"
"And these certificates fall due the same day that the princess
is to be married," mused his auditor. "What a yarn for the
papers!" his love of sensation being always close to the surface.
"Your father, you say, took four million crowns; what became of
the fifth?"
"The duke was permitted to secure that."
"A kind of court plaster for his wounds, eh? Why don't you get
that other million and run the kingdom yourself? It's a great
opportunity." Maurice laughed.
"Her Royal Highness must not be forgotten. My father thought
much of her."
"But really I do not see why you are putting yourself to all
this trouble. The king will pay off the indebtedness; the
kingdom is said to be rich, or Austria wouldn't meddle with it."
"The king, on the twentieth of this month, will be some three
millions short."
"And since he can not pay he is bankrupt. Ah, I see the plan.
The duke knew that he wouldn't be able to pay."
"You have hit it squarely."
"But Austria, having placed Leopold here, is his sponsor."
"Austria has too many debts of her own; she will have to disavow
her protege, which is a fact not unthought of by the house of
Auersperg.
Pages:
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139