It was a wild dream. Was there not, when all was said, a faint
hope for his own affairs in the fall of Fitzgerald?
She was lonely, friendless, personally known to few. Still, she
would be an Osian princess for all her misfortunes. But an Osian
princess was not so great that love might not possess her.
Without royalty she would be only a woman. What would Austria do;
what would Austria say? If Austria had placed Leopold on the
throne, certainly it was to shut out the house of Auersperg.
And who was this man Beauvais, who served one house openly and
another under the rose? Where had he met him before, and why did
the thought of him cause unrest? To rescue her somehow, to win
her love, to see the glory of the world light the heavens in her
eyes! If the dream was mad, it was no less pleasant.
He was a commoner; he had nothing in the world but his brain and
his arm. Fitzgerald, now, possessed a famous title and an
ancient name. These kings and princes hereabout could boast of
but little more than he; and there were millions to back him. He
could dream of princesses and still be sane. Maurice did not
envy the Englishman's riches, but he coveted his right of way.
Pages:
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251