The Shadow of the Czar Read online

  CHAPTER IV

  THE PRINCESS AND THE CARDINAL

  After the departure of her two ministers the Princess Barbara, risingfrom her seat, passed through an open casement into the sunlit gardenswithout; the sentinels on the terrace presenting arms as she went by.

  A broad and noble avenue of linden trees faced her, and here silentand without attendants the fair princess walked, darkly meditating onthe treachery latent within her cabinet.

  A shadow fell across her path, and, raising her eyes, she saw beforeher a stately and dignified figure robed in splendid scarlet anddainty lace.

  It was Pasqual Ravenna, Cardinal Archbishop of Czernova, anecclesiastic who vainly sought to hide his Italian origin byPolanizing his name into Ravenski.

  He was a man who had passed his fortieth year, but he looked far moreyouthful; and his clean-shaven, handsome face was as clearlysculptured as a head on an antique medallion.

  He was a member of the princess's ministry, a permanent member, infact, for, by virtue of an antiquated statute both the Romanarchbishop and the Greek archpastor were entitled to hold office inthe cabinet--an arrangement that did not tend to its harmony. A favorto one was an affront to the other; and the mild and amiable Radzivilwas perpetually employed in smoothing the differences between them.

  Barbara's avowal to the cabinet of her real faith had been a greattriumph for Ravenna over his Greek rival Mosco, and he looked forwardto additional triumphs. His desire of bringing all Czernova within thepapal fold was known to all men; not so well known, however, was histaste for amorous intrigue, though a physiognomist on studying hiscountenance would have said that Ravenna, like Caesar, never permittedpleasure to interfere with ambition.

  Doffing his red beretta the cardinal bent his knee and raised theprincess's hand to his lips. It was clear at a glance that Ravenna wasnot a _persona grata_ with Barbara, for though she did not withdrawher hand her face assumed a cold expression.

  With an air of authority he took his place on the left side of theprincess, and began to pace to and fro with her beneath the shade ofthe linden trees.

  "Princess, I have returned, as you see, from the Vatican, the bearerof a missive from his Holiness, Pope Pius."

  He presented a massive envelope, its seal stamped with the papal keys.But Barbara waved it aside. She had received many such epistles oflate, and the novelty was wearing off.

  "You know its contents, I presume. Read it for me. What says hisHoliness?"

  Ravenna broke the seal and unfolded the letter which was a somewhatlengthy one, and written in the choicest Latinity.

  "The Holy Father greets you as his dear daughter _in Christo_, and, asyou are now firmly established upon the throne"--Barbara could notrepress a smile in view of the recent menace of the Czar--"he deemsthat the time is ripe for the public avowal of your faith."

  "At last the Pope and I are at one. This night shall Radzivil makeknown my faith to the Diet. I ever loathed this garb of secrecy andhypocrisy."

  "Its assumption was necessary. The saints themselves must bow in thehouse of Rimmon at times."

  "Would that I could drop the other deception and reign in my ownname!" murmured Barbara to herself.

  "His Holiness," proceeded the cardinal, glancing at the papal missive,"anticipates the happy day when Czernova shall be purified from themalaria of heresy that now taints it."

  "And in what way does he suggest that the purificatory process shallbegin?" said the princess with a slight frown.

  "His Holiness hath ventured in this epistle to briefly indicate thelines of the ecclesiastical policy to be observed within theprincipality. We must begin by penalizing the schismatic Greeks. TheDiet must pass a law to exclude them from holding civil offices."

  "And create a rebellion!" murmured Barbara. "These priests! will theynever learn wisdom?" And aloud she asked, "And would your Eminencehave me exclude the Duke of Bora, my future consort, both from thecabinet and the Diet?"

  "Your future consort? Alas, princess, I regret to say that the Popehas again refused to grant you dispensation to marry the duke."

  "We shall not ask a third time."

  "Your Highness cheerfully accepts his decision?"

  "On the contrary, it is my intention to marry without the papalsanction. I must," she added, her expression showing how hateful toher was the thought of such marriage--"I must conciliate my Muscovitesubjects."

  "Princess, you, as a vassal of the holy Roman suzerain--"

  "By your leave, Sir Cardinal," exclaimed Barbara, haughtily, "will youcite the Act by which the Diet consented that Czernova should become afief of the Papal See?"

