This being done, and Treves once more returned, Mayence said: 

“I am sure we all realize that the Countess von Sayn, however admirable in other respects, possesses an independent mind and a determined will rendering her quite unsuited for the station we intended her to occupy.  I think her guardian must be convinced now, even though he had little suspicion of it before, that this lady would not easily be influenced by any considerations we might place before her.  The regrettable incidents of this conference have probably instilled into her mind a certain prejudice against us.”

Here, for the first time, the Elector of Cologne laughed.

“It is highly probable, my Lord,” he said, “and, indeed, your moderate way of putting the case is unanswerable.  Her ladyship as an Empress under our influence is out of the question.  I therefore make a proposal with some confidence, quite certain it will please you both.  I venture to nominate for the position of Empress that very demure and silent lady who is niece of my brother the Elector of Treves.”

Treves strangled a gasp in its birth, but could not suppress the light of ambition that suddenly leaped into his eyes.  The elevation of his widowed sister’s child to the Imperial throne was an advantage so tremendous, and came about so unexpectedly, that for the moment his slow brain was numbed by the glorious prospect.  It seemed incredible that Cologne had actually put forward such a proposition.

The eyes of Mayence veiled themselves almost to shutting point, but in no other manner did emotion show.  Like a flash his alert mind saw the full purport of the bombshell Cologne had so carelessly tossed between himself and his henchman.  Cologne, having lost everything, had now proved clever enough to set by the ears those who overruled him by their united vote.  If this girl were made Empress she would be entirely under the influence of her uncle, of whose household she had been a pliant member ever since childhood.  Yet what was Mayence to do?  Should he object to the nomination, he would at once obliterate the unswerving loyalty of Treves, and if this happened, Treves and Cologne, joining, would outvote him, and his objection would prove futile.  He would enrage Treves without carrying his own point, and he knew that he held his position only because of the dog-like fidelity of the weaker man.  Slow anger rose in his heart as he pictured the conditions of the future.  Whatever influence he sought to exert upon the Emperor by the indirect assistance of the Empress, must be got at through the complacency of Treves, who would gradually come to appreciate his own increased importance.

All this passed through the mind of Mayence, and his decision had been arrived at before Treves recovered his composure.

“It gives me great pleasure,” said the Elector of Mayence, firmly suppressing the malignancy of his glance towards the man seated on his left,—­“it gives me very great pleasure indeed to second so admirable a nomination, the more so that I am thus permitted to offer my congratulations to an esteemed colleague and a valued friend.  My Lord of Treves, I trust that you will make this nomination unanimous, for, to my delight, his Lordship of Cologne anticipated, by a few moments the proposal I was about to submit to you.”