The Midnight Queen [60]
over, and supper is
waiting."
With which the royal virago made an imperious motion for her
attendant sprites in gossamer white to precede her, and turned
with her accustomed stately step to follow. The music
immediately changed from its doleful dirge to a spirited measure,
and the whole company flocked after her, back to the great room
of state. There they all paused, hovering in uncertainty around
the room, while the queen, holding her purple train up lightly in
one hand, stood at the foot of the throne, glancing at them with
her cold, haughty and beautiful eyes. In their wandering, those
same darkly-splendid eyes glanced and lighted on Sir Norman, who,
in a state of seeming stupor at the horrible scene he had just
witnessed, stood near the green table, and they sent a thrill
through him with their wonderful resemblance to Leoline's. So
vividly alike were they, that he half doubted for a moment
whether she and Leoline were not really one; but no - Leoline
never could have had the cold, cruel heart to stand and witness
such a horrible eight. Miranda's dark, piercing glance fell as
haughtily and disdainfully on him as it had on the rest; and his
heart sank as he thought that whatever sympathy she had felt for
him was entirely gone. It might have been a whim, a woman's
caprice, a spirit of contradiction, that had induced her to
defend him at first. Whatever it was, and it mattered not now,
it had completely vanished. No face of marble could have been
colder, of stonier, or harder, than hers, as she looked at him
out of the depths of her great dark eyes; and with that look, his
last lingering hope of life vanished.
"And now for the next trial!" exclaimed the dwarf, briskly
breaking in upon his drab-colored meditations, and bustling past.
"We will get it over at once, and have done with it!"
"You will do no such thing!" said the imperious voice of the
queenly shrew. "We will have neither trials nor anything else
until after supper, which has already been delayed four full
minutes. My lord chamberlain, have the goodness to step in and
see that all is in order."
One of the gilded and decorated gentlemen whom sir Norman had
mistaken for ambassadors stepped off, in obedience, through
another opening in the tapestry - which seemed to be as
extensively undermined with such apertures as a cabman's coat
with capes - and, while he was gone, the queen stood drawn up to
her full height, with her scornful face looking down on the
dwarf. That small man knit up his very plain face into a bristle
of the sourest kinks, and frowned sulky disapproval at an order
which he either would not, or dared not, countermand. Probably
the latter had most to do with it, as everybody looked hungry and
mutinous, and a great deal more eager for their supper than the
life of Sir Norman Kingsley.
"Your majesty, the royal banquet is waiting," insinuated the lord
high chamberlain, returning, and bending over until his face and
his shoe buckles almost touched.
"And what is to be done with this prisoner, while we are eating
it?" growled the dwarf, looking drawn swords at his liege lady.
"He can remain here under care of the guards, can he not?" she
retorted sharply. "Or, if you are afraid they are not equal to
taking care of him, you had better stay and watch him yourself."
With which answer, her majesty sailed majestically away, leaving
the gentleman addressed to follow or not, as he pleased. It
pleased him to do so, on the whole; and he went after her,
growling anathemas between his royal teeth, and evidently in the
same state of mind that induces gentlemen in private life to take
sticks to their aggravating spouses, under similar circumstances.
However, it might not be just the thing, perhaps, for kings and
queens to take broom-sticks to settle their little differences of
opinion, like common Christians; and so the prince peaceably
waiting."
With which the royal virago made an imperious motion for her
attendant sprites in gossamer white to precede her, and turned
with her accustomed stately step to follow. The music
immediately changed from its doleful dirge to a spirited measure,
and the whole company flocked after her, back to the great room
of state. There they all paused, hovering in uncertainty around
the room, while the queen, holding her purple train up lightly in
one hand, stood at the foot of the throne, glancing at them with
her cold, haughty and beautiful eyes. In their wandering, those
same darkly-splendid eyes glanced and lighted on Sir Norman, who,
in a state of seeming stupor at the horrible scene he had just
witnessed, stood near the green table, and they sent a thrill
through him with their wonderful resemblance to Leoline's. So
vividly alike were they, that he half doubted for a moment
whether she and Leoline were not really one; but no - Leoline
never could have had the cold, cruel heart to stand and witness
such a horrible eight. Miranda's dark, piercing glance fell as
haughtily and disdainfully on him as it had on the rest; and his
heart sank as he thought that whatever sympathy she had felt for
him was entirely gone. It might have been a whim, a woman's
caprice, a spirit of contradiction, that had induced her to
defend him at first. Whatever it was, and it mattered not now,
it had completely vanished. No face of marble could have been
colder, of stonier, or harder, than hers, as she looked at him
out of the depths of her great dark eyes; and with that look, his
last lingering hope of life vanished.
"And now for the next trial!" exclaimed the dwarf, briskly
breaking in upon his drab-colored meditations, and bustling past.
"We will get it over at once, and have done with it!"
"You will do no such thing!" said the imperious voice of the
queenly shrew. "We will have neither trials nor anything else
until after supper, which has already been delayed four full
minutes. My lord chamberlain, have the goodness to step in and
see that all is in order."
One of the gilded and decorated gentlemen whom sir Norman had
mistaken for ambassadors stepped off, in obedience, through
another opening in the tapestry - which seemed to be as
extensively undermined with such apertures as a cabman's coat
with capes - and, while he was gone, the queen stood drawn up to
her full height, with her scornful face looking down on the
dwarf. That small man knit up his very plain face into a bristle
of the sourest kinks, and frowned sulky disapproval at an order
which he either would not, or dared not, countermand. Probably
the latter had most to do with it, as everybody looked hungry and
mutinous, and a great deal more eager for their supper than the
life of Sir Norman Kingsley.
"Your majesty, the royal banquet is waiting," insinuated the lord
high chamberlain, returning, and bending over until his face and
his shoe buckles almost touched.
"And what is to be done with this prisoner, while we are eating
it?" growled the dwarf, looking drawn swords at his liege lady.
"He can remain here under care of the guards, can he not?" she
retorted sharply. "Or, if you are afraid they are not equal to
taking care of him, you had better stay and watch him yourself."
With which answer, her majesty sailed majestically away, leaving
the gentleman addressed to follow or not, as he pleased. It
pleased him to do so, on the whole; and he went after her,
growling anathemas between his royal teeth, and evidently in the
same state of mind that induces gentlemen in private life to take
sticks to their aggravating spouses, under similar circumstances.
However, it might not be just the thing, perhaps, for kings and
queens to take broom-sticks to settle their little differences of
opinion, like common Christians; and so the prince peaceably