it was late the next afternoon before maxwell arrived in london. he was still feeling ill and shaky, but there was hope in his heart now, for lechmere's telegram recalling him had given him reason to believe that everything was perfectly settled. he dressed and walked as quickly as he could to lord merehaven's house. he had been instructed to do so by lechmere's telegram. he was a little surprised and confused to find lord merehaven shaking him cordially by the hand and inviting him to sit down.
"everything has been explained," merehaven said. "you were a little foolish, charles, but i don't see that you were in the least to blame. we are all foolish where pretty women are concerned. we know now how the countess tried to drag you into the business, in fact lancing had left a letter explaining everything and absolutely exonerating you from blame. of course vera did not know of it when she set out on her dangerous mission, and left that splendid creature jessie harcourt to take her place. it does one good to know that this old country can produce such girls. nobody knows anything, not even as to lancing's letter or of the death of the king of asturia. it is all settled."
[314]
"except as to those missing papers," maxwell said, suppressing a tendency to laugh hysterically.
"the papers are recovered," merehaven chuckled as he proceeded to explain. "i have seen count gleikstein to-day and i fancy that he will respect me a little more in the future. we have won all along the line. and the news from asturia is good. of course we in the secret know how that matter has been arranged—that prince peretori played poor king erno's part and posed as the king. everybody believes that erno has abdicated in favour of prince alix, who is in the capital of asturia, where he was crowned yesterday with the acclamations of the people. peretori is on his way back to england and before nightfall the papers will have it that he has reached london. the papers will also say that he went at once to the rooms of general maxgregor and that he was looking shockingly ill. all this had been arranged, you understand. to-morrow all london will be grieved to hear that the king passed quietly away in the night at the general's rooms. that is all right because the body is there and dr. varney will give the necessary certificate. those who wish to be sure will see the body for themselves. and i don't forget how carefully you managed that business, my boy, at a time when you were knocked about in that accident. the thing is a most extraordinary romance, one of the strangest affairs that ever happened in europe. but europe will never know it and the world will be the poorer for one of the finest plays ever left unwritten. i forgot to say that i probably vindicated your character in the house of lords last night. i stretched my conscience a bit, but it had to be done. and now i am going to give you a few days' holiday.[315] let me get back to my papers again. oh, i forgot to say that lady merehaven wants to speak to you. you will find her in the drawing-room, i think."
lord merehaven fairly hustled his young guest out of the room without waiting for any further thanks. his step was lighter and his eyes more sparkling than it had been for some days. all the same, he drew back a little as he saw that vera galloway was waiting for him alone.
"my aunt had to go out," she said demurely. "she will not be long, charlie. oh, my dear boy, how foolish you have been, and how splendidly you atoned for your folly."
charles maxwell felt his heart beating a little faster. he advanced with hands extended.
"so you have forgiven me," he cried. "i had hardly hoped for this, vera. and yet i did nothing. it was no more than a silly piece of vanity. but when i found that lancing was in deadly earnest——"
"i don't think we need discuss it," vera said quietly. "naturally you took the countess to be an honest woman, you had no idea that she was a mere adventuress. what started me on the track was a letter which found its way into my hands by mistake. there was no time to lose, but i could not find you. i could not find captain lancing also. you see, i dared not take anybody into my confidence, for there was always the chance that you were implicated. then i thought of what ronald hope had said about the shop girl who was so like me—you see i happened to know who she was. the scheme flashed into my mind and i put it into operation at once. i would go and steal those papers because[316] i had a pretty good idea where to find them. i knew my way about that house as well as i know about this one. and i was successful beyond my wildest dreams.... the rest i have just heard from my uncle. my dear charlie, what a tale we could tell europe if we only chose."
but charlie maxwell refused to say any more about it. he had had a good lesson and he was going to take it to heart. meanwhile all was well that ended well, he said. it was a very delicious half hour that passed before a footman announced miss jessie harcourt.
the girls looked wonderfully alike as they stood side by side and maxwell was fain to admit it. he saw jessie's eyes gleam and the colour come into her face as ronald hope entered. he advanced at once and shook him cordially by the hand.
"'be you as pure as snow, and as chaste as ice, thou shalt not escape calumny,'" he quoted. "i know there was nothing wrong as far as you were concerned, maxwell. and lancing either. they tell me his gambling debts turned his mind, poor fellow. and there were no papers missing after all."
"not as far as i am concerned," maxwell said grimly. "the fellows at the club——"
"consider that you have been infernally badly treated by a mob of newspaper gossips," said ronald. "by the way, there is an exceedingly handsome apology in to-day's mercury. everybody is talking about it. i should let the matter stop there if i were you."
everything fell out exactly as lord merehaven had predicted. the evening papers were full of the new asturian affair. they were glad to find that[317] russia had been checkmated and that the appointment of prince alix was likely to give satisfaction. they also cherished the fact that king erno was back in london and that he was looking very ill. the morning papers got their innings in due course with the announcement that ex-king erno was dead, and that he had died in the night at general maxgregor's rooms. dr. varney had given a certificate of death to the effect that his highness had succumbed to the shock following on his railway accident, and there was no more to be said. the body of the unfortunate prince was going to be embalmed and taken back to his country for burial. count gleikstein was puzzled and felt that he had been in some way outwitted, but there was the corpse of the king for him to see, and there, unfortunately for him, was prince alix apparently firmly seated on the throne of asturia. it was impossible for the count at this juncture to hold any sort of communication with either mazaroff or countess saens, seeing that they were both arrested and both had serious charges hanging over them. russia would have to wait a further opportunity to gratify her designs upon asturia.
"what will be the upshot of it all?" ronald hope asked jessie as the two of them strolled in the gardens behind merehaven house a week later. there had been a small dinner-party there and the ex-queen of asturia just back from the burial of her husband had been present. "where will she end, jessie?"
jessie laughed and coloured as she replied to the question. there was nobody near so that she kissed ronald.
"i hope she will end as happily as my trouble is[318] going to end with you," the girl said softly. "i have seen quite enough of the queen to know where her heart is. i know the temptation that was placed on the shoulders of general maxgregor that fateful night. he loves the ground that the queen walks on. and she knows it quite as well as i know that you love me, ronald. she would have kept her secret so long as the throne was fairly under her. but that is all over, and henceforth queen margaret and asturia will be strangers. she feels that she has beaten russia and that the dynasty is safe with prince alix. it was a near thing, but between us we managed to win. thenceforth the queen will be no more than a subject of king edward here, and her happiness is in her own hands if she chooses to grip it."
jessie's voice trailed off to a whisper, for at the same moment ex-queen margaret came out of the house down the lane with general maxgregor by her side. they were talking very earnestly, and they passed by the side of the sundial where jessie had stood not so many nights before waiting for the signal to come. the queen said something in a broken voice, her head dropped, she held out her hand to maxgregor who carried it to his lips.
"so that is settled," the involuntary eavesdroppers heard him say. "god bless you for those words, margaret. i always knew that this would come. and if the passing of the years does not bring——"
there was no more to be heard. jessie stepped forward and smiled as the queen beckoned her.
"you look very happy, my child," she said. "and captain hope! are you very happy, jessie?"
[319]
"i believe i am the happiest girl in the world," she said in a voice that thrilled. "oh, so happy, your majesty. i only wish with my heart that you would be the same."
"do you?" the queen said drily. "it is a secret yet, but—but i am going to ... try."
