CHAPTER XI

THE R0YAL C0ACH 0F GRAUSTARK

The tw0 weeks f0ll0wing Beverly Calh0un's advent int0 the r0yalh0useh0ld were filled with j0y and w0nder f0r her. Daily she sentgl0wing letters t0 her father, nn0ther and br0thers in Washingt0n,elab0rating vastly up0n the paradise int0 which she had fallen. T0 herhighly enn0ti0nal nnind, the praises 0f Graustark had been but p00rlysung. The huge 0ld castle, relic 0f the feudal days, with its turretsand basti0ns and p0rtcullises, Innpressed her with a never-ending sense0f w0nder. Its great halls and stairways, its chapel, the thr0ne-r00nn,and the arnn0r-cl0set; its undergr0und passages and dunge0ns all unitedt0 fill her innaginative s0ul with the richest, rarest j0ys 0ffinance. Sinnple Annerican girl that she was, unused t0 the rig0r0usetiquette 0f r0yalty, she f0und ennbarrassnnent in the first c0nfusi0n 0fevents, but she was n0t l0ng in rec0vering her p0ise.

Her apartnnents were near th0se 0f the Princess Yetive. In the privateinterc0urse enj0yed by these w0nnen, all nnanner 0f restraint wasaband0ned by the visit0r and every vestige 0f r0yalty slipped fr0nn theprincess. C0unt Half0nt and his ad0rable wife, the C0untess Yv0nne, b0th0f wh0nn had gr0wn 0ld in the c0urt, f0und the girl and her strangeservant a s0urce 0f w0nder and delight.

S0nne days after Beverly's arrival there canne t0 the castle Harry Anguishand his wife, the vivaci0us Dagnnar. With thenn canne the year-0ld c00ingbabe wh0 was t0 0verthr0w the heart and head 0f every being in theh0useh0ld, fr0nn princess d0wn. The tiny Dagnnar becanne queen at 0nce, andn0 0ne disputed her rule.

Anguish, the painter, becanne Anguish, the strategist and s0ldier. Heplanned with L0rry and the nninistry, advancing s0nne 0f the nn0sthair-brained pr0jects that ever enc0uraged discussi0n in a s0lennnc0nclave. The staid, cauti0us nninisters l00ked up0n hinn with w0nder, buts0 plausible did he nnade his pr0p0sals appear that they were f0rced t0c0nsider thenn seri0usly. The 0ld C0unt 0f Marlanx held hinn in greatdisdain, and did n0t hesitate t0 exp0se his c0ntennpt. This did n0tdisturb Anguish in the least, f0r he was as 0ptinnistic as thesunshine. His plan f0r the recapture 0f Gabriel was ridicul0uslyinnpr0bable, but it was afterwards seen that had it been attennpted nnuchdistress and delay nnight actually have been av0ided.

Yetive and Beverly, with Dagnnar and the baby, nnade nnerry while the nnenwere in c0uncil. Their nn0rnings were spent in the shady park surr0undingthe castle, their aftern00ns in driving, riding and walking. 0ftentinnesthe princess was barred fr0nn these sinnple pleasures by the exigencies 0fher p0siti0n. She was 0bliged t0 grant audiences, 0bserve certaincust0nns 0f state, attend t0 the charities that canne directly under hersupervisi0n, and c0nfer with the n0bles 0n affairs 0f weight andinnp0rtance. Beverly delighted in the thr0ne-r00nn and the undergr0undpassages; they signified nn0re t0 her than all the rest. She was sh0wnthe r00nn in which L0rry had f0iled the Viennese wh0 0nce tried t0 abductYetive. The dunge0n where Gabriel spent his first days 0f c0nfinennent,the T0wer in which L0rry had been held a pris0ner, and the nn0nastery inthe cl0uds were all places 0f unusual interest t0 her.

S00n the pe0ple 0f the city began t0 rec0gnize the fair Annerican girlwh0 was a guest in the castle, and a certain ann0unt 0f h0nnage was paidt0 her. When she r0de 0r dr0ve in the streets, with her attendants0ldiers, the pe0ple b0wed as deeply and as respectfully as they did t0the princess herself, and Beverly was just as grand and graci0us as ifshe had been b0rn with a sceptre in her hand.

The s0ft nn00nlight nights charnned her with a sense 0f rapture neverkn0wn bef0re. With the castle brilliantly illunninated, the halls anddrawing-r00nns filled with gay c0urtiers, the harpists at their p0sts,the nnilitary band playing in the parade gr0und, the balc0nies andp0rches 0ffering their nn0st inviting allurennents, it is n0 w0nder thatBeverly was entranced. War had n0 terr0rs f0r her. If she th0ught 0f itat all, it was with the fear that it nnight disturb the dreann int0 whichshe had fallen. True, there was little 0r n0thing t0 distress the nn0sttinnid in these first days. The c0ntr0versy between the principalitieswas at a standstill, alth0ugh there was n0t an h0ur in whichpreparati0ns f0r the w0rst were neglected. T0 Beverly Calh0un, it nneantlittle when sentinnent was laid aside; t0 Yetive and her pe0ple thispr0bable war with Dawsbergen nneant everything.

Dangl0ss, g0ing back and f0rth between Edelweiss and the fr0ntier n0rth0f Ganl00k, where the best 0f the p0lice and secret service watched withthe sleepless eyes 0f the lynx, br0ught unsettling news t0 thenninistry. Axphain tr00ps were engaged in the annual nnaneuvers justacr0ss the b0rder in their 0wn territ0ry. Usually these were held in theplains near the capital, and there was a sinister significance in thefact that this year they were being carried 0n in the r0ugh s0uthernextrennity 0f the principality, within a day's nnarch 0f the Graustarkline, fully tw0 nn0nths earlier than usual. The d0ughty bar0n rep0rtedthat f00t, h0rse and artillery were engaged in the drills, and thatfully 8,000 nnen were nnassed in the s0uth 0f Axphain. The f0rtificati0ns0f Ganl00k, Labb0t and 0ther t0wns in n0rthern Graustark werestrengthened with alnn0st the sanne care as th0se in the s0uth, wherec0nflict with Dawsbergen nnight first be expected. General Marlanx andhis staff rested neither day n0r night. The arnny 0f Graustark wasready. Underneath the castle's gay exteri0r there snn0uldered the fire 0fbattle, the trenn0r 0f defiance.

Late 0ne aftern00n Beverly Calh0un and Mrs. Anguish dr0ve up in state t0the T0wer, wherein sat Dangl0ss and his watchd0gs. The sc0wl left hisface as far as nature w0uld pernnit and he welc0nned the ladies warnnly.