Delphi Works of Ford Madox Ford (Illustrated) (27 page)

‘That ought to do it,’ said the King, surveying his handiwork approvingly.

Just then the door opened, and two more old gentlemen — each wearing a ducal coronet — tottered in as fast as they could.

‘My dear Princess,’

‘My darling wife,’ they duetted in feeble tones, showing as much joy as their faces were capable of, which made them look about as pleasant as a pair of Japanese masks.

‘Allow me to congratulate you,’

‘Allow me to offer my congratulations,’ they went on.

‘Now you’ve done it,’ said the King. ‘Look here!’ And he showed them the notice.

The two Dukes turned each a different shade of yellow.

‘But, your Majesty,’ one of them began.

‘But, your Majesty,’ said the other suddenly; ‘as I’m—’

‘As I’m—’ the other put in.

Each of them stopped and looked angrily at the other.

‘As the son-in-law elect of the King,’ the first one began.

‘As the affianced husband of the Princess,’ said the other.

‘I think I have the right to speak first,’ they both said angrily.

But the King said, coolly:

‘My lords, the case is very clear. You have each of you offended against the law by congratulating the Princess, and as one of you, if not both, intends to marry my daughter and become King, it is as well to teach you from the beginning that the law must be abided by. Therefore, you will be ducked—”submerged,” the notice says — until one of you expires; the other will then marry Ernalie, and in course of time — if he does not die of the effects in the meantime — he will ascend the throne, having learnt a useful lesson.’

As the Dukes got greener and greener at this, the King went on: ‘The sentence had better be executed at once, so come along to the courtyard.’

‘But, your Majesty,’ said one of them, ‘I am subject to rheumatism, and I should not be fit to reign if this immersion in cold water should make it so bad that I was unable to move.’

‘That’s just the case with me,’ said the other.

‘Ah, well, if that is so,’ said the King, ‘perhaps you would like to give up your pretensions to my daughter’s hand. In that case, I should let you off, because there would be no need to give you such a practical exemplification of the majesty of the law.’

The Dukes looked perplexedly at one another.

‘I think,’ said one of them, ‘that, under the circumstances, I will give up my pretensions to the Princess’s hand.’

Here he looked regretfully at her right hand.

‘And I too,’ said the other sadly, looking at her left hand.

‘How
very
gallant of you,’ the Princess said ironically. ‘And now, as you’ve got rid of me so easily, perhaps you will be so kind as to leave us for a time. Good-day.’

‘Good-day,’ duetted the Dukes.

And they huddled out as well as they could, each trying to get behind the other.

‘I think that’s got rid of all the suitors for to-day,’ the King said when the door closed behind them. ‘I’ll just go and have the notice hung on the door, and I’ll be back in a minute.’

And he went, too.

Now really, he thought he had let the Dukes off too easily, and he intended to catch them up and fine them, but they had made off so uncommonly fast that they had disappeared before he got to the street door.

Meanwhile the Princess waited quietly for him; but hearing a noise of wheels outside the window, she went to see what was the cause of it.

‘Why, it’s him!’ she said delightedly, and with utter disregard of English grammar.

Opening the window she called out, ‘Treblo! Treblo!’ and, running down the steps towards him, threw herself into his arms.

For a moment she was too much out of breath to say anything at all, and Treblo too surprised to do anything but just hold her in his arms; and the King, who had just returned from the search after the Dukes, was far too taken aback to do anything but stand with his mouth and eyes wide open.

‘I call this too bad,’ he said in a low voice; and then raising it, he called out: ‘Young man, I say, have you seen the notice?’

Treblo looked annoyed.

‘What is the notice to me, you old fool?’ he said.

The King looked more and more astonished.

‘This is too much,’ he said. ‘Ernalie, when you’ve done kissing that young man perhaps you’ll tell me who he is. You see, it’s no use my putting up notices about other people embracing you if you go and perform on some one immediately afterwards. Now just tell me who it is.’

‘Why, it’s him, papa,’ said Ernalie, who had by this time disengaged herself.

‘Oh, it’s a
him
, is it?’ the King said. ‘That’s what the three others said they were, but they wouldn’t suit you.’

‘But they were so very old; besides, this is
the
him, papa.’

‘Ah, I see,’ said the papa, laughing. ‘It’s a case of “Ancient and Modern Hymns,” and you prefer the modern. But what about the notice?’

‘What
is
the notice?’ asked Treblo, rather puzzled; ‘and what has it got to do with me?’

‘More than you think,’ said the King. ‘It’s worth reading, I can tell you, especially during the next twenty-four hours. I should advise you to learn it by heart — that is, if you intend. However, I’ll go and fetch it, and you will be able to see for yourself.’

And the King went off to look for his notice.

When he had gone, the Princess said:

‘But how did you get here? I thought the mountains could not be crossed.’

