Part 41 (1/2)
”One thing only stands clear,” said the Queen: ”this Captain Ellerey is a traitor You were a fool,him to my notice”
”I may have been mistaken”
”May? Indeed you have,” she answered ”Heaven help hi; he will sorely need it”
”I say I may have been mistaken, your Majesty, and that is what I mean,” said De Froilette calmly ”Francois has seen these men who have come back, and I am convinced that Captain Ellerey was as astonished to see the token as any one”
”How could he be?”
”Are you certain of the man who delivered it to hilishman?”
”If he wished to deceive us he could have done so in a much more effectual way,” said De Froilette, ”and served his own ends better
Men like Captain Ellerey do not join themselves to such a cause as ours for the love of it, but in their own interests I have put down his so of security in being your Majesty's trusted er”
”So Monsieur De Froilette, ever so suspicious, has lived to becoe,” the Frenchman went on ”I believe Princess Maritza has been in Sturatzberg”
”Have you seen her?”
”No, but Francois says he did He oes to confirm Francois Now, your Majesty, one of Ellerey's coed the token The fact that I have led the Princess, while she has been in England, to believe that I have worked in her cause, olden cross would be acceptable to the brigands, that they would welcoree, monsieur, she would have made her presence known to you”
”She may have come to watch me, and even then she could hardly discover my real object I have worked in your service too secretly Even Lord Cloverton trusts me”
”I would Lord Cloverton were removed from Wallaria either by his Government or by--”
”Ah, madam, death seldom strikes where ould have it If heaven were pleased to remove him we should have one obstacle the less in our way; but many would still remain Death would have to be busy to make our enterprise sure”
”Lord Cloverton stands by th,” answered the Queen, her hands tightening a little ”The King would be pliant in my hands were this man not beside him to stiffen him Is there any other man in the world ould have dared to put me to the test he did? I hate him”
”It is fortunate he has done so; he will not dare to repeat the offence,” said De Froilette
”I am not sure of that”
”If he does, the bracelet is mislaid,” said De Froilette ”The mere fact that it has not been delivered will prove that you never sent it
For the moment we are powerless to act, but another token will be sent presently, another er found to take it Have we not the assurance of Russia that the moment the standard of revolt is raised she will find plausible excuse to cross the frontier? Has not your Majesty rather hoped to succeed without the help of Russia?”
”The possibility may have occurred to me,” answered the Queen
”These rebels ould help you to occupy the throne of Wallaria alone would be difficult to rule without an army at your call to cow the to the future; it is the present which concerns us, monsieur”