I said no more for the moment. If I tell the truth, I thought it only fair that she should be touched personally by some of the trouble which she had viewed with such philosophic indifference when it affected only Althea. With all her caprice and selfishness, however, she had plenty of shrewdness, and understood the gravity of what I had said.
Presently she choked down her emotion and seized my hand in both her own. "Forgive me for having spoken as I did. You are right, of course, and only acting as my friend in telling me this. But what shall I do?"
"Tell the truth, give up Prince von Graven, and let the Kaiser have his way in regard to this precious Imperial marriage."
"He would never forgive me," she wailed. "What does Althea advise?’"
Althea at last. I checked a smile. She could think of Althea when there was a difficulty to be solved. "I have not told her."
Suddenly she started as a fresh thought struck her. "You have quarrelled with the Prince, Herr Bastable."
"That is not the reason for my coming to you. I had some words with him because he would not be man enough to tell the truth and face the music."
"I know that, but it does not make any difference to the fact that Fräulein Althea was being sacrificed for the sake of the secret. But if the truth is not told, you may depend on it you will never have the chance of appearing at that concert."
I got up. "The others will not let me decide for you, and you must do as you will; but you can now see all that hangs on the decision."
"Oh, don’t leave me, Herr Bastable. Help me," she cried, catching and holding my hand and backing her words with appealing glances.
"Give up the Prince--you do not really care for him; write a renunciation grounding it on the fact that you do not wish to go counter to the Kaiser’s wish and will do anything rather than injure the Prince’s future; and let me have the document to get it to the Emperor."
"Help me to write it. You write so cleverly."
"No. Don’t have it machine made. Let yourself go in writing it. You have just heard of His Majesty’s opposition, your heart is breaking, and so on."
"It is," she said, with a very piteous look.
"It will--if you don’t get your chance at the concert. Think of all that means to you, and then persuade yourself that your emotion is for the loss of the Prince and not the sacrifice of your future."