‘I don’t know anything about the mountains, or how I came here either, for that matter. All I know is that I was suddenly caught up in a thick mist which hid me from every one, and every one from me too, and before I knew anything I was whirled off here in about a minute and a half, and then you came running down the steps — and that’s all I know.

Now perhaps you’ll tell me where I am, for I haven’t the faintest idea?’

‘Why, you’re in the middle of the kingdom of Aoland, and that was my father, and this is my home — and it’s all right.’

‘Yes, it’s all right now, but you wouldn’t have said it was all right if you had been carried like me.’

‘But you should feel yourself highly honoured and not injured. Why, you stupid fellow, it was a goddess who was carrying you like the heroes of Homer.’

‘A goddess!’ said the Prince, laughing. ‘Why, you must have been the goddess, Ernalie, and you’re quite—’

But the Princess stopped him. ‘What’s the use of saying that if you won’t believe me? It really was a goddess; and if you would like to know her name, it was Diana.’

‘Diana!’ said the Prince. ‘Why did she carry me off like this?’

‘Because I told her to, of course.’ The Prince shook his head.

‘Come, I say, Ernalie,’ he said, ‘this is too much, you know. I suppose you want me to believe that?’

‘Of course I do. Why should I have told you if I hadn’t wanted you to?’

,’Yes, that’s all very well,’ said the unbelieving Prince; ‘but how do you do it?’

‘I just make myself invisible, and then I make people do everything I like; they have to do it, or else I tease them till they do. But let’s come into the house and I’ll tell you all about it. But why are you holding me so tightly?’

‘I am afraid that you will suddenly vanish as you did once before, and I don’t want that — you’ve been away from me long enough.’

‘Oh, but I won’t leave you again, Treblo,’ she said, ‘I promise that — that is, if you don’t want me to.’

‘Then you won’t leave me, dear?’ he said; ‘for I shall never want to lose sight of you again.’

So they went in, and the Princess told him what you know already — if you haven’t skipped it. But all the same he did not leave go of her, and I don’t think it was from mistrust.

Ernalie finished relating her story, and the Prince was beginning:

‘My dearest Ernalie, how can I—’ when the door opened, and the King came in.

‘I’ve had such a job,’ he said, wiping his forehead. ‘There were about three thousand people assembled reading the notice, and they jeered and hooted so much that I had to make them a speech before they’d go away. However, here’s the notice.’

The Prince read it through carefully, and when he had finished he looked at the King and said:

‘Well?’

‘That’s just it,’ said the King; ‘the Palace draw
-well’

‘But as I’m the affianced bride of — I mean, as Ernalie’s my future husband—’

- ‘That’s just what the other two said — at least they said, and more correctly, that they were my sons- in-law elect; only that didn’t help them.’

By this time the Prince was looking more puzzled than ever.

‘Who are these other two?’ he said, turning to the Princess.

(‘Beware of the green-eyed monster,’ the King said parenthetically.)

‘Oh, they’re only three dukes that papa had promised my hand to — only I — wouldn’t have them.’

‘You mean they wouldn’t have you,’ said the King, correcting her.

‘I don’t mean anything of the sort,’ said the Princess.

‘Oh, very well, my dear,’ said the King. ‘Of course, if you say so, it’s all right. But how about the notice?’

‘I think we’ll tear that up,’ said Ernalie. ‘It’s done its duty, and it will be rather in the way now.’

‘Indeed, you surprise me,’ remarked the King.

‘Ernalie is quite right,’ said the Prince.

‘Oh! is she?’ said the King. ‘Then I suppose I’d better tear it up.’ And he did.

When he had finished, and had thrown the fragments into the waste- paper basket, he said:

‘Now I suppose you want me to consent to your marrying each other, and I suppose I’d better, or else I shall have Ernalie pitching into me like anything — only, I really don’t know who you are, young man, except that Ernalie says you are “him” (she ought to say he), and so I suppose you are Treblo, the Prince of the neighbouring kingdom?’

‘I am,’ said the Prince. ‘And I suppose you are the King of this country?’

The King was just about to say ‘I am,’ when another voice sounded through the room so clear and commanding that each of them looked towards the window from which it came; but nothing was to be seen there.

‘The road is made,’ it said, ‘and now perhaps you’ll give me the feather.’

‘Certainly,’ said the Princess. ‘Here it is,’ and she held it out in the direction of the Goddess. ‘Only, you might let us see you before you go for ever.’

‘Oh, certainly,’ said the Goddess, for, to tell the truth, Diana — like others besides goddesses — was very fond of being admired; and immediately she appeared in the middle of the room with her silver bow and quiver slung over her back, and the star that she always wore shining on her forehead.

She took the feather and, smiling, put it to her hair, and on the moment passed away; so that, where she had seemed to be, they saw the thin circlet of the moon hanging silvery and pale over the flush of the sun’s departure.