Here was a danger that Jessie had not expected. She was not surprised to see Prince Boris Mazaroff there; indeed, she would not have been surprised at anything after the events of the last few hours. There was no startling coincidence in the presence of the Russian here, seeing that he knew everybody worth knowing in London, and all society would be here presently.
Would he come forward and speak? Jessie wondered. She would have avoided the man, but then it seemed to be quite understood that she must stay by the fountain till the signal was given. All this had been evidently carefully thought out before Vera Galloway found it an imperative1 necessity to be elsewhere on this fateful night.
Would Mazaroff penetrate2 her disguise? was the most fateful question that Jessie asked herself. Of course he would see the strong likeness3 between the sham4 Vera and the milliner in the Bond Street shop; but as he appeared to be au fait of Lord Merehaven's house, and presumedly knew Vera, he had doubtless noticed the likeness before. Jessie recollected6 the girls who had greeted her so smilingly in the hall, and reflected that they must have known Vera far better than this rascally7 Russian could have done, and they had been utterly8 deceived.
Mazaroff lounged up to the fountain and murmured something polite. His manner was easy[31] and polished and courteous9 now, but that it could be very different Jessie knew to her cost. She raised her eyes and looked the man coldly in the face. She determined10 to know once for all whether he guessed anything or not. But the expression of his face expressed nothing but a sense of disappointment.
"Why do you frown at me like that, Miss Vera?" he asked. "What have I done?"
Jessie forced a smile to her lips. She could not quite forget her own ego11, and she knew this man to be a scoundrel and a coward. Through his fault she had come very close to starvation. But, she reflected, certainly Vera could know nothing of this, and she must act exactly as Vera would have done. Jessie wanted all her wits for the coming struggle.
"Did I frown?" she laughed. "If I did, it was certainly not at you. My thoughts——"
"Let me guess your thoughts," Mazaroff said in a low tone of voice. He reclined his elbows on the lip of the fountain so that his face was close to Jessie's. "I am rather good at that kind of thing. You are thinking that the queen did not care much for the pictures."
Jessie repressed a start. There was a distinct menace in the speaker's words. If they meant anything they meant danger, and that to the people whose interests it was Jessie's to guard. And she knew one thing that Vera Galloway could not possibly know—this man was a scoundrel.
"There was only one queen in this conversation. I mean the Queen of Asturia. She left the salon13[32] with you to look at certain pictures, and she was disappointed. Where is she?"
"Back again in the salon by this time, doubtless," Jessie laughed. "I am not quite at home in the presence of royalty14."
The brows of Mazaroff knitted into a frown. Evidently Jessie had accidentally said something that checkmated him for the moment.
"And the king?" he asked. "Do you know anything about him? Where is he, for example?"
Jessie shook her head. She was treading on dangerous ground now, and it behoved her to be careful. The smallest possible word might lead to mischief15.
"The queen is a great friend of mine," Mazaroff went on, and Jessie knew instantly that he was lying. "She is in danger, as you may possibly know. You shake your head, but you could tell a great deal if you choose. But then the niece of a diplomatist knows the value of silence."
"The niece of a diplomatist learns a great deal," Jessie said coldly.
"Exactly. I hope that I have not offended you. But certain things are public property. It is impossible for a crowned head to disguise his vices16. That the King of Asturia is a hopeless drunkard and a gambler is known to everyone. He has exhausted17 his private credit, and his sullen18 subjects will not help him any more from the public funds. It is four years since the man came to the throne, and he has not been crowned yet. His weakness and rascalities are Russia's opportunity."
"You are a very clever young lady," Mazaroff[33] smiled. "As a Russian, my country naturally comes first. But then I am exceedingly liberal in my political views, and that is why the Czar prefers that I should more or less live in Western Europe. In regard to the Asturian policy, I do not hold with the views of my imperial master at all. At the risk of being called a traitor20 I am going to help the queen. She is a great friend of yours also?"
"I would do anything in my power to help her," Jessie said guardedly.
The Russian's eyes gleamed. In a moment of excitement he laid his hand on Jessie's arm. The touch filled her with disgust, but she endured it.
"Then you never had a better opportunity than you have at the present moment," Mazaroff whispered. "I have private information which the queen must know at once. Believe me, I am actuated only by the purest of motives21. The fact that I am practically an exile from my native land shows where my sympathies lie. I am sick to death of this Russian earth hunger. I know that in the end it will spell ruin and revolution and the breaking up of the State. I can save Asturia, too."
"Do I understand that you want to see the queen?" Jessie asked.
"That is it," was the eager response. "The queen and the king. I expected to find him elsewhere. I have been looking for him in one of the haunts he frequents. I know that Charles Maxwell was with him this morning. Did he give you any hint as to the true state of affairs?"
"I don't know who you mean?" Jessie said unguardedly. "The name is not familiar to me."
"Oh, this is absurd!" Mazaroff said with some show of anger in his voice. "Caution is one thing,[34] but to deny knowledge of Lord Merehaven's private and confidential22 secretary is another matter. Come, this is pique—a mere5 lovers' quarrel, or something of that kind."
Jessie recovered herself at once. If Mazaroff had not been so angry he could not have possibly overlooked so serious a slip on the part of his companion.
"It is very good of you to couple our names together like this," Jessie said coldly.
"But, my dear young lady, it is not I who do it," Mazaroff protested. "Everybody says so. You said nothing when Miss Maitland taxed you with it at the duke's on Friday night. Lady Merehaven shrugs23 her shoulders, and says that worse things might happen. If Maxwell were to come up at this moment——"
Jessie waived24 the suggestion aside haughtily25. This information was exceedingly valuable, but at the same time it involved a possible new danger. If this Charles Maxwell did come up—but Jessie did not care to think of that. She half turned so that Mazaroff could not see the expression of her face; she wanted time to regain26 control over her features. As she looked towards the house she saw twice the quick flash of light in one of the bedroom windows.
It was the signal that the queen was ready to return to the salon again. Jessie's duty was plain. It was to hurry back to the bedroom and attend to the good pleasure of the queen. And yet she could not do it with the man by her side; she could think of no pretext27 to get rid of him. It was not as if he had been a friend. Mazaroff was an enemy of the heads of Asturia. Possibly he knew a great deal[35] more than he cared to say. There had been a distinct menace in his tone when he asked how the queen had enjoyed the pictures. As Jessie's brain flashed rapidly over the events of the evening, she recalled to mind the spectacle of the queen and the strange lady who dragged the body of the helpless man between them. What if that man were the King of Asturia! Why, Vera Galloway had said so!
Jessie felt certain of it—certain that for some reasons certain people were not to know that the King of Asturia was under Lord Merehaven's roof, and this fellow was trying to extract valuable information from her. As she glanced round once more the signal flashed out again. For all Jessie knew to the contrary, time might be as valuable as a crown of diamonds. But it was quite impossible to move so long as Mazaroff was there.
She looked round for some avenue of escape. The garden was deserted28 still, for the concert in the salon was not yet quite over. Even here the glorious voice of the prima donna floated clear as a silver bell. The singer was flinging aloft the stirring refrain of some patriotic melody.
"The Asturian national anthem," Mazaroff said softly. "Inspiring, isn't it?"
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1
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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2
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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3
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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4
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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5
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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6
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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8
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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9
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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10
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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11
ego
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| n.自我，自己，自尊 | |
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12
allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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13
salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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14
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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15
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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16
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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17
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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18
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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19
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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20
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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21
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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22
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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23
shrugs
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| n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 ) | |
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24
waived
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| v.宣布放弃( waive的过去式和过去分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等） | |
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25
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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26
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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27
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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28
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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