An Uncrowned King Chapter 10 Part 4

“One would scarcely have anticipated,” he said, “that the people would so enthusiastically support the new King without once asking what were the views of the old Minister.”

“Why, what could you expect?” said Cyril. “You introduced the Bill; naturally they thought you approved of it.”

“They took it for granted,” said M. Drakovics. “The King is now everything; I have only to execute his orders.”

“Yes,” said Cyril, “you meant him to be figure-head, and he insists on steering. It must be slightly disconcerting.”

“You laugh at me, milord? I would ask you to remember that cases have been known in history in which a Minister who has raised a King to power has also deprived him of it.”

“And other cases in which the King has dispensed with the services of the Minister,” said Cyril, quickly. “I will back my reminiscences against yours, M. Drakovics. But it is foolish to go on quoting modern instances in this way, especially when you remember that Caerleon doesn’t care a straw whether you deprive him of the kingdom or not. You have done your best for the Bill, and laid my brother under an obligation. You can’t do without him, nor he without you; so don’t let us hear any more about dethroning kings and that sort of thing. It’s very bad form to talk to me in that way, at any rate, and I don’t like it. We shall rub along together very well if we are willing to give and take on both sides. And to cheer you, I’ll tell you something that will please you. I shouldn’t wonder if Caerleon has done a very good stroke of business in getting this Bill passed.”

“A good stroke for himself? Naturally so.”

“And for the kingdom too. Here is a regular assemblage of English papers which has just come in, and I have been looking through them to see how our proceedings are regarded. Our own men, poor beggars! are waiting for an authoritative pronouncement from the Government before saying anything; though it is easy to see that they consider Caerleon a rather dangerous lunatic at large. But the Radical papers, from which I was anticipating floods of eloquence, are checked in their wild career, most of them, by this Liquor Bill. They are nearly all committed to temperance reform at home, and they positively can’t slate the first man that’s courageous enough to try it, even if he is defying their dearly beloved Scythia. Of course their cry is for absolute prohibition; but none of them have been able to get so near it as even to bring about the adoption of the Scandinavian system, and though they scout the idea of compensation as unnecessary, they can’t help respecting a man who sacrifices a third of his civil list to form a fund for buying up licences. The non-temperance papers are rabid, naturally. Caerleon is a faddist, and a Puritan, and an Exeter Hall autocrat, and all the rest of it. In ‘Mendacity,’ Dickinson calmly—or rather frantically—demands that he should be impeached, not for his temperance legislation, of course, but for poaching on Scythia’s preserves. Rather a fine idea to impeach the king of a foreign country, whom you can’t possibly get hold of, isn’t it?”

“Then the English papers have awakened to a knowledge of our proceedings at last?” said M. Drakovics, with rather a sickly smile. “The Government has given no indication of its policy as yet, I suppose?”

“No,” returned Cyril; “but I think there is a storm brewing.”

“Ah!” said M. Drakovics, quickly. “Why?”

“On account of the extraordinary number of letters which have come for Caerleon from different family friends, old comrades of my father’s, and so on. The Master of his college has written, and the Bishop of Carsfield—who was head of Eton in our day—and a good many others whose names carry weight; and all their letters are in the same strain, begging him to reconsider the step he has taken, and return to England at once, while he has the chance. No doubt the Powers have begun to see that it’s all very well to send notes to St James’s demanding that Caerleon shall be recalled, but that St James’s has no power in the matter. If the Government had sent him out, it might recall him; but he came on his own initiative, and it would only be courting a rebuff to order him back if he wouldn’t come. Our men are too wise to lay themselves open to such a slight, but all the moral influence they can exercise unofficially will be brought to bear.”

“Ah!” said M. Drakovics again.

“For instance,” Cyril went on, “here is a long screed from Forfar, writing, as he says, not as leader of the party, but as a personal friend of Caerleon’s. That’s all very well; but it’s quite evident that the letter is a private warning from him and the Duke——”

“What Duke?” asked M. Drakovics.