"Where are these vaunted soldiers of yours?" he suddenly asked, infinite
irony in his voice.
"My soldiers?" she said faintly.
"Isn't it rather unusual that, in time of trouble and uncertainty, we
should be able to approach within a mile of one of your most important
cities without even so much as seeing a soldier of Graustark?"
She felt that he was scoffing, but it mattered little to her.
"It is a bit odd, isn't it?" she agreed.
"Worse than that, your highness."
"I shall speak to Dangloss about it," she said serenely, and he looked
up in new surprise. Truly, she was an extraordinary princess.
Fully three-quarters of an hour passed before the coach was
checked. Beverly, looking from the windows, had seem the lighted windows
of cottages growing closer and closer together. The barking of roadside
dogs was the only sound that could be heard above the rattle of the
wheels. It was too dark inside the coach to see the face of the man
beside her, but something told her that he was staring intently into the
night, alert and anxious. The responsibility of her position swooped
down upon her like an avalanche as she thought of what the next few
minutes were to bring forth. It was the sudden stopping of the coach and
the sharp commands from the outside that told her probation was at an
end. She could no longer speculate; it was high time to act.
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