Then the great band of the Regiment blared out, and I settled myself for the march-by.

When it was over, and the last troop had broken into column and had trotted away, I dismissed my Staff, except Moore, and rode across to where I had noticed Lady Helen Radnor.

“If you were not a Prince I would not speak to you,” she said, as I dismounted.

“Then,” said I, as I bowed over her hand, “there is some compensation in being a Prince.”

“I have not seen you for ages,” she complained.

“I’ve been very busy.”

“That is no excuse among friends, sir; besides, the Princess has been away for weeks.”

“I did not imagine you would miss me,” I said—­and glanced at her left hand.

She laughed, and held it up.  “The finger is quite bare,” she said; “but, I’ll take off the glove, if you wish.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.  “He is such a good chap.”

She raised her eyebrows.

I leaned a bit closer.  “You won’t refuse him when he does offer?” I asked.

“I suppose an Archduke cannot be impertinent,” she said.

“Not when he doesn’t mean to be,” said I.

“Do you know,” said she slowly, and looking at me hard, the while, “I was foolish enough to think, very long ago, that you rather liked me, yourself.”

“And it’s just because I do—­that I hoped the finger wasn’t bare,” I answered.

“How deliciously unselfish!” she exclaimed.  “You will next be resigning the Princess to His Grace of Lotzen.”

“Quite between ourselves, I’ll be doing nothing of the sort,” I said, with mock confidentialness.

“Nevertheless, I think I’ll tell the Duke he has only to wait,” said she.

“And I’ll confide to Courtney he has only to ask to be taken,” I returned.

She laughed.  “You might do it right now—­here he is.”

I turned just as Courtney dismounted.

“May I intrude, Your Royal Highness?” he asked.

“Come along,” said I; “Lady Helen wants to hear some gossip and I don’t know any.”

A bit of a smile came into his eyes.  “And that, though you are, yourself, the most gossiped about individual in Dornlitz,” he answered.

“Another penalty of my new estate,” said I; “the butt of all and the confidant of none.”

Courtney tapped my Baton.  “Have you noticed, Lady Helen, what a steady run of hard luck our friend, here, has had ever since he came to Valeria?” he asked.

“Indeed I have,” said she; “and I’ve been so sorry for him.”

Then she nodded most pleasantly to someone, and Courtney and I turned and bowed.  It was the Marquise de Vierle, wife of the French Ambassador.

“How about her Masque to-night?” I asked; “will it be worth while?”

“It’s very evident you are new to Dornlitz,” Courtney observed—­and Lady Helen laughed.

“The Vierle Balls outrival even the Court functions,” she explained.