"the gods preserve your majesty."
by the force of circumstances, and captain pertinax's ingenious idea of red-handed justice, the chancellor was sitting interned in his own official residence. for a man like turbo to fail is very hard. failure was a thing of which he had little experience. yet now he was obliged to confess that his elaborate man?uvre had not succeeded. true, it had been so far successful as to irrevocably ruin mlle de tricotrin's chances of the throne. on that side the king was firmly blockaded in his bachelordom. but the rest of the operation was a disaster.
it was certainly nothing but a piece of pure ill-luck that had upset the strategist's calculations; but turbo held that a man should be master of his fate, and leave no room for fortune to interfere either one way or the other. in the present case fortune might easily have been held at a distance. he ought to have remembered the [pg 231]gendarmes, and fortune would not have deprived him of half the battle.
indeed, it was more than half that had been lost. not only had he failed to secure penelophon for himself, but he had allowed her to come into the king's possession. so far from finally shutting off his sovereign from matrimony, he had actually hastened his approach to it. his idea that kophetua intended to marry the beggar-maid, in order to secure the continuance of his reign, became more pronounced than ever. it was an eventuality which he had long foreseen. he had taken unsparing pains to prevent it. his whole powers, as a man and a politician, had been directed to keeping penelophon away from kophetua, and the only result had been to place the girl in his very arms. something, he felt, must be done, or his ruin was complete. after what had occurred his favour in the king's eyes was gone for ever. he was a disgraced minister, whom nothing but a revolution could set on high again. could he only stay the king's marriage a few months more, the revolution would come by peaceful process of law, otherwise his fall was complete, or a more violent course must be taken.
into the midst of the chancellor's perplexity broke m. de tricotrin. by this time the marquis had ascertained approximately what had occurred in the morning. the news of the palace was that general dolabella and an officer of gendarmes had presented a report to[pg 232] the king, which had led to a scene between his majesty and the chancellor, resulting in the latter being confined to his residence in deep disgrace. this violent splash in the quiet waters of oneirian politics was generally said, by well-informed persons of unimpeachable authority, to be due to a difference of opinion as to the course to be taken with the beggars, but m. de tricotrin knew better. from what the queen-mother had told him, and the facts within his own knowledge, he had now no doubt that the king had got wind of their little plot, and had ordered a party of gendarmes to frustrate it as quietly as possible, and he more than ever felt that an interview with the chancellor was necessary to establish his own fidelity to the infamous bargain, and to concert measures for the future.
"i thought your excellency would have something to say to me after this disaster," said the marquis, as soon as the two old schemers were alone.
"yes?" said turbo warily.
"you have an accusation to make, no doubt," said the marquis.
"none in the world," answered turbo; "why should i?"
"then whom do you blame for the unfortunate intervention of the gendarmes?"
"i blame no one. they were there at my suggestion."
"upon my word, chancellor," said the[pg 233] marquis, astounded at turbo's cool admission. "i must congratulate you upon the sang-froid with which you speak of your infamies."
"i do not understand you, marquis," answered turbo.
"the word is plain enough. what you confess is an infamy. it is an infamy to enter into an arrangement to further my daughter's marriage, and deliberately to frustrate it by making an exposure of us to his majesty, and providing him with a consolation. it is clever; but, i repeat, it is an infamy."
"my dear marquis," cried turbo, almost with enthusiasm, "i see we shall work together admirably. your suspicions do you infinite credit. they display in you possibilities of unscrupulous intrigue such as i myself have not yet attained. i have still to reach the point at which i could even suspect a man of the admirable insensibility of which you are so flattering as to accuse me. i bow to you as a master. to conceive such ingenious treachery belongs only to a master."
"then you withdraw the confession you just made."
"i wish that i could, marquis," said turbo. "for it was a confession of stupidity;" and with that the chancellor explained to m. de tricotrin how the presence of the gendarmes was a mere accident, for which no one was to blame but himself.
[pg 234]
"well," said m. de tricotrin, when turbo had done, "you must permit me to apologise for the unwarranted accusation i made."
"not at all," answered turbo. "it was a compliment i value highly."
"then at least let me offer you my commiseration," said de tricotrin, "upon the loss of all you hoped to gain. but i trust it is only temporary. i am happy to announce to you that i have discovered the retreat of your little friend, and, no doubt, can put you in the way of recovering her, when it may be done with safety;" and m. de tricotrin explained in detail to the chancellor the queen-mother's move.
"i am delighted," concluded the marquis, "to be able to announce to you so excellent a piece of fortune."
"i regret, marquis," answered turbo, "that i cannot share your delight."
"but surely," replied the frenchman, "it is an extraordinary piece of good fortune."
"i do not deny it," said turbo; "but i am accustomed to look with suspicion on any position, however attractive, which is founded on fortune. nothing is stable without a substructure of sagacious purpose. for a position to be in any way modified by fortune is for me merely evidence of defective calculation. in the present case the danger is obvious."
"why so?" asked the marquis.
