CHAPTER IV
THE INDISCREET MR. CHASE
There was not a handsomer, more striking figure in the palace gardens onthe night of the reception than Hollingsworth Chase, nor one whose poiseproved that he knew the world quite as well as it is possible for anyone man to know it. His was an unique figure, also, for he was easilydistinguishable as the only American in the brilliant assemblage.
He was presented to the Princess late in the evening, together withBaggs of the British office. His pride and confidence received a severeshock. She glanced at him with unaffected welcome, but the air of onewho was looking upon his face for the first time. It was not until hehad spent a full hour in doleful self-commiseration, that his sense ofworldliness came to his relief. In a flash, he was joyously convincinghimself that her pose during the presentation was artfully--and veryproperly--assumed. He saw through it very plainly! How simple he hadbeen! Of course, she could not permit him to feel that she had everdisplayed the slightest interest in him! His spirits shot upward sosuddenly that Baggs accused him of "negotiating a drink on the sly" andfelt very much injured that he had been ignored.
The gardens of the palace were not unlike the stage setting of a greatspectacle. The sleepy, stolid character of the court had beentransformed, as if by magic. Chase wondered where all the pretty,vivacious women could have sprung from--and were these the officers ofthe Royal Guard that he had so often laughed at in disdain? Could thatgay old gentleman in red and gold be the morbid, carelessly clad Duke ofRapp-Thorberg, whom he had grown to despise because he seemed soridiculously unlike a real potentate? He marvelled and rejoiced as hestrolled hither and thither with the casual Baggs, and for the firsttime in his life really felt that it was pleasant to be stared at--inadmiration, too, he may be pardoned for supposing.
He could not again approach within speaking distance of thePrincess--nor did he presume to make the effort. Chase knew his properplace. It must be admitted, however, that he was never far distant fromher, but perhaps chance was responsible for that--chance and Baggs, who,by nature, kept as close to royalty as the restrictions allowed.
She was the gayest, the most vivacious being in the whole assemblage;she had but to stretch out her hand or project her smile and every manin touch with the spell was ready to drop at her feet. At last, she ledher court off toward the pavilion under which the royal orchestra wasplaying. As if it were a signal, every one turned his steps in thatdirection. Chase and the Englishman had been conversing diligently withan ancient countess and her two attractive daughters near the fountain.The Countess gave the command in the middle of Chase's dissertation onItalian cooking, and the party hastily fell in line with the throngwhich hurried forward.
"What is it? Supper again?" whispered Baggs, lugubriously.
One of the young women, doubtless observing the look of curiosity in theface of the American, volunteered the information that the orchestra wasto repeat the great number which had so stirred the musical world at theconcert the week before. Chase's look of despair was instantly banishedby the recollection that the Princess had bestowed unqualified approvalon the previous occasion. Hence, if she enjoyed it, he was determined tobe pleased.
Again the dapper director came forward to lead the musicians, and againhe was most enthusiastically received. His uniform fairly sparkled withthe thrill of vanity, which seemed to burst from every seam; his swordclanked madly against his nimble legs as he bowed and scraped hisgrateful recognition of the honour. This time Chase was not where hecould watch the Princess; he found, therefore, that he could devote hisattention to the music and the popular conductor. He was amazed to findthat the fellow seemed to be inspired; he was also surprised to findhimself carried away by the fervour of the moment.
With the final crash of the orchestra, he found himself shouting againwith the others; oddly, this time he was as mad as they. A score or moreof surprised, disapproving eyes were turned upon him when he yelled"Encore!"
"There will be no encore," admonished the fair girl at his side, kindly."It is not New York," she added, with a sly smile.
Ten minutes later, Chase and the Englishman were lighting their cigarsin an obscure corner of the gardens, off in the shadows where the circleof light spent itself among the trees.
"Extraordinarily beautiful," Chase murmured reflectively, as he seatedhimself upon the stone railing along the drive.
"Yes, they say he really wrote it himself," drawled Baggs, puffing away.
"I'm not talking about the music," corrected Chase sharply.
"Oh," murmured Baggs, apologetically. "The night?"
"No! The Princess, Baggs. Haven't you noticed her?" with intense sarcasmin his tone.
"Of course, I have, old chap. By Jove, do you know she _is_good-looking--positively ripping."
The concert over, people began strolling into the more distant cornersof the huge garden, down the green-walled walks and across the moonlitterraces. For a long time, the two men sat moodily smoking in their darknook, watching the occasional passers-by; listening to the subduedlaughter and soft voices of the women, the guttural pleasantries of themen. They lazily observed the approach of one couple, attracted, nodoubt, by the disparity in the height of the two shadows. The man was atleast half a head shorter than his companion, but his ardour seemed athousandfold more vast. Chase was amused by the apparent intensity ofthe small officer's devotion, especially as it was met with a coldnessthat would have chilled the fervour of a man much larger and thereforemore timid. It was impossible to see the faces of the couple until theypassed through a moonlit streak in the walk, quite close at hand.
