Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-07-17
CHAPTER ELEVEN

Skf!i It ttth - Ii 10
~ follow and keep her. her.
and l,t her ~. Oni:
his eyes Went with her, ana in them
there Was more of pain than anger,
though never hyfore il all his life per-
Lais had l., rccn thwartcd in any
strong desire Passion urged him for
ward. bat pride held him back, for
Leopold was proud man. and to have
his love thrown IN his face was to re-
celre an Icy douche with the blood at
fever heat.
For this girls sake hc had in few
days changed the habits of Il lifetime.
Pride, reserve, self control. the wish
not only to appear but to he man
above the fraiIties of common men, the
ambition 10 he placed and worthily
laced Oh II pedestal 10y his subjects
ali these he had thrown away for
Helen MowDray.
He WAS too just Il man not to admit
that If one Of his royal cousins Of
younger branches had contemplated
such folly as this he would have done
his best to nip that folly while it was
In bud. ''Ie jests at scars who never
felt wound" and until Leopold had
learned by his own unlocked for ex-
perience what love can mean, what
men VIII do for love while the sweet
madness is on them, he would have
been utterly unable to understand the
state Of mind.
A cousin inclined to act as he was
now bent on acting would but n month
ago have found all the emperor's influ-
ence, even force perhaps, brought to
bear in restraining him. Leopold saw
the change in himself. was startled
and shamed by it. Nevertheless he
would have persevered, trampling
down every obstacle that rose In his
way, II only the girl had seen things
with Ills eyes.
She had accused him Of insulting
her. not stopping to consider that even
to make her morganatically his wife
he must give great cause for COM
plant not only to his ministers, but to
his people. for he was expected to
marry a girl Of royal blood that the
country might have an heir. If Helen
Mowbray had accepted the position he
offered herr he could never have bro
ken her heart by making another mar
riagc.
Not only would 1t be difficult in these
days to find princess willing to toIer-
ate such rival, but 1t would have
N,vv g. IL,
the bond between himself and the one
adored woman
This being the case, with Helen
MOwbray as his morganatic wife,
there could be no direct heir to the
throne. At his death the son Of his
uncle, the Archduke Joseph, would
succeed, and during his life the popu-
larity which was dear to him would
he hOpelessIy forfeited. Rhaetia would
never forgive him for selfishly prefer
ring his own private happiness to the
good Of the nation
He could fancy how old Iron Heart
Won Breitstein would present this point
Of view to him with fierce eloquence,
temples thrObbing like the ticking Of
watch, eyes Melted with bloodshOt
veins. But. on the other hand. he could
picture himself standing calmly to
face the storm, steadfast In his swn
indomitable will, happy with love to
uphold him.
But now the will which had borne
him through life in triumphal march
had been powcrless against that of
this young girl. She would have none
Of him. "A woman whose face was her
fortune. whose place In life was hard
ly as high as the first step Of throne,
had refused-an emperor!
Hardly could Leopold believe the
thing that had happened to him. He
had spoken of doubling that he had
won her love. and he had doubted.
But he had allowed himself to hope,
because lie had confidence in his star
and because perhaps 1t had scarcely
been known in the annals Of history
that an empcror's suit should be re-
pulsed.
Besides. he had loved the girl so pas
si0nately that Ii seemed she could not
remain cold. And he hoped still that
when she had passed n long night in
reflection, in thinking over the situa-
ton, perhaps taking counsel with that
comparatively commonplace yet prac-
teal little lady, her mother, she might
be ready to change her mind
For the first few moments after the
singing rebuff he had endured Leo
foIt hot . ct..,
turn p suffer, for he could never hum
bic himself to implore for the second
time. But as he stood In the soft still:
ness Of the night, gazing toward the
lights Of the house, thoughts Of Vir-
ginia-her youth, her sweetness, her
beauty dimmed with grief-Overwhelm-
ed him. Could he have reached her he
would have fallen on his knees and
kissed her gown.
By and by vast tenderness breath
ed its calm over the thwarted passion
In his breast, and plans to win her
back came whispering in his ear. lie
would write letter and send it to her
room. But no; perhaps it would he
wise to give her longer interval for
rejection and, 1t might be, regret To-
morrow he would see her and show
oil the depths Of that great love which
she had thought to throw away. She
could not go on withstanding him for
ever, and, now that lie had burned his
boats behind him, he would never
think OF turning back. He would per-
severe till she should Yield
Meanwhile Virginia had hurried
blindly toward the house, and 1t was
instinct rather than intention that led
her to the open window Of the music
room, by which she had come out.
Tears burned her eyelids, but they
did not fall until she stood once more
IN the room where she and Leopold
had been happy together. There she
had sat at the piano, and he had bent
over her, love in his eyes-honest love