  It was the first time that Barbara had adopted such a tone withRavenna, who listened, however, without betraying surprise; for he wasone of those men whose outward serenity nothing seems to disturb, andtherein lay one of the secrets of his power. He clearly recognizedthat a struggle was impending. The princess, hitherto compliant withhis will, was about to make an attempt to shake off his authority.

  "Princess, you, as a loyal daughter of the True Church--"

  "Daughter! that is a good word. A daughter is not a slave."

  "But she owes obedience. You cannot marry the duke, for the HolyFather forbids the union, and no Catholic priest dare perform theceremony in opposition to the will of Pio Nono."

  "There is one brave priest in Czernova upon whose loyalty I can rely."

  "You allude to the Abbot Faustus, a lawless ecclesiastic who mustlearn to discipline his proud soul. If your Highness will glance atthis missive, you will note that the Pope has conferred upon me fulljurisdiction over the Convent of the Transfiguration."

  "A convent whose abbot from old time hath been independent of the seeof Slavowitz! You will put Faustus in a dilemma," continued Barbarawith a touch of sarcasm in her voice; "he will not know which of thetwo Infallibilities to follow: Pius II., who granted the convent itsprivileges, or Pius IX., who abolishes them. I greatly fear that hewill follow the old Pope in preference to the new."

  Barbara would have repudiated the statement that she was not a trueCatholic. Nevertheless it is to be seen that her Catholicism like manyother things in Czernova was peculiarly _sui generis_.

  "And your Highness supports Faustus in his defiance of thearchbishop?"

  The princess shrugged her graceful shoulders.

  "I am aware that your Eminence is extremely anxious to regulate theaffairs of that convent, and that Faustus in the exercise of hisancient rights declines to admit you within his walls. It is noconcern of mine if an abbot refuse to obey his archbishop."

  "Still, a word from the princess would procure his instantsubmission."

  "And that word shall never be spoken."

  "The Convent of the Transfiguration must hide strange mysteries behindits walls when the Pope's own nuncio is denied admission."

  There was on the part of the princess a sudden start, which thecardinal accepted as confirmatory of his suspicion.

  "Princess," he said with a smile, "you are not yet perfect instatecraft, for you have not learned the art of veiling your thoughts.It is as I have long suspected; you have some secret connected withthat monastery. Your championing of Abbot Faustus is not altogetherdisinterested."

  "Quit me this theme," said Barbara, with dignity. "I shall not misusemy authority to gratify your ambition by depriving a brave abbot ofhis ancient privileges. Indeed from this day forth it will be well foreach of us to understand the other, inasmuch as you seem strangelydisposed to reverse our respective positions, deeming yourself theruler of Czernova, and myself your minister." She paused for a momentas if to collect her thoughts, and then resumed: "My lord cardinal,under strange circumstances you stole me away in infancy, deluding myfather into the belief that I had died. You took charge of my trainingand education--"

  "With a view to your ultimate restoration," said the cardinal, bowing.

  "True. You desire to present the Czernovese with a princess whoshould be a Catholic, and not, as her forefathers had been,
a memberof the Greek faith--"

  "A noble aim!"

  "A princess who should be a willing tool in the hands of the LatinChurch. The first part of your scheme has succeeded. I am a Catholic,and shall never break with the faith of my childhood, for it has growndear to me, though the thought that you, my lord, belong to the samefaith might very well induce me to renounce it. But as to the secondpart of your scheme--your expectation of finding in me a servileinstrument ready to execute every decree of the Papal See is destinedto failure. No priest shall dictate to the daughter of Thaddeus. Letthe crosier submit to the sceptre. Jesuits by their intolerancecontributed to the fall of old Poland. They shall not play their gamein Czernova."

  The cardinal listened with chiding smile, as if at the waywardness ofa pretty child.

  "Princess! princess! you forget the tenure by which you hold yourcrown."

  "I hold my crown," said Barbara, with proud flashing eyes, "by rightof birth."

  "A right that you cannot prove without my witness."

  "And therefore you would use your knowledge?"

  "To advance in Czernova the interests of the True Church."

  "For that I could forgive you. But have you no ulterior aim? Shall Iunmask the secret purpose of your heart? Radzivil made an unwisechoice in sending you to the Vatican to plead for the dispensation.Were you really urgent on my behalf?"