Chase started and grasped his companion's arm. One was the PrincessGenevra and--was it possible? Yes, the nimble conductor! The sensationof the hour--the musical lion! Moreover, to Chase's cold horror, the"little freak" was actually making violent love to the divinity ofRapp-Thorberg!
There was no doubt of it now. The Princess and her escort--the plebeianupstart--were quite near at hand, and, to the dismay of the smokers,apparently were unaware of their presence in the shadows. Chase's heartwas boiling with disappointed rage. His idol had fallen, from atremendous height to a depth which disgusted him.
Then transpired the thing which brought about Hollingsworth Chase'ssudden banishment from Rapp-Thorberg, and came near to making him thelaughing stock of the service.
The Princess had not seen the two men; nor had the fervent conductor,whose impassioned French was easily distinguishable by the unwillinglisteners. The sharp, indignant "no" of the Princess, oft repeated, didmuch to relieve the pain in the heart of her American admirer. Finally,with an unmistakable cry of anger, she halted not ten feet from whereChase sat, as though he had become a part of the stone rail. He couldalmost feel the blaze in her eyes as she turned upon the presumptuousconductor.
"I have asked you not to touch me, sir! Is not that enough? If youpersist, I shall be compelled to appeal to my father again. The wholesituation is loathsome to me. Are you blind? Can you not see that Idespise you? I will not endure it a day longer. You promised to respectmy wishes--"
"How can I respect a promise which condemns me to purgatory every time Isee you?" he cried passionately. "I adore you. You are the queen of mylife, the holder of my soul. Genevra, Genevra, I love you! My soul forone tender word, for one soft caress! Ah, do not be so cruel! I will beyour slave--"
"Enough! Stop, I say! If you dare to touch me!" she cried, drawing awayfrom her tormentor, her voice trembling with anger. The littleconductor's manner changed on the instant. He gave a snarl of rage anddespair combined as he raised his clenched hands in the air. For amoment words seemed to fail him. Then he cried out:
"By heaven, I'll make you pay for this some day! You shall learn what aman can do with a woman such as you are! You--"
Just at that moment a tall figure leaped from the shadows and confrontedthe quivering musician. A heavy hand fell upon his collar and he wasalmost jerked from his feet, half choked, half paralysed with alarm. Nota word was spoken. Cha
se whirled the presumptuous suitor about until hefaced the gates to the garden. Then, with more force than he realised,he applied his boot to the person of the offender--once, twice, thrice!The military jacket of the recipient of these attentions was of theabbreviated European pattern and the trousers were skin tight.
The Princess started back with a cry of alarm--ay, terror. The onslaughtwas so sudden, so powerless to avert, that it seemed like a visitationof wrath from above. She stared, wide-eyed and unbelieving, upon thebrief tragedy; she saw her tormentor hurled viciously toward the gatesand then, with new alarm, saw him pick himself up from the ground,writhing with pain and anger. His sword flashed from its scabbard as,with a scream of rage, he dashed upon the tall intruder. She sawChase--even in the shadows she knew him to be the American--she sawChase lightly leap aside, avoiding the thrust for his heart. Then, as ifhe were playing with a child, he wrested the weapon from the conductor'shand, snapped the blade in two pieces and threw them off into thebushes.
"Skip!" was his only word. It was a command that no one in Rapp-Thorbergever had heard before.
"You shall pay for this!" screamed the conductor, tugging at his collar."Scoundrel! Dog! Beast! What do you mean! Murderer! Robber! Assassin!"
"You know what I mean, you little shrimp!" roared Chase. "Skip! Don'thang around here a second longer or I'll--" and he took a threateningstep toward his adversary. The latter was discreet, if not actually acoward. He turned tail and ran twenty paces or more in heartbreakingtime; then, realising that he was not pursued, stopped and shook hisfist at his assailant.
"Come, Genevra," he gasped, but she remained as if rooted to the spot.He waited an instant, and then walked rapidly away in the direction ofthe palace, his back as straight as a ramrod, but his legs a trifleunsteady. The trio watched him for a full minute, speech-bound now thatthe deed was done and the consequences were to be considered. Baggsgrasped Chase by the shoulder, shook him and exclaimed, when it was toolate:
"You blooming ass, do you know what you've done?"
"The da--miserable cur was annoying the Princess," muttered Chase,straightening his cuffs, vaguely realising that he had interfered toohastily.
"Confound it, man, he's the chap she's going to marry."
"Marry?" gasped Chase.
"The hereditary prince of Brabetz--Karl Brabetz."
"Good Lord!"
"You must have known."
