The Prisoner of Zenda Anthony Hope (read e book TXT) đ
- Author: Anthony Hope
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âWhat have you been doing to your moustache?â
âTo tell the truth,â I answered, assuming a sly air, âa man now and then has reasons for wishing to alter his appearance. But itâs coming on very well again.â
âWhat? Then I wasnât so far out! If not the fair Antoinette, there was a charmer?â
âThere is always a charmer,â said I, sententiously.
But George would not be satisfied till he had wormed out of me (he took much pride in his ingenuity) an absolutely imaginary love affair, attended with the proper soupçon of scandal, which had kept me all this time in the peaceful regions of the Tyrol. In return for this narrative, George regaled me with a great deal of what he called âinside informationâ (known only to diplomatists), as to the true course of events in Ruritania, the plots and counterplots. In his opinion, he told me, with a significant nod, there was more to be said for Black Michael than the public supposed; and he hinted at a well-founded suspicion that the mysterious prisoner of Zenda, concerning whom a good many paragraphs had appeared, was not a man at all, but (here I had much ado not to smile) a woman disguised as a man; and that strife between the king and his brother for this imaginary ladyâs favour was at the bottom of their quarrel.
âPerhaps it was Mme. de Mauban herself,â I suggested.
âNo!â said George decisively, âAntoinette de Mauban was jealous of her, and betrayed the duke to the king for that reason. And, to confirm what I say, itâs well known that the Princess Flavia is now extremely cold to the king, after having been most affectionate.â
At this point I changed the subject, and escaped from Georgeâs âinspiredâ delusions. But if diplomatists never know anything more than they had succeeded in finding out in this instance, they appear to me to be somewhat expensive luxuries.
While in Paris I wrote to Antoinette, though I did not venture to call upon her. I received in return a very affecting letter, in which she assured me that the kingâs generosity and kindness, no less than her regard for me, bound her conscience to absolute secrecy. She expressed the intention of settling in the country, and withdrawing herself entirely from society. Whether she carried out her designs, I have never heard; but as I have not met her, or heard news of her up to this time, it is probable that she did. There is no doubt that she was deeply attached to the Duke of Strelsau; and her conduct at the time of his death proved that no knowledge of the manâs real character was enough to root her regard for him out of her heart.
I had one more battle left to fightâ âa battle that would, I knew, be severe, and was bound to end in my complete defeat. Was I not back from the Tyrol, without having made any study of its inhabitants, institutions, scenery, fauna, flora, or other features? Had I not simply wasted my time in my usual frivolous, good-for-nothing way? That was the aspect of the matter which, I was obliged to admit, would present itself to my sister-in-law; and against a verdict based on such evidence, I had really no defence to offer. It may be supposed, then, that I presented myself in Park Lane in a shamefaced, sheepish fashion. On the whole, my reception was not so alarming as I had feared. It turned out that I had done, not what Rose wished, butâ âthe next best thingâ âwhat she prophesied. She had declared that I should make no notes, record no observations, gather no materials. My brother, on the other hand, had been weak enough to maintain that a serious resolve had at length animated me.
When I returned empty-handed, Rose was so occupied in triumphing over Burlesdon that she let me down quite easily, devoting the greater part of her reproaches to my failure to advertise my friends of my whereabouts.
âWeâve wasted a lot of time trying to find you,â she said.
âI know you have,â said I. âHalf our ambassadors have led weary lives on my account. George Featherly told me so. But why should you have been anxious? I can take care of myself.â
âOh, it wasnât that,â she cried scornfully, âbut I wanted to tell you about Sir Jacob Borrodaile. You know, heâs got an Embassyâ âat least, he will have in a monthâ âand he wrote to say he hoped you would go with him.â
âWhereâs he going to?â
âHeâs going to succeed Lord Topham at Strelsau,â said she. âYou couldnât have a nicer place, short of Paris.â
âStrelsau! Hâm!â said I, glancing at my brother.
âOh, that doesnât matter!â exclaimed Rose impatiently. âNow, you will go, wonât you?â
âI donât know that I care about it!â
âOh, youâre too exasperating!â
âAnd I donât think I can go to Strelsau. My dear Rose,
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