"you see," pursued turbo, "another piece[pg 235] of fortune may at any moment put the king in possession of the information we enjoy. a pursuit and recapture will ensue, and our quixote will have fattened his folly with another ration of romance. your unhappy daughter's supplanter will then be on the steps of the throne."
"then what do you propose?" said de tricotrin. "to recapture the girl yourself, i presume?"
"precisely," answered turbo. "the thing is easily done. i will send officers to watch the players. they will be instructed to take advantage of any disorderly conduct to arrest the whole company as vagabonds, and convey them to the capital. disorder amongst such people is easily fomented. i apprehend no difficulty or even delay."
"but how can you arrange this delicate mission," objected the marquis, "while you are under arrest?"
"to-morrow," said turbo, "i propose to submit unconditionally to the king's terms, and i shall be free. it will be unpleasant, but under the new aspect of affairs there is no other course open. i must absolutely be at liberty to act at the present crisis."
the chancellor's evident anxiety to get the beggar-maid back to the capital began once more to arouse m. de tricotrin's suspicion. his doubts as to the loyalty of his ally began to recur to him. his own idea was that at present penelophon was much[pg 236] better where she was. he objected to the chancellor's plan, but it was not his habit to insist on real objections. there was a crudeness about honesty which jarred on the old diplomatist's sense of refinement. he loved always to mask his position with minor obstructions.
"you seem, chancellor," he began, "to over-estimate the danger we are to apprehend from this beggar. it is impossible to conceive that the king seriously means to marry her."
"i quite agree with you, marquis," answered turbo. "he had no such intention. till this morning the danger was shadowy. but now it is different. in his present state of mind he is capable of any indiscretion. i cannot exaggerate to you the intensity of the shock which he received at the discovery of your daughter's implication in our disgrace."
"what!" cried the marquis, surprised into an unwonted show of feeling. "the discovery of my daughter's complicity? what do you mean?"
"did you not know?" said turbo, with an affectation of tender concern. "really this is most painful. i imagined you knew all, and envied you your calmness. you see it was that unlucky note. the girl did not deliver it, and so it came into the king's hands through the police."
"oh, it is that which has alarmed you,"[pg 237] said the marquis, in a tone of great relief. "i am happy, then, to reassure you. believe me, there was nothing compromising in that. i was careful that the letter should be but a blank sheet of paper."
"then what is the meaning of this?" said turbo, handing mlle de tricotrin's note to her father. m. de tricotrin read it through. then he set his teeth, and hissed out between them, "sink the little fool!" and many other like exclamations that were only fit for turbo's ears.
as soon as the ebullition which turbo's announcement produced in the marquis had a little subsided, and while his spirits were still hot, the chancellor proceeded to throw in, in the guise of consolation, the ingredients which he considered necessary to convert the frenchman's state of mind into a mixture that would minister to his own disease.
"and, after all, marquis," said turbo, at last, "perhaps you have lost nothing. i begin to think you had gained nothing, and had nothing to lose. i am inclined to believe the king is a deeper politician than we thought. some of us are old hands, but i believe he has been laughing at us all along. he amused us with your daughter, and penelophon, and this herculean notion of his of cleansing his augean stables. but my experience of this morning has opened my eyes. he is a man, and not the decrepit boy i took him for. the spirit of his race is[pg 238] alive in him. it has burst into sudden vigour. he begins to itch for power like his fathers, and he means to grip it in spite of the law. he means to have it, and throw us all over,—you and me and mlle héloise, who have sinned in his eyes beyond redemption. that is why his calmness and obstinacy are so unassailable. that is what this concentration of the gendarmerie means. i tell you, marquis, as sure as there is an earth beneath, our little kophetua contemplates a coup d'état."
"but this is astounding!" cried the revolutionary statesman, with the air of one who smells the battle afar off.
"it is astounding, marquis," replied turbo, "and we must not rely entirely on the correctness of our view. it is possible he may still be halting between the revolutionary and constitutional course. he may, even at the last moment, retreat by abdication. meanwhile, we must prepare for every eventuality. our first step will be for you as satisfactory as it is obvious. we must at once bring to bear the whole pressure of the political combination which you have so cleverly framed, in order to drive the king into a marriage with your daughter."
"but is there the slightest chance of success?" said the marquis.
"i think so," answered turbo, who knew perfectly well the attempt was hopeless, and therefore safe as far as he was concerned.[pg 239] "the party you have gathered at your back is stronger than anything he has met with before. its influence is incalculable."
"but if we fail!"
"it will at any rate force his hand. we shall know what to do next. meanwhile, i should value your opinion and assistance in the elaboration of various methods of proceeding upon which i am engaged in view of the possible crisis. a marriage with the beggar, or an attempt at a coup d'état, must be met——"
"with revolution," broke in the delighted frenchman, with impressive solemnity of voice and manner.
"precisely,—with revolution," answered the chancellor. "it remains but to settle the details to our mutual satisfaction, and we cannot begin too soon. with your experience of these matters, my dear marquis, our success is assured."
"you flatter me," answered m. de tricotrin. "permit me to say it is for such a coadjutor as you that my experience has waited. we are necessary to each other, you and i. let us recognise the fact, and nothing is impossible."
the two old hands set to their work. all night long they sat, drawing up memoranda, consulting official lists, marking the names of those whom they intended to employ, and devising bribes for the doubtful. like sober men of business they devoured the work,[pg 240] and sketched out with official brevity and distinctness the plan of operation. what these designs were it is premature to inquire now. before long they were made patent to every one. suffice it for the time that when the grey light of morning broke, m. de tricotrin went quietly forth from turbo's garden, wearing on his face an expression which he felt would not have disgraced cassius as he left the orchard of brutus.
several similar meetings followed in quick succession, and began to make themselves felt. turbo made his peace with the king, and was continued in office in order that mlle de tricotrin's sin might not be blazoned to the world. the whole affair, in fact, was hushed up, and the chancellor left free to work his tools.
as the day for the meeting of parliament drew near, kophetua began to be aware that every one was taking an unaccountable interest in his marriage. petitions came up from the country. gentlemen and ladies of both parties, whether kallist or agathist, seemed to want to talk of nothing else. every subject he started in the council seemed to transform itself into the same haunting shape.
parliament met, and general dolabella, amidst indescribable excitement, was elected speaker according to the original arrangement on which m. de tricotrin's coalition was founded. then the pressure redoubled.[pg 241] the kallikagathists joined with quiet dignity the general movement, and were heard to say, with an air of noble patronage, that it was at last a great fact. in tones of reserved intensity, so characteristic of the inflexible bigotry of those who believe they are nothing if not open-minded, the kallikagathist party assured themselves that further resistance from the king was impossible. the party of order, the party of moderation, the party of intelligence, had triumphed at last. at length, by the unostentatious use of reason and common-sense, they had drawn the extremists together, and a coalition was standing before the king demanding his marriage with the lady who embodied the principles of everybody and everything. it was no longer the voice of party that spoke. it was the harmonious flood in which the voice of party was drowned. it was the holy voice of compromise.
at last things came to a crisis. an address was moved urging the king to marry the woman of the people's choice. a lengthened debate took place, but only upon its wording. the kallist amendments, dictated by turbo, were almost indecent in their plain speaking. a coaxing and apologetic obscurity was the tone of those which the queen-mother approved for the agathists. eventually the spirit of compromise, which presided over the assembly in the person of its new speaker, triumphed[pg 242] over every difficulty, and the address was passed in a form which was a masterpiece of inconsistency. kallist violence and agathist weakness were there in glaring contrast. the insolence of the one was only enhanced by its proximity to the servility of the other. nothing could have been better calculated to offend the king or impress him with a sense of the perplexity of his position and the malicious origin of the cross-bred coalition which confronted him.
at no time was kophetua a man to bear pressure patiently if he was conscious of it, and his present state of mind was one of universal defiance. the shock which mlle de tricotrin's heartless perfidy had produced upon him had been at least as acute as turbo imagined. till he had quarrelled with her at count kora's rout he hardly knew how much she had been to him. till then he had not recognised how he craved for a woman to love, and how nearly she was fitted to satisfy his hunger. he began to see how dull his life would be again without her. the one imploring look she had given him as she passed beneath his window had turned his contempt into pity. the beauty, the tenderness, the self-abasing resignation of that lovely vision had done its work, and at last a great resistless love had filled every chamber of his soul.
then fell, sudden as the hand of death, the crushing revelation of her guilt. it was[pg 243] as though he had gathered the luscious fruit of the tree of life and found it ashes between his teeth. the first shock past, he turned, as men will in such a case, to find comfort in the light of another's eyes. he turned to penelophon, where he saw the very antithesis of her in whom he was deceived. the passion that was aroused in him must find a resting-place. so violently did his noble nature revolt from its fallen idol that it was only in the opposite extreme of womanhood it felt it could be at peace.
prepared to risk all, he was going forth to seek her when they told him she was gone. at first none could say whither, but soon there were some who whispered she had run away to the strolling players, and were careful that the whisper should reach kophetua's ears. such folk had an evil reputation enough in oneiria, and in his despair the heart-broken king cried out that she was as bad as the rest. there was now none good; no, not one. there was nothing in life but loneliness, and no weapon to battle with it but defiance.
he laughed to himself to think how wasted were the efforts he felt pressing about him, how utterly they mistook him to think he would bend to force. he laughed till he wearied of the sport, and the last stroke angered him. the address he saw as a ridiculous insult, and was resolved to have no more. once or twice before, when he had[pg 244] been over-worried on the marriage question, he had made an end by a simple man?uvre, and he was determined to repeat it now.
so when general dolabella attended with a deputation to receive the king's answer to the address of his faithful parliament, there was no one to receive him but the chancellor. turbo briefly announced that the king had left that morning for his hunting-tower in the mountains, and handed mr. speaker an order for the prorogation of the house.