"How the dev--Of course I didn't know," groaned Chase. "But hang it all,man, he was annoying her. She was flouting him for it. She said shedespised him. I don't understand----"
The Princess came forward into the light of the path. There was a quaintlittle wrinkle of mirth about her lips, which trembled nevertheless, buther eyes were full of solicitude.
"I'm sorry, sir," she began nervously. "You have made a serious mistake.But," she added frankly, holding out her hand to him, "you meant todefend me. I thank you."
Chase bowed low over her hand, too bewildered to speak. Baggs waspulling at his mustache and looking nervously in the direction which thePrince had taken.
"He'll be back here with the guard," he muttered.
"He will go to my father," said Genevra, her voice trembling. "He willbe very angry. I am sorry, indeed, that you should have witnessedour--our scene. Of course, you could not have known who he was----"
"I thought he was a--but in any event, your highness, he was annoyingyou," supplemented Chase eagerly.
"You _will_ forgive me if I've caused you even greater, graverannoyance. What can I do to set the matter right? I can explain my errorto the Duke. He'll understand--"
"Alas, he will not understand. He does not even understand me," she saidmeaningly. "Oh, I'm so sorry. It may--it will mean trouble for you."There was a catch in her voice.
"I'll fight him," murmured Chase, wiping his brow.
"Deuce take it, man, he won't fight you," said Baggs. "He's a prince,you know. He can't, you know. It's a beastly mess."
"Perhaps--perhaps you'd better go at once," said the Princess, ratherpathetically. "My father will not overlook the indignity to--to my--tohis future son-in-law. I am afraid he may take extreme measures. Believeme, I understand why you did it and I--again I thank you. I am not angrywith you, yet you will understand that I cannot condone your kindfault."
"Forgive me," muttered the hapless Chase.
"It would not be proper in me to say that I could bless you for what youhave done," she said, so naively that he lifted his eyes to hers and lethis heart escape heavenward.
"The whole world will call me a bungling, stupid ass for not knowing whohe was," said Chase, with a wretched smile.
Her face brightened after a moment, and an entrancing smile broke aroundher lips.
"If I were you, I'd never confess that I did not know who he was," shesaid. "Let the world think that you _did_ know. It will not laugh, then.If you can trust your friend to keep the secret, I am sure you can trustme to do the same."
Again Chase was speechless--this time with joy. She would shield himfrom ridicule!
"And now, please go! It were better if you went at once. I am afraid theaffair will not end with to-night. It grieves me to feel that I may bethe unhappy cause of misfortune to you."
"No misfortune can appal me now," murmured he gallantly. Then came therevolting realisation that she was to wed the little musician. Thethought burst from his lips before he could prevent: "I don't believeyou want to marry him. He is the Duke's choice. You--"
"And I am the Duke's daughter," she said steadily, a touch of hauteur inher voice. "Good-night. Good-bye. I am not sorry that it has happened."
She turned and left them, walking swiftly among the trees. A momentlater her voice came from the shadows, quick and pleading.
"Hasten," she called softly. "They are coming. I can see them."
Baggs grasped Chase by the arm and hurried him through the gate, pastthe unsuspecting sentry. They did not know that the Princess, uponmeeting the soldiers, told them that the two men had gone toward thepalace instead of out into the city streets. It gave them half an hour'sstart.
"It's a devil of a mess," sighed Baggs, when they were far from thewalls. "The Duke may have you jugged, and it would serve you jolly wellright."
"Now, see here, Baggs, none of that," growled Chase. "You'd have donethe same thing if you hadn't been brought up to fall on your face beforeroyalty. It will cost me my job here, but I'm glad I did it.Understand?"
"I'm sure it will cost you the job if nothing else. You'll be relievedbefore to-morrow night, my word for it. And you'll be lucky if that'sall. The Duke's a terror. I don't, for the life of me, see how youfailed to know who the chap really is."
"An Englishman never sees a joke until it is too late, they say. Thistime it appears to be the American who is slow witted. What I don'tunderstand is why he was leading that confounded band."
"My word, Chase, everybody in Europe--except you--knows that Brabetz isa crank about music. Composes, directs and all that. Over in Brabetz hesupports the conservatory of music, written dozens of things for theorchestra, plays the pipe organ in the cathedral--all that sort of rot,you know. He's a confounded little bounder, just the same. He's madabout music and women and don't care a hang about wine. The worst kind,don't you know. I say, it's a rotten shame she has to marry him. Butthat's the way of it with royalty, old chap. You Americans don'tunderstand it. They have to marry one another whether they like it ornot. But, I say, you'd better come over and stop with me to-night. Itwill be better if they don't find you just yet."
Three days later, a man came down to relieve Chase of his office; he wasunceremoniously supplanted in the Duchy of Rapp-Thorberg.
It was the successful pleading of the Princess Genevra that kept himfrom serving a period in durance vile.