Fiction > Book editions > London, 1885 - Prince Otto

A ROMANCE
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happy in revolt ; he may be happy in sleep ;
wine, change, and travel make him happy ;
virtne, they say, will do the like — I have not
tried ; and they say also that in old, quiet, and
habitual marriages there is yet another happi-
ness. Happy, yes ; I am happy if you like ;
but T will tell you frankly, I was happier when
I brought you home.'
' Well,' said the Princess, not without con-
straint, ' it seems you changed your mind.'
' Xot I,' returned Otto, ' I never changed.
Do you remember, Seraphina, on our way home,
when you saw the roses in the lane, and I got
out and plucked tlieni ? It was a narrow lane
between great trees ; the sunset at the end
was all gold, and the rooks were flying over-
head. There were nine, nine red roses ; you
gave me a kiss for each, and I told myself that
every rose and every kiss should stand for a
year of love. Well, in eighteen months there
was an end. But do you fancy, Seraphina, that
my heart has altered ? '
' I am sure I cannot tell,' she said, like an
automaton.
' It has not,' the Prince continued. ' There
is nothing ridiculous, even from a husband, in a
love that owns itself unhappy and that asks no
more. I built on sand ; pardon me, I do not
breathe a reproach — I built, I suppose, upon