While Baldos was standing guard in the long, lofty hallway the Iron
Count was busy with the machinations which were calculated to result in
a startling upheaval with the break of a new day. He prepared and swore
to the charges preferred against Baldos. They were despatched to the
princess for her perusal in the morning. Then he set about preparing the
vilest accusations against Beverly Calhoun.
In his own handwriting and
over his own signature he charged her with complicity in the betrayal of
Graustark, influenced by the desires of the lover who masqueraded as her
protege. At some length he dwelt upon the well-laid plot of the spy and
his accomplice. He told of their secret meetings, their outrages against
the dignity of the court, and their unmistakable animosity toward
Graustark. For each and every count in his vicious indictment against
the girl he professed to have absolute proof by means of more than one
reputable witness.
It was not the design of Marlanx to present this document to the
princess and her cabinet. He knew full well that it would meet the fate
it deserved. It was intended for the eyes of Beverly Calhoun alone. By
means of the vile accusations, false though they were, he hoped to
terrorize her into submission. He longed to possess this lithe,
beautiful creature from over the sea. In all his life he had not
hungered for anything as he now craved Beverly Calhoun. He saw that his
position in the army was rendered insecure by the events of the last
day. A bold, vicious stroke was his only means for securing the prize he
longed for more than he longed for honor and fame.
Restless and enraged, consumed by jealousy and fear, he hung about the
castle grounds long after he had drawn the diabolical charges. He knew
that Baldos was inside the castle, favored, while he, a noble of the
realm, was relegated to ignominy and the promise of degradation.
Encamped outside the city walls the army lay without a leader. Each hour
saw the numbers augmented by the arrival of reserves from the districts
of the principality. His place was out there with the staff. Yet he
could not drag himself away from the charmed circle in which his prey
was sleeping. Morose and grim, he anxiously paced to and fro in an
obscure corner of the grounds.
"What keeps the scoundrel?" he said to himself angrily.
Presently, a villainous looking man dressed in the uniform of the
guards, stealthily approached. "I missed him, general, but I will get
him the next time." growled the man.