“Were you not asked to dine with us?” she inquired.

“Yes; but I thought it better to refuse.  First, in case the three Archbishops might have something confidential to say to you; and second, because at best I am poor company at a banquet.”

“Indeed, you need not have been so thoughtful:  first, as you say, there were not three Archbishops present, but only two, and neither said anything to me that all the world might not hear; second, the rest of the company, the sister and the niece of Treves, were so doleful that you would have proved a hilarious companion compared with them.  Did my guardian make any statement to you yesterday afternoon that revealed the object of this coming Court?”

“None whatever.  Our conversation related entirely to your estate and my management of it.  We spoke of crops, of cultivation, and of vineyards.”

“You have no knowledge, then, of the reason why we are summoned hither?”

“On that subject, Hildegunde, I am as ignorant as you.”

“I don’t think I am wholly in the dark,” murmured the Countess, “although I know nothing definite.”

“You surmise, in spite of your guardian’s disclaimer, that the discussion will pertain to your recovery of the town of Linz?”

“Perhaps; but not likely.  Did you say anything of your journey to Frankfort?”

“Not a word.  I understood from you that no mention should be made of my visit unless his Lordship asked questions proving he was aware of it, in which case I was to tell the truth.”

“You were quite right, Father.  Did my guardian ask you to accompany us to Stolzenfels?”

“Assuredly, or I should not have ventured.”

“What reason did he give, and what instructions did he lay upon you?”

“He thought you should have by your side some one akin to you.  His instructions were that in no circumstances was I to offer any remark upon the proceedings.  Indeed, I am not allowed to speak unless in answer to a question directly put to me, and then in the fewest possible words.”

Hildegunde ceased her cross-examination, and seated herself by a window which gave a view of the steep mountain-side behind the Castle, where, sheltered by the thick, dark forest, she knew that her guardian’s men lay in ambush.  She shuddered slightly, wondering what was the meaning of these preparations, and in the deep silence became aware of the accelerated beating of her heart.  She felt but little reassured by the presence of her kinsman, whose lips moved without a murmur, and whose grave eyes seemed fixed on futurity, meditating the mystery of the next world, and completely oblivious to the realities of the earth he inhabited.

She turned her troubled gaze once more to the green forest, and after a long lapse of time the dual reveries were broken by the entrance of an official gorgeously appareled.  This functionary bowed low, and said with great solemnity: