Part 16 (2/2)

When we got back to our quarters, which we did without accident, Curtis asked ,' I answered, 'on what principle it is arranged that some people should find beautiful queens to fall in love with them, while others find nobody at all, or worse than nobody; and I aht's ill cost' It was rather nasty of s do not evaporate with age, and I could not help being a little jealous of my old friend's luck Vanity, , Good was informed of the happy occurrence, and positively rippled with s somewhere about the s in a duckpond, till they flowed over the brio The fact of the matter, however, was that not only was Good rejoiced about the thing on its own merits but also for personal reasons He adored Sorais quite as earnestly as Sir Henry adored Nyleptha, and his adoration had not altogether prospered Indeed, it had seemed to him and to me also that the dark Cleopatra-like queen favoured Curtis in her own curious inscrutable way much more than Good Therefore it was a relief to him to learn that his unconscious rival was permanently and satisfactorily attached in another direction His face fell a little, however, when he was told that the whole thing was to be kept as secret as the dead, above all from Sorais for the present, inasmuch as the political convulsion which would follow such an announcereat to face and would very possibly, if prematurely ain attended in the Throne Hall, and I could not help s tothat, if walls could speak, they would have strange tales to tell

What actresses woolden throne, draped in her blazoned 'kaf' or robe of state, sat the fair Nyleptha, and when Sir Henry came in a little late, dressed in the full uniforuard and hued his salute with a careless nod and turned her head coldly aside It was a very large Court, for not only did the signing of the laws attract many outside of those whose duty it was to attend, but also the ru to publicly ask the hand of Nyleptha in reat hall was crowded to its utmost capacity There were our friends the priests in force, headed by Agon, who regarded us with a vindictive eye; and awhite e the fish-like scales There, too, were a number of the lords, each with a band of brilliantly attired attendants, and pro his black beardunusually pleasant It was a splendid and i read out each law handed then, whereon the trurounded their spears with a crash in salute This reading and signing of the laws took a long ti that 'whereas distinguished strangers, etc', and proceeding to confer on the three of us the rank of 'lords', together with certain e estates bestowed by the Queen

When it was read the trumpets blared and the spears clashed down as usual, but I saw soround his teeth They did not like the favour that was shown to us, which under all the circumstances was not perhaps unnatural

Then there cah with no humility in his eye, craved a boon at the hands of the Queen Nyleptha

Nyleptha turned a little pale, but bowed graciously, and prayed the 'well-beloved lord' to speak on, whereon in a few straightforward soldier-like words he asked her hand in e

Then, before she could find words to answer, the High Priest Agon took up the tale, and in a speech of real eloquence and power pointed out the es of the proposed alliance; hoould consolidate the kingdo, were to Zu-Vendis ratify the wildthe soldiery, for Nasta was a faeneral; hoould set her dynasty fir and approval of the 'Sun', ie of the office of the High Priest, and so on Many of his argu at it fro to be said for the a and lovely queens as though they were ivory effigies of theon spouted aas a perfect study; she smiled indeed, but beneath the san to flash ominously

At last he stopped, and she prepared herself to answer Before she did so, however, Sorais leant towards her and said in a voice sufficiently loud for me to catch what she said, 'Bethink thee well, my sister, ere thou dost speak, forupon thy words'

Nylepthaand a sain and listened

'Of a truth a great honour has been done to me,' she said, 'that e, but that Agon here should be so swift to pronounce the blessing of the Sun upon my union

Methinks that in another minute he would have wed us fast ere the bride had said her say Nasta, I thank thee, and I will bethink e, that is a cup of which none know the taste until they begin to drink it Again I thank thee, Nasta,' and she reat lord's face turned almost as black as his beard with fury, for he knew that the words amounted to a final refusal of his suit

'Thanks be to the Queen for her gracious words,' he said, restraining hirateful, 'my heart shall surely treasure them And now I crave another boon, namely, the royal leave to withdraw myself to my own poor cities in the north till such time as the Queen shall say my suit nay or yea Mayhap,' he added, with a sneer, 'the Queen will be pleased to visit er lords,' and he scowled darkly towards us 'It is but a poor country and a rough, but we are a hardy race of athered thirty thousand swordsmen to shout a welcome to her'