  "As urgent as one may be with a pope."

  "Hypocrite!" said the princess, turning upon the cardinal with a blazeof scorn. "Can I not see you now in my mind's eye whispering in theear of the Pope to withhold the dispensation? And why? The hereticalduke must not marry the princess, because the cardinal would have herfor his secret mistress. Will you say that I wrong you by thisthought?"

  "Princess, you have rightly divined my secret. It is true that I loveyou--"

  "I would that Zabern could hear you!" said Barbara indignantly. "You,a priest, to talk to your princess of love!"

  It was significant that the marshal's name, and not that of Bora,should be the first to rise to her lips.

  "A priest? True. Such is my misfortune, since once a priest always apriest. My love for you--"

  "Let there be an end of this language," said Barbara with dignity. "Itis treason."

  "Nay, princess, listen. I have loved you in secret from the day when Iset eyes on you in the Dalmatian convent. I have elevated you to athrone partly for the purpose of making you mine, that you might tastethe luxury of power, and, tasting, be ready to sacrifice anything,even your own person, rather than lose that power. Aware of my love,you are forming a plan to escape me. If you should be deposed, whosucceeds? The Duke of Bora as next of kin. Therefore you think bybecoming his wife to retain your rank as princess, and thus to foil myhopes. That motive, rather than a desire to conciliate the Muscovitefaction, urges you to this match."

  His statement was perhaps correct, for Barbara did not offer anydenial to it.

  "But be mindful of this: the duke cares less for you than for yourcrown. At heart he dislikes you, for he finds his solemn dulness anill match for your bright wit. I have but to whisper to him that yourtitle is invalid, and he will be the first to demand your deposition.It will not be difficult to prove that you are an impostor. Thephysicians and nurses who attended the infant days of Princess Natalieare still living. The simple baring of your right shoulder wouldprove that, whoever you may be, you are not that princess. Yourassertion that nevertheless you are her elder and half-sister would belaughed to scorn. Who will believe your word, unsupported by evidence,that the late Prince Thaddeus had contracted an early and secretmarriage? The whole affair would be regarded as a plot on the part ofCardinal Ravenna formed to advance the interests of his Church.Barbara Lilieska, I acknowledge you to be the lawful Princess ofCzernova, but whenever it shall please me I can compel you to stepdown from your throne."

  Barbara quivered with indignation. She, a princess with the blood ofPolish kings in her veins, and at whose word twenty thousand swordswould flash from their scabbards, to be threatened by an Italianecclesiastic! She turned her head towards the armed sentinels slowlypacing the stately terrace of the palace.

  "One moment, princess, ere ordering my arrest. I do not venture uponthis avowal without safeguarding myself. Listen! There lives at thepresent moment upon the other side of the frontier--in what town nomatter--an individual devoted to my interests. To him I have entrustedthe keeping of three sealed packets. So soon as he shall learn of myarrest he will thus act. One packet he will despatch to the RussianForeign Minister; the second to the Duke of Bora; and with the thirdhe will hasten to the office of the 'Kolokol' newspaper, whosepro-Russian editor, Lipski, will be but too delighted to print thecontents of that packet; its publication will cause a stir inCzernova. There are your guards. Call them. Arrest me. Behead me onthe spot if you will. But be sure of this: your own downfall willfollow within seven days."

  Barbara did not call her guards. She said nothing, did nothing.

  "Princess, forgive me for using the language of threats; it is withreluctance that I adopt such a course. But--you recognize my power,and you know my love. Your answer?"

  "Better the cloister's quiet shade than a throne on such terms."

  "It is not the cloister's quiet shade that you will see, but theinterior of a Russian fortress. In occupying the throne of Czernovayou will be accused of assuming rights the reversion of which belongsto the Czar, inasmuch as he is next heir after the duke. The Czar willsee in your usurpation an affront to his dignity. He will demand thatyou be sent to Russia, there to take your trial. And the cowardly dukewill comply. You know how much 'the politician in petticoats' is hatedby the Russian ministry, and what justice you are likely to receive attheir hands. When the black wall of a Muscovite fortress girdles youround forever," he added in a significant whisper, "when roughsoldiers are your jailers, when no cry of yours can penetrate to theouter world, then--then the love of a cardinal even would be adesirable thing."

