Part 34 (1/2)
”Impossible!” exclaimed the King.
”I knew you would say that,--so did she. That I believe is why she gave me her consent.”
”Then she does not really----”
”Love me? Very much, I believe. But her life is a strange mingling of sincerity and self-sacrifice; and it will in some strange way give her almost as much joy to have owned that her heart is utterly mine, and then to be irrevocably parted, as it would to share all the splendor of my fortune as heir to a throne.”
”You know, Max, that it is quite impossible.”
”Yes; by all the conventions of the last three hundred years, so it is.
That is why I trust that you will rise to the occasion, sir, and do what is not expected of you. To allow your son and heir to marry the daughter of the great political antagonist of your present Prime Minister in itself creates an almost impossible situation--for party politics, I mean. But as party politics have already created an almost impossible situation for monarchy, the best thing to do is to have a return hit at party politics. I believe that the monarchy will survive.”
”No, no, Max,” said the King, ”this won't do.”
”You know that it would greatly upset the Prime Minister.”
”I have other ways of doing that,” said the King.
”Without upsetting yourself?”
This gave his Majesty a little start. ”It depends what you mean by upsetting; perhaps it would upset you much more. But there, we won't talk about that!” For this was danger-point, and having touched it, he hurried cautiously away from it. Then he returned to the original charge: ”Whatever put the idea into your head?”
”A vision of beauty that I had not believed to be possible.”
”Is she so very beautiful, then?”
”You have seen her, sir, and you have not remembered her. I did not mean that sort of beauty.”
”Ah, then, you are really in love.”
”Ludicrously,” confessed Max.
”My dear boy, I am very sorry for you.”
”Oh, you need not be, sir; I am quite sure of myself at last; and by refusing to marry anybody else I have only to wait and you will have to yield to my request.”
”You may have to wait a long time,” began the King, and then he stopped; for looking into the future he saw Max in a new light, that same fierce light which had beaten upon himself for the last twenty-five years, preventing him from doing so many things he had wished to do. It would prevent Max too.
”But I want your consent now, father,” said the young man; and there was something of real affection in his voice.
”Why can't you wait till I am dead?”
”That would be selfish of me. Do you not want to see me happy first?”
But to that the King only shook his head.
”It won't do, Max, it won't do. The Archbishop wouldn't like it either,”