This speech, which was almost a declaration of rebellion, was received in complete silence, but Nyleptha flushed up and answered it with spirit

'Oh, surely, Nasta, I will coe lords in my train, and for everytwo from the lowlands who call me Queen, and ill see which is the staunchest breed Till then farewell'

The trureat asse confusion, and forcivil war

After this there was quiet for a feeeks Curtis and the Queen did not often meet, and exercised the utmost caution not to allow the true relation in which they stood to each other to leak out; but do what they would, ru fly in a dark rooan to hum round and round, and at last to settle on her throne

CHAPTER XVII THE STORM BREAKS

And noas that the trouble which at first had been but a cloud as large as aupon our horizon, namely, Sorais' preference for Sir Henry I saw the stor nearer and nearer; and so, poor fellow, did he The affection of so lovely and highly-placed a woeneral way be considered a calarievous burden to bear

To begin with, Nyleptha, though altogether char, was, it must be admitted, of a rather jealous disposition, and was sonation at the uished consideration' hich her royal sister favoured him Then the enforced secrecy of his relation to Nyleptha prevented Curtis fro to put a stop, to this false condition of affairs, by telling Sorais, in a casual but confidential way, that he was going toin Sir Henry's honey was that he knew that Good was honestly and sincerely attached to the oht Indeed, poor Bougasting himself to a shadow of his fat and jolly self about her, his face getting so thin that his eyeglass would scarcely stick in it; while she, with a sort of careless coquetry, just gave hi, no doubt, that he ive him a hint, in as delicate a way as I could, but he flew into a huff and would not listen toit worse Poor Good, he really was very ludicrous in his distress, and went in for all sorts of absurdities, under the belief that he was advancing his suit One of therave and revered signiors who instructed us, and hatever may have been the measure of his erudition, did not understand how to scan a line--of a , of which the continually recurring refrain was so about 'I will kiss thee; oh yes, I will kiss thee!' Now a for young ht, as I believe they do in the southern countries of Europe, and sing all sorts of nonsensical songs to the men may or may not be serious; but no offence is hest rank, who accept the whole thing as an English girl would a gracefully-turned coht hiether with those of her maidens, were exactly opposite our own, on the further side of a narrow courtyard which divided one section of the great palace fro ar an adept with the light guitar, he had easily learned to struht--the fashi+onable hour for this sort of caterwauling--to ht hideous with his aan, but they soon woke me up--for Good possesses a tremendous voice and has no notion of time--and I ran to my -place to see as the ht in the courtyard, I perceived Good, adorned with an enor silken cloak, which it is the right thing to wear upon these occasions, and shouting out the aboentle accompaniment From the direction of the quarters of the s; but the apartments of Sorais herself--whom I devoutly pitied if she happened to be there--were silent as the grave There was absolutely no end to that awful song, with its eternal 'I will kiss thee!' and at last neither I nor Sir Henry, whoer; so, re the dear old story, I put , and shouted, 'For Heaven's sake, Good, don't go on talking about it, but _kiss_ her and let's all go to sleep!' That choked hi foric business How deeply thankful we ought to be that even theabout them in the shape of a joke, if only people could see it The sense of huht to be cultivated in the Board schools--especially in Scotland

Well, the more Sir Henry held off the more Sorais caot very queer indeed

Evidently she was, by soe perversity of mind, quite blinded to the true state of the case; and I, for one, greatly dreaded the erous woman to be mixed up with, either with or without one's consent At last the evilgone out hawking, Sir Henry and I were sitting quietly talking over the situation, especially with reference to Sorais, when a Court er arrived with a written note, which ith some difficulty deciphered, and which was to the effect that 'the Queen Sorais commanded the attendance of the Lord Incubu in her private apartments, whither he would be conducted by the bearer'

'Oh o instead, old fellow?'