his majesty's letter. He declines the honor of my hand: is that not it?"
The chancellor signified that it was.
"Ah!" with a note of pride in her voice and a flash in her eyes. "And
I?"
"You will tell the duke that you have changed your mind," gravely.
"Do princesses change their minds like this?"
"They have often done so."
"In spite of publicity?"
"Yes, your Highness."
"And if I refuse to change my mind?"
"I am resigned to any and all events."
"War." Her face was serious. "And what has the king to suggest?"
"He proposes to accept the humiliation of being rejected by you."
"Why, this is a gallant king! Pouff! There goes a crown of thistledown."
She smiled at the chancellor, then she laughed. There was nothing but
youth in the laughter, youth and gladness. "Oh, I knew that you were a
good fairy. Listen to me. I declare to you that I am happier at this
moment than I have been in days. To marry a man I have never seen, to
become the wife of a man who is nothing to me, whose looks, character,
and habits are unknown; why, I have lived in a kind of horror. You did
not find me soon enough; there are yet some popular ideas in my head
which are alien to the minds of princesses. I am free!" And she uttered
the words as with the breath of spring.
The chancellor's shoulders drooped a trifle more, and his hand closed
down over the letter. Otherwise there was no notable change in his
appearance. He was always guarding the muscles of his face.
Inscrutability is the first lesson of the diplomat; and he had learned
it thirty years before.
"There will be no war," resumed her highness. "I know my father; our
wills may clash, but in this instance mine shall be the stronger."
"But this is not the end."
"You mean that there will be other kings?" She had not thought of this,
and some of the brightness vanished from her face.
"Yes, there will be other kings. I am sorry. What young girl has not her
dream of romance? But princesses must not have romances. Yours, my
child,
Notka biograficzna
Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE (May 14, 1853August 31, 1931), usually known as Hall Caine, was a British author. He is best known as a novelist and playwright of the late Victorian and the Edwardian eras. In his time he was exceedingly popular and at the peak of his success his novels outsold those of his contemporaries. Many of his novels were also made into films. His novels were primarily romantic in nature, involving the love triangle, but they did also address some of the more serious political and social issues of the day.
Harold MacGrath (September 4, 1871 - October 30, 1932) was a bestselling American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Also known occasionally as Harold McGrath, he was born in Syracuse, New York. As a young man, he worked as a reporter and columnist on the Syracuse Herald newspaper until the late 1890s when he published his first novel, a romance titled Arms and the Woman. According to the New York Times, his next book, The Puppet Crown, was the No.7 bestselling book in the United States for all of 1901. From that point on, MacGrath never looked back, writing novels for the mass market about love, adventure, mystery, spies, and the like at an average rate of more than one a year. He would have three more of his books that were among the top ten bestselling books of the year. At the same time, he penned a number of short stories for major American magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, and Red Book magazine. Several of MacGraths novels were seriali
Mabel Collins (9 September 1851 - 31 March 1927) was a theosophist and author of over 46 books. She was born in St Peter Port, Guernsey.