Feared: here was a sweet
thought. Gotthold, too - Gotthold, who had always used and regarded
him as a mere peasant lad, had now been at the pains to warn him;
Gotthold looked for something at his hands. Well, none should be
disappointed; the Prince, too long beshadowed by the uxorious lover,
should now return and shine. He summoned his valet, repaired the
disorder of his appearance with elaborate care; and then, curled and
scented and adorned, Prince Charming in every line, but with a
twitching nostril, he set forth unattended for the council.
CHAPTER VII - THE PRINCE DISSOLVES THE COUNCIL
IT was as Gotthold wrote. The liberation of Sir John,
Greisengesang's uneasy narrative, last of all, the scene between
Seraphina and the Prince, had decided the conspirators to take a
step of bold timidity. There had been a period of bustle, liveried
messengers speeding here and there with notes; and at half-past ten
in the morning, about an hour before its usual hour, the council of
Grunewald sat around the board.
It was not a large body. At the instance of Gondremark, it had
undergone a strict purgation, and was now composed exclusively of
tools. Three secretaries sat at a side-table. Seraphina took the
head; on her right was the Baron, on her left Greisengesang; below
these Grafinski the treasurer, Count Eisenthal, a couple of non-
combatants, and, to the surprise of all, Gotthold.
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