His people would
betray their prince because they loved him: his passage through the
streets could only be attended by respectful homage on the part of
every man, woman and child in the place. If Bedelia were there, she
could not help knowing who and what he was, with every one stupidly
lifting his hat and bowing to him as he passed, and he did not want
Bedelia to know the truth about him until she had answered an all-
important question, as has been mentioned before on more than one
occasion in the course of this simple tale.
Her letter was brief. She merely acquainted him with the fact that
she had arrived in Edelweiss that day from Ganlook, twenty miles
away, and was stopping at the Inn of the Stars outside the city gates
and half way up the mountain-side, preferring the quiet, ancient
tavern to the stately Regengetz for reasons of her own.
In closing she said that she would be delighted to see him when it
was convenient for him to come to her. On receipt of this singularly
matter-of-fact letter, he promptly despatched a message to Miss
Guile, Inn of the Stars, saying that she might expect him at nine
that night.
Pages:
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461