But it ever grew in volume, and the noise was getting nearer. Uncontrollable curiosity gained on them, and, rising, each questioned the eyes of the others. Soon the shouting, like some tide on the flow, reached the courtyard of the Palace, and a moment later the doors of the great reception-room, where they were awaiting the coming of the Prince, for the dinner-hour was now long past, were thrown{201} open by the major-domo, and to the incredible surprise of all—for she had dressed at the English Legation—Sophia entered.
The Princess had no idea who formed the house-party which Petros had invited for the New Year fêtes, but in the very flush of her triumph it did not seem to her possible that there might be an awkward moment in front of her. But had she known what presences that door flung wide would show, even she might have paused. But, smiling, and on fire with the music of the shouting, she sailed into the room. Just in front of her, imminent4 and encompassing5 as a nightmare, stood Petros’s mother, Princess Caroline of Herzegovina.
That remarkable7 lady was English, of overwhelming size, and she always denied ever having been a barmaid at the Alhambra Theatre. She was dressed—or you would rather say bound—in a ruby8 velvet9 gown, her ornaments10 were cairngorms and turquoises11, and her fan was of ostrich12 feathers dyed pink. To her Prince Petros, in a moment of unguarded confidence, had hinted at the upshot of this night’s work, and when she saw Sophia her voluminous bodice remained expanded with a quick-taken breath, and the two for a moment looked at each other in silence. Sophia recovered herself first.
‘Oh, I am even as delighted and surprised to see you, dear Princess,’ she cried, ‘as you are to see me. I appear like the man in the moon, do I not? It is ages since we met. Where is Petros, you ask me? Petros is detained;’ and she passed on, shaking{202} hands, to her other guests, mistress of herself and her house.
The Princess Caroline’s face was a fine study for a man who was bold enough to look at her. Her black, swarthy eyebrows13 meeting over her large, parrot-like nose grew knotted with thought; she could not doubt but that something had happened. What could this return of Sophia amid acclamation and welcome portend14? Where was Petros, who a few hours ago had gone to the Assembly, tremulous, yet hopeful? Malakopf, too? Malakopf was to have dined at the Palace to-night. He had not come, and already Sophia had passed through the folding dining-room doors, and the others were following. The arrangement of the table had been thrown hopelessly out of gear by these alterations15, but Sophia did not have Malakopf’s chair removed. She herself, with an extraordinary naturalness of manner, talked and laughed and ate and drank heartily16 and with great enjoyment17, and Princess Caroline grew momently more thunderous in aspect and more apprehensive18.
The dinner had been later than usual, and it was nearly ten when the dessert was put on. Suddenly Sophia rose.
‘I must beg the attention of all of you a moment,’ she said. ‘You will probably hear a strange story when we go to the ball to-night, and it is as well that you should hear the truth of it from me, though in outline only. I have come back just in time to nip in the bud a plot against the House of ?gina,{203} against me and my son. The authors of the plot are consequently unable to attend. Let us rise from table, your Royal Highnesses, my lords and ladies.’
Princess Caroline wavered a moment, then threw herself, fan, eyebrows and all, at Sophia’s feet.
‘Oh, have pity!’ she cried, and in her emotion her breeding had its way. ‘Poor Petros never meant any ‘arm. Oh my! I don’t know what I shall do! Where is poor Petros? Oh, let me go to him!’
Sophia motioned to her other guests to leave the room, and they were left alone.
‘My poor dear Princess,’ she said, ‘Petros has made a tragic19 ass6 of himself! He has been quite incredibly foolish and wicked. I am very sorry, but I gave him a warning before, and he would not take it. Oh, don’t cry so! He will not have his head cut off; but he will never sit any more close to the throne of Rhodopé, because he tried to occupy the seat. Yes, you shall see him to-morrow. You will not come to the fête to-night, of course? I really am very sorry for you. Oh, please get up! Your tiara has fallen off.’
Prince Petros—and herein was a sting—had ordered the fête on a scale of unexampled magnificence to celebrate the events of the afternoon. These events had turned out somewhat wide of his conjecture20, but the magnificence of the fête was unimpaired, and very fitly commemorated21 Sophia’s return. He had planned an enthusiastic reception of himself and Malakopf. Sophia took their place,{204} but the enthusiasm of the welcome fully22 came up to his imaginings.
The High Court of Justice met early the next week to try Prince Petros and Malakopf. It was not difficult to find witnesses for the prosecution23, for the whole House had heard Malakopf’s public repudiation24 of the House of ?gina, and Prince Petros, wise for once, when asked whether or no he was guilty of high treason against his wife, the Princess Sophia, pleaded guilty, hoping thereby25 for a mitigation of his sentence. The Lord Chief Justice, as he was bound to do, pronounced sentence of perpetual imprisonment26 at the Princess’s pleasure, and, without ordering the removal of the prisoners from the dock, sent, in accordance with the procedure of the Court of Rhodopé, a message to her, to say that he had done his duty, and waited for the confirmation27 of the sentence. She had also petitioned the Court for a separation between herself and her husband, and this, of course, was granted her.
Sophia had spared the two the humiliation28 of a public trial, and the case was tried in camera, there being present only the jury, sufficient witnesses to establish the accusation29, the judge, and the counsel for and against the prisoners. In a few moments, however, the door to the judge’s private rooms opened, and Sophia herself entered.
