THE CHARM OF THE OLD WORLD ROMANCES – Premium 10 Book Collection. Robert BarrЧитать онлайн книгу.
I right in stating that when such demand was made and refused, the Count appealed to his Sovereign and yours?"
"I heard nothing of such an appeal."
"Who was your envoy?"
"Count Bertrich."
"Where is Count Bertrich now?"
"He is at the head of my escort, outside this tent, having been refused admission."
"Let him be called."
An intense silence had reigned during this colloquy between the Emperor and the Archbishop. All eyes were now turned toward the entrance, and presently Count Bertrich, accompanied by the messenger sent for him, came in, and took his place before the dais near the spot where his master stood. The Count blinked for a few moments, coming as he did from the brilliant sunshine outside into the comparative obscurity of the tent. At last he glanced about him, seeing many there whom he knew, all standing silent as if something ominous had happened or was expected to happen; finally his eye rested on the Emperor, and a look of amazed incredulity came into his face on beholding before him the young man whose life he had attempted. Ruddy as he was, the colour partially left his cheeks, and he stared, open-eyed, at his Sovereign, receiving, however, no glance of recognition in return. The Emperor sat imperturbable, his face stern and inscrutable, giving the warrior time to collect himself, then he spoke calmly.
"I am told you are the envoy who carried the ultimatum of his Lordship of Treves to Heinrich, Count of Thuron."
"I was the envoy, your Majesty."
"Is it a fact that the Count, in refusing the demand to give up his castle to his Lordship, appealed to the Emperor?"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"Is it true that you claimed for your master special authority from the Emperor, and that Count Heinrich said he would deliver up his stronghold on the production of that authority?"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"Of course you acquainted your master with such important incidents?"
"No, your Majesty. I immediately attacked the castle in defiance of the wishes of my Lord of Treves, and entirely without his sanction. I alone am to blame for the beginning of hostilities, from which, once begun, my Lord could not withdraw without loss of prestige."
"You did not then inform him of Count Heinrich's appeal until after your unsuccessful assault?"
"I have no remembrance of ever so informing him, your Majesty. Shortly after the first attack I was wounded in the mouth and could not speak for many days."
"You have entirely recovered, I am pleased to see, and no doubt your present speaking is much to the liking of the Archbishop. You shamelessly admit, then, that you deceived your master, and at the same time gravely wronged Count Heinrich of Thuron by neglecting to report his appeal."
"I fully admit it, your Majesty, and am prepared to suffer for my crime."
"Arrest this man, and see to it that he has no communication with any, until sentence is passed upon him."
The Archbishop of Treves, who had been visibly uneasy during the latter part of this cross-examination, now intervened.
"Your Majesty, permit me to mend an answer I gave to you. When I replied that I knew nothing of such an appeal as Heinrich of Thuron is said to have made——"
"Said to have made, my Lord? The appeal is proven through the mouth of your own envoy. It seems that the caution to speak the truth, of which you complained, has been more than justified. I warn you, my Lord, that you are treading on dangerous ground in thus attempting to juggle with me."
"I beg to say, your Majesty, that two years have passed since the events under discussion took place, and men's memories are sometimes at fault when even shorter periods are in question. For instance, my trusty ally, who leaped so quickly into your Majesty's favour, doubtless forgets that a few brief days since he bound himself solemnly to stand or fall with me, whereas he has fallen alone—at your Majesty's feet."
"I was coerced," explained Von Hochstaden.
"There also your remembrance fails you, my valourous Lord. It was your own proposition. But all this has nothing to do with the point in argument, and it may be that Count Bertrich's loyalty has clouded his memory, while it is possible that my own recollection has not been of the best in dealing with doings long past, these doings having connection with so unscrupulous a man as Heinrich of Thuron. His appeal I did not consider as anything but a ruse to gain time. He well knew that your Majesty was thousands of leagues away and that it would be long before his petition could be heard; in truth, for two years, as has been shown by your present return. Therefore, I paid no heed to an invocation that was on the face of it dishonest. When Count Bertrich says he acted without my orders he speaks the technical truth, but everything he did had my most cordial approval, then and now; and, as I have said before, if we had not been harnessed with a poltroon, we should have had the castle within five days. It is futile, then, to punish this underling, and let the chief culprit go, if my action be adjudged censurable."
"Your action is adjudged a crime."
"Then I plead that, in justice, Count Bertrich should not suffer, being under my command."
"Your Lordship is not logical. Count Bertrich has himself confessed that he acted without your sanction. Your crime is that you approved of an illegal action, not that you gave illegal orders, which, it seems, you did not."
What motion the proud Prelate might have made at this juncture which would have led to his inevitable destruction, can only be surmised, but, happily for him, he cast a glance at his brethren of Cologne and Mayence, and detected on their faces ill-concealed looks of triumph. It meant much to them that the Lion of Treves should accomplish his own ruin, and the stern face of the Emperor indicated that unqualified submission must be made to him, if, indeed, such submission were not already too long delayed. That brief gleam of triumph on the face of his late ally saved von Isenberg. His manner instantly changed.
"Your Majesty," he said in a penitential tone, "I am compelled to confess that I am illogical, and that the case against me is but too clear, looking at it from your Majesty's higher point of view, unburdened by the prejudice, and, perhaps I should add with shame, the hatred which has enveloped me. I have no excuse to offer, and there is nothing left for me to hope, except that the clemency which you so generously bestowed on others you may extend to—Count Bertrich."
The Emperor's face lightened, and something almost approaching a smile touched his lips as he saw that the haughty Archbishop, in spite of his evident intention to sue for favour when he began, could not bring himself to beg for any save a friend. The Emperor ignored his lack of pleading for himself, and said:
"Are you content to return to Treves and accept the protection which my soldiers will deem it an honour to supply?"
"I am content, your Majesty."
"Are you content to allow your men now gathered round Thuron to join those under my standard?"
"I am content, your Majesty."
"Are you content to give up the guardianship of the Countess Tekla?"
"It has brought me little profit and some loss of prestige, so I am well rid of it. I am content, your Majesty."
The Emperor rose from his throne and descended the steps of the dais, extending his hand.
"My Lord Archbishop," he said, "I hope from this day forward to count you one of my friends."
"In truth, your Majesty," replied von Isenberg dryly, "I would rather have you my friend than my enemy."
"It is a sentiment which finds an echo in my own breast," responded the Emperor with undeniable amity, and casting a sharp glance on Count Bertrich, he added: "Is that defective memory of yours local or general, my Lord Count?"
"It is universal, your Majesty. Men whom I have met two years ago I could not recognise to-day."
"Ah! Such misfortunes, deplorable as they may seem, are