given you my own maid Gretlich, and I assureyou it isn't every friend I would lend her to; she is a model servant."
"Oh, but you mustn't do that," said Jennie. "I cannot rob you of yourmaid and also be selfish enough to monopolize these rooms."
"You are not robbing me; in fact, I am, perhaps, a little artful ingiving you Gretlich, for she is down in the dumps this last week or two,and I don't know what in the world is the matter with her. I suspect itis some love affair; but she will say nothing, although I have askedher time and again what is the trouble. Now, you are such a cheery,consoling young woman that I thought if Gretlich were in your servicefor a time she might brighten up and be her own self again. So yousee, instead of robbing me, I am really taking advantage of your goodnature."
"I am afraid you are just saying that to make it easier for me to beselfish; still, you are so generous, Princess, that I am not going toobject to anything you do, but just give myself up to luxury while Istay in Vienna."
"That is right. Ah, here is Gretlich. Now, Gretlich, I want you to helpmake Miss Baxter's stay here so pleasant that she will never want tol
eave us."
"I shall do my best, your Highness," said the girl, with quietdeference.
The Princess left the two alone together, and Jennie saw that Gretlichwas not the least ornamental appendage to the handsome suite of rooms.Gretlich was an excellent example of that type of fair women for whichVienna is noted; but she was, as the Princess had said, extremelydowncast, and Jennie, who had a deep sympathy for all who worked, spokekindly to the girl and endeavoured to cheer her. There was something ofunaccustomed tenderness in the compassionate tones of Jennie's voicethat touched the girl, for, after a brief and ineffectual effort atself-control, she broke down and wept. To her pitying listener shetold her story. She had been betrothed to a soldier whose regiment wasstationed in the Burg. When last the girl saw her lover he was to bethat night on guard in the Treasury. Before morning a catastrophe ofsome kind occurred. The girl did not know quite what had happened. Somesaid there had been a dreadful explosion and her lover had lost hislife. Neither the soldier's relatives nor his betrothed were allowed tosee him after the disaster. He had been buried secretly, and it appearedto be the intention of the authorities to avoid all publicity. Therelatives and the betrothed of the dead soldier had been warned to keepsilence and seek no further information. It was not till several daysafter her lover's death that Gretlich, anxious because he did not keephis appointment with her, and not hearing from him, fearing that he wasill, began to make inquiries; then she received together the informationand the caution.
In the presence of death all consolers are futile, and Jennie realizedthis as she endeavoured as well as she could to comfort the girl. Herheart was so much enlisted in this that perhaps her intellect was theless active; but here she stood on the very threshold of the secret shehad come to Vienna to discover, and yet had not the slightest suspicionthat the girl's tragedy and her own mission were interwoven. Jennie hadwondered at the stupidity of Cadbury Taylor, who failed to see whatseemed so plainly before him, yet here was Jennie herself come athousand miles, more or less, to obtain certain information, and here asobbing girl was narrating the very item of news that she had come sofar to learn--all of which would seem to show that none of us are sobright and clever as we imagine ourselves to be.
In the afternoon the Princess entered Jennie's sitting-room carrying inher hand a bunch of letters.
"There!" she cried, "while you have been resting I have been working,and we are not going to allow any time to be lost. I have writtenwith my own hand invitations to about two dozen people to our tea onThursday; among others, the wife of the Premier, Countess Stron. Iexpect you to devote yourself to that lady and tell me the result ofthe conversation after it is over. Have you been talking consolation toGretlich? I came up here half an hour ago, and it seemed to me I heardthe sound of crying in this room."
"Oh, yes," said Jennie, "she has been telling me all her trouble. Itseems she had a lover in the army, and he has been killed in someaccident in the Treasury."
"What kind of an accident?"
"Gretlich said there had been an explosion there."
"Dear me! I never heard of it. It is a curious thing that one must comefrom London to tell us our own news. An explosion in the Treasury! andso serious that a soldier was killed! That arouses my curiosity, so Ishall just sit down and write another invitation to the wife of theMaster of the Treasury."
"I wish you would, because I should like to know something further aboutthis myself. Gretlich seems to have had but scant information regardingthe occurrence, and I should like to know more about it so that I mighttell her."
"We shall learn all about it from madame, and I must write that note atonce for fear I forget it."