Yet he
could not fly--he was without resources till his cousin furnished
them--and at any moment his opponents might find themselves able
to declare the king's death and raise the city in hue and cry
after him. Such men do not repent; but it may be that he
regretted the enterprise which had led him on so far and forced
on him a deed so momentous; yet to those who knew him it seems
more likely that the smile broadened on his firm full lips as he
looked down on the unconscious city. Well, I daresay he would
have been too much for me, but I wish I had been the man to find
him there. He would not have had it so; for I believe that he
asked no better than to cross swords again with Rudolf Rassendyll
and set his fortunes on the issue.
Down below, the old woman was cooking a stew for her dinner, now
and then grumbling to herself that the Count of Luzau-Rischenheim
was so long away, and Bauer, the rascal, drunk in some pot-house.
The kitchen door stood open, and through it could be seen the
girl Rosa, busily scrubbing the tiled floor; her color was high
and her eyes bright; from time to time she paused in her task,
and, raising her head, seemed to listen. The time at which the
king needed her was past, but the king had not come.
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