But, I
suppose you will concede it was not the Princess."
"Certainly," I agreed.
"Ergo--it must have been----"
"I stop at the Princess," said I.
He sat silent, frowning very slightly.
"If I were quite sure that Lotzen were the instigator of this plot, I
would remove him utterly from the line of succession and banish him
from the Kingdom."
I thought it a proper time for me to be very quiet.
"In the meantime, however, I shall send that infernal woman packing
over the border by the quickest route," he said vehemently.
"I trust not, Sire," I said. "As Governor of Dornlitz, I gave orders,
this morning, that she be not permitted to leave the Capital."
"But, she's an American subject!" he exclaimed. "She can't be held
prisoner."
"If she's my wife, she's a subject of Your Majesty."
"True! But why do you want to keep her here?"
"To give time to investigate her doings since I became an Archduke," I
said. "I may not marry Dehra in the face of that certificate and old
Henry's Decree; and, since the Alderman is dead, only through Madeline
Spencer herself can the falsity of her claim be shown. Every moment
here she must act her part and be under our constant surveillance.
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