The Chief Justice immediately vacated his place, and all remained standing30 till Sophia had seated herself. She was dressed in black, her face was very stern, and Petros, looking thereon, felt his hopes die.{205}
But she spoke first, not to him, but to Malakopf.
‘Alexis Malakopf, prisoner at the bar,’ she said, ‘Prime Minister of my Government, you have been found guilty of high treason, and for you I have no pity. I heard your words spoken in the Assembly, I heard your astounding31 insults and repudiation of our Royal House. How is it possible for me to mitigate32 your sentence? You are not young, you have not been led away by another; you are old, and you are wicked. Long ago I knew what you were planning, long ago you made a boast that my husband was but the glove which covered your hand. Do you remember your words? I see that you do. I may have been unwise—I have been unwise in many things—but I have ever dealt frankly33 with you. I will hear if you have anything to say in your defence. But if you have any self-respect left, I cannot conjecture what you will say.’
There was silence in the court.
‘So be it,’ said Sophia at length; ‘as you have sown, so shall you reap. You have been accused of high treason to my house, you have been found guilty. Your crime is the more odious34 in that you must needs act through another; you must needs make my unhappy husband your tool. You have done a monstrous35 thing. The sentence of the Court is confirmed, and for the remainder of your days you are confined in our prison at Amandos.’
Malakopf was removed, and when he had gone Sophia turned to Petros.
‘Oh, Petros,’ she said, leaning forward, and speak{206}ing so that he alone could clearly hear her, ‘have I deserved this of you? What had I done that you could treat me so? Was it not your place rather to reason with me, if you thought I was acting36 unwisely for my people? If you thought I ought to have been more sedulous37 in my duties, should you not have told me so? Yes, you will say that I did not give a very patient ear to you, and thus the fault is partly mine, and I own it. But no good fruit ever came out of disloyalty, and even if your infamous39 plan had succeeded, the fruit would have been an apple from the Dead Sea, dust and ashes to your mouth. Perhaps this is no time to make reproaches, but we shall not meet again, my poor Petros, and what I have to say to you must be said now.’
She stopped a moment; her voice was soft with tears, and trembled. The unhappy man had covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders shook with his sobbing40.
‘Petros,’ she went on, ‘what a change is here, since when you came so gallantly41 to Amandos, since we sat all night at bezique, since we rode to the review, and raced home! We have not made a very successful marriage, and I blame myself, believe me, as much as you. But that it should come to this! There I blame you. Did I not warn you? Have the justice to admit that I warned you when I told you that you were no Napoleon. Jesting words, no doubt; but you are not slow, and you saw what I meant. Oh, I know well that you saw what I meant. Again, when I left Mavromáti, did{207} I not say that I trusted you to the utmost? I could think of nothing which should have been so tonic42 as that. If there had been one seed of loyalty38 in you, those words should have warmed and watered it.’
Petros raised his head.
‘Before God, Sophia,’ he cried, ‘I never thought——’
She shook her head.
‘Do not say that,’ she said, ‘for you did think. You must have calculated long and carefully. I should, I think, have forgiven you if you had in some sudden exasperation43 tried to cut my throat, for I know how exasperating44 I must often have been; but this scheming and cold-blooded conspiracy45, it beats me! I cannot understand it. My poor friend, I do not mean to mock at you, but you would have been a more successful figure to-day if you had stuck to your riding and your bezique. Good-bye, Petros; we shall not meet again. You shall know how Leonard grows up.’
He buried his face in his hands, unable to look at her, waiting only for the confirmation of his sentence. Sophia paused, allowing her emotion to quiet itself, and then spoke in a firm voice:
‘The separation granted by the court between Prince Petros and myself is confirmed,’ she said. ‘But the Crown, having pity for the Prince’s youth, and bearing in mind that he was no more than the tool of another, commutes46 his sentence of perpetual imprisonment to perpetual banishment47 from the realm{208} of Rhodopé. He is free to go and to do as he will outside our dominions48. He will leave Mavromáti this afternoon in the royal yacht Felatrune, to the commander of which orders shall be given to go where the Prince directs. He will be removed secretly, so that no public disrespect shall be shown him. I thank you, my Lord Chief Justice and gentlemen. The court is adjourned49.’
She stepped down from the Bench, and went to the front of the dock, holding out her hand.
‘Good-bye, Petros,’ she said, and with a sudden flood of tears he bent50 and kissed it.
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1
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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2
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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3
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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4
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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5
encompassing
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| v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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6
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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7
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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8
ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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9
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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10
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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11
turquoises
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| n.绿松石( turquoise的名词复数 )；青绿色 | |
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12
ostrich
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| n.鸵鸟 | |
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13
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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14
portend
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| v.预兆，预示；给…以警告 | |
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15
alterations
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| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
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16
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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17
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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18
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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19
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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20
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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21
commemorated
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| v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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repudiation
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| n.拒绝；否认；断绝关系；抛弃 | |
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25
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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27
confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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28
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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29
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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30
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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31
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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32
mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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33
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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34
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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35
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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36
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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37
sedulous
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| adj.勤勉的，努力的 | |
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38
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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39
infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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40
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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41
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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42
tonic
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| n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的 | |
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43
exasperation
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| n.愤慨 | |
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44
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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45
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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46
commutes
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| 上下班路程( commute的名词复数 ) | |
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47
banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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48
dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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49
adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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50
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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