"What! Some one else?"
"Yes--at ten o'clock--"
"Who iss eet will arrive, monsieur?" questioned Pelletan faintly.
"His Highness, Prince Frederick of Markeld, ambassador from the court of
Schloshold-Markheim," answered Rushford, dwelling upon every word. "We
will give him apartment B."
CHAPTER IV
An Adventure and a Rescue
It was not until Rushford opened his paper an hour later that he fully
understood the remarkable situation of which the Grand Hotel Royal had,
by the merest chance, become the centre.
"It is extremely unfortunate [said
the _Times_] that Lord Vernon should
have been taken ill at just this time,
when the question of the succession of
Schloshold-Markheim is hanging in the
balance. Lord Vernon is the only man
in the cabinet capable of dealing with
the situation, which is as delicate as can
be imagined. On the one side are arrayed
the sympathies of our reigning
house and perhaps even our own
honour; on the other, the plainly expressed
desires of the German Emperor.
"The late Prince Christian left no direct
heirs, so that, in any event, the succession
must be through a collateral
branch. The claims of the rivals, Prince
George, of Schloshold, and Prince
Ferdinand, of Markheim, are therefore
evenly balanced.
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