  Barbara could not repress a feeling of horror at the picture suggestedby these words.

  "If the duke should rule he will rule merely as the vassal of theCzar, and Czernova will become a province of Russia. Therefore,consider well your decision. You ruin not yourself only, but thefaithful friends dependent upon you. Zabern, Radzivil, Dorislas, allthe ministers whose policy has offended the Czar, will be delivered upto him by the duke. Czernova will be overrun by Cossack soldiery, andplaced under martial law. Her young men will be drafted off to servein the Russian army. The university will be closed, the CatholicChurch persecuted. The wailings of Czernova will mount upward toHeaven, but when did Heaven ever listen to the cry of the oppressed?Princess, it is true I require of you a sacrifice, but it is asacrifice meriting the name of virtue. The fate of a nation hangsupon your answer. How easy for you to save them by conferringhappiness upon me!"

  He could not have employed an argument more adapted to gain his endthan an appeal to the welfare of the people whom she loved;nevertheless, it had altogether failed, as he saw by the sovereignscorn that curved her lips.

  "You are master of my secret, but not of me. Though I err in bearingthe name of Natalie, I am nevertheless the lawful princess ofCzernova; and Heaven, being just, will maintain me in my rights. Hesets himself a hard task, cardinal, who proposes to fight against thetruth. Reveal my story to the duke--to the Diet, to the wholeprincipality--this very day, if you will. I fear you not. I will donothing to stop you. I will wait to see whether you will be boldenough to play this traitor's game. And when you have done your worstto destroy the princess, and failed, then beware the vengeance ofZabern; for though you fly to the secret recesses of the Vatican, andcling to the holy robe of Pio Nono himself, Zabern will find and slayyou. There is my answer both to your threats and to your lust, forcall not your desires by the sacred name of love."

  The cardinal gave a mock bow.

  "Princess, I will not yet draw the sword against you, confident thattime and reflection will bring you wisdom. Reign till yourcoronati
on-eve, when I will return to this theme."

  His cold smile gave little indication of the volcano of passion thatwas burning within him. The sight of the distant sentinels alone kepthim from seizing and holding Barbara within his arms. Brilliant inyouth and loveliness she tortured him; and he resolved to torture inturn, since the means of doing so were at his disposal.

  "Ere I take my leave," he said, "let me tell you of an event that tookplace this morning. Nay, princess, do not turn away. The story willinterest you as no other story can."

  Something in Ravenna's manner compelled Barbara to pause and face himagain.

  "Princess, prepare yourself for a surprise. One whom we both thoughtdead now proves to be living."

  Despite her loathing of the cardinal, Barbara found herself forced toutter one word,--

  "Who?"

  "One whose supposed demise caused you to say that you would forevercarry a dead heart within your breast."

  The princess gave a great start, and placed her hand upon her side.With a foreboding of what was to come she stood immovable, mute,scarcely breathing.

  "Isola Sacra was certainly submerged. We both saw that. But ere itsank the captive must have escaped, for a young Englishman callinghimself Paul Cressingham Woodville put up last evening at the Hotel deVarsovie."

  Barbara was powerless to speak, but the look in her eyes was alanguage that plainly said, "Is it the same?"

  The cardinal understood her silent question.

  "The same. For verification I sent to the Police Bureau wherestrangers register themselves. These little particulars on his _cartede sejour_ leave no doubt on the matter."

  Here Ravenna drew forth a paper and began reading from it. "'Name:Paul Woodville, formerly Paul Cressingham. Age: twenty-seven.Nationality: English. Residence: Oriel Hall, Kent, England. Religion:Anglican Church. Calling: Captain in the Twenty-fourth Kentish, acavalry regiment. Object in visiting Czernova: The pleasure oftravelling,' Humph! was that the motive that drew him here? Princess,do you mark the name Woodville? Your Dalmatian hero has beendistinguishing himself, for he is none other than the Englishman whoconducted the defence of Tajapore."

  Emotion caused Barbara to sink upon a marble seat. She knew thatRavenna was speaking, but she heard not his words. She was obliviousof everything, but the one overwhelming thought that Paul was alive,and at that very moment within her own city of Slavowitz!

