swered.
"Seek it instead from your sister. It is she who should afford it you,
seeing that her presence here was undesired by me, and unexpected."

"Your Majesty lies!" Reist thundered.

There was a deep and awful silence. Then Ughtred turned upon him, a
fierce flash of anger in his blue eyes.

"Duke of Reist," he said, "you are a privileged person at this Court,
and I have called you my friend. You will unsay those words, or hand
me your sword."

"I repeat," Reist said, fiercely, "that your Majesty lies."

The King pointed to the open panel.

"Countess," he ordered, "leave us. This matter is between your brother
and myself. We can settle it best in your absence."

She turned to her brother.

"Nicholas," she said, "the King's word is truth. I came here without
any knowledge of his. I remained here against his will. It was unwise,
perhaps, but the fault was mine. I wished to hear from his own lips
what truth there was in these rumours of his coming marriage."

"Was it your place to ask the King these things?" he demanded,
fiercely. "Was it dignified or seemly of you--you, his affianced
bride?"

"I am not his affianced bride, Nicholas," she answered. "That was an
idle ceremony. It was true we drank together of the King's cup, but
its history was unknown to him."

He eyed them both with a fierce scorn.

"God alone knows of what cup you have drunk together," he cried,
bitterly. "How often have you found it necessary to seek him here in
the solitude of his chamber? How often have you used this infernal
passage?"

"To seek the King, never," she answered firmly. "I used it when I
found Brand here. If I had not, Theos might to-day have been a Russian
State."

He pointed with unshaking finger to the opening in the wall.

"Pass away, Marie!"

She hesitated.

"It is the truth which I have told you, Nicholas," she said.

He thrust before her eyes a piece of paper.

"You are young, Marie, to lie so glibly even for your lover's sake.
Here is the message which summoned you here, written in the King's
handwriting, signed with the King's name. You left it on the table, so
that even the servants might know of the shame which has come upon our
House."

The King crossed the room and looked over Marie's shoulder. It was
indeed his own notepaper, and the writing of those few words strangely
resembled his.

"Come now, I am alone.--U."

The King looked up with grave face.

"It is a forgery!" he said.

"It is