"
"When he knows how distasteful this marriage is to her, why does he not
let the matter go?"
"It is too late now. Royalty, having given its word, never retracts
it. Events which the King wills must come to pass, or he loses a part
of his royal dignity. And then, a King cannot very well be subservient
to the will of a subject."
"But has she no rights as a petty sovereign?" I asked.
"Only those which the King is kind enough to give her. She is but a
tenant: the rulers of Hohenphalia are but guests of his Majesty. It is
to be regretted, but it cannot be helped."
That afternoon, as I lay on my pallet, it seemed to me that in some
unaccountable way I was destined to become concerned in the affairs of
her Serene Highness. I had never seen the woman, not even a picture of
her. Certainly, she must be worth loving, inasmuch as she was worth
trouble. I have always found it to be the troublesome woman who has
the largest train of lovers. Troublesome, they are interesting;
interesting, they are lovable.
It was more than a year since last I saw Phyllis; yet my love for her
knew no diminution.
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