  Her feelings were eloquently testified by the new and radiant lightthat came over her face, by her lips parted in an unconscious smile,by her bosom heaving beneath its foam of white lace. Never had theprincess looked so lovely in the cardinal's eyes as now. Lost in adelicious daze she was quite forgetful of his presence, as he himselfperceived, for two or three questions addressed to her evoked norecognition.

  Her pleasure struck a pang to his jealous heart. What would he nothave given to be the cause of such transfiguration? But though hecould not create such joy, he could extinguish it, and would; andobserving that Barbara was awaking from her day-dream, and endeavoringto fix her attention upon him, he proceeded,--

  "Captain Woodville--to call him by his new name--saw you this morningfrom the balcony of the Hotel de Varsovie. Knowing that you cannotreally be Natalie Lilieska he will, of course, conclude that you arean impostor."

  How could Paul, ignorant of her true history, come to any otherconclusion? The thought sent a sudden chill to her warm feelings.

  "These Englishmen pride themselves on their blunt honesty and plaindealing. What will he think when he sees that in the sacred matter ofreligion you are acting the hypocrite, in secret a Catholic, yet forthe sake of self-interest publicly posing as a Greek!"

  Yes; it was true. In name and religion she was a living lie. How shemust have fallen in Paul's esteem! Her quickly changing expressiongave pleasure to the cardinal.

  "He saw the duke publicly kiss your hand, and must thus have learnedof your betrothal. Inquiries as to Bora's character must cause him tomarvel at the taste which selects this Scythian barbarian for yourconsort."

  Every word went, as intended, to Barbara's heart. Paul, not knowingthat she had believed him dead, must have thought himself forgotten byher. How she longed to see him, to explain the difficulties of herposition, to set matters right between them!

  Regardless of what court officials might think, she would send anequerry this same day to the Hotel de Varsovie with a message to theeffect that the Princess of Czernova was desirous of an interview withCaptain Paul Woodville.

  "If it be sweet to learn that the dear friends whom we have longthought dead are alive, how bitter it must be to lose them again, erewe can have the opportunity of seeing them!"

  "What do you mean?"

  Barbara did not speak these words. The question was put by the eager,fearful look of her eyes.

  "It seems that the duke and Captain Woodville--I crave your Highness'spardon, Captain Woodville and the duke--met by chance on the balconyof the Hotel de Varsovie. A sapphire seal worn by the Englishmanattracted the notice of the duke, inasmuch as he recognized it as aformer gift of his to the Princess Natalie. The Englishman refused tostate how he came by its possession, with the result that there is tobe a duel over the matter."

  "Mother of God!"

  But for her dark arched eyebrows and dusky glowing eyes, theprincess's face might have been taken for a piece of white sculpture.

  "It is to be no mock contest. They fight with sabres and to thedeath."

  "They shall not fight," gasped Barbara, finding her voice at last. "Ishall send a troop to the Ducal Palace to arrest Bora--now--at once."

  "Too late! princess," answered Ravenna in a mocking voice. "They fightthis very day, within an hour from now. The combatants are already ontheir way to the rendezvous in the Red Forest. The swiftest horse ofthe Ukraine could not reach the spot in time for you to stay the duel.And granting that you should arrive in time you would be powerless;for, in order to avoid breaking the Czernovese law, Ostrova, theduke's second, has fixed the place of combat on the Russian side ofthe frontier, where your authority does not extend."

  White as the princess's face was it grew whiter still as Ravennaproceeded in a fierce exultant tone,--

  "You know the duke's reputation as a _beau sabreur_. Thirty duels, andnever a wound has he received in any one of them; that is his record.In the Czernovese army are twenty thousand men, not one of whom,unless he wish for death, dares face the duke's deadly blade. Youyourself have witnessed his feats in the _salle d'armes_; you haveseen him disarm in swift succession the best fencers among yourofficers.--Zabern, Dorislas, Miroslav! Who can stand before the duke?"

  He paused for a moment, and then, pointing to the sun shimmeringthrough the leaves of the linden-trees, he added,--

  "Princess, ere that golden orb has set, your English hero will belying dead upon the turf, slain by the hand of the man whom you wouldmake your husband."

  Barbara heard no more. With a cry of "O Paul, Paul,"--a cry in whichlove and grief were intermingled,--she slid from her seat, and lay asone dead at the feet of the cardinal.