The Crown Prince had developed a strong liking for the young
officer. He assured Hedwig one time when she came to tea that
when he was king he would see that she married the lieutenant.
But Hedwig was much distressed.

"I don't want him that way," she said. "Anyhow, I shall probably
have to marry some wretch with ears that stick out and a bad
temper. I dare say he's selected already. As to Lieutenant
Larisch, I'm sure he's in love with Hilda. You should see the
way he stares at her."

"Pish!" said Prince Ferdinand William Otto over his cup. "Hilda
is not as pretty as you are. And Nikky and I talk about you
frequently."

"Nikky" was the officer. The Crown Prince was very informal with
the people he liked.

"Good gracious!" exclaimed the Princess Hedwig, coloring. "And
what do you say?"

Miss Braithwaite having left the room, Prince Ferdinand William
Otto took another lump of sugar. "Say? Oh, not much, you know.
He asks how you are, and I tell him you are well, and that you
ate thirteen pieces of bread at tea, or whatever it may have
been. The day Miss Braithwaite had the toothache, and you and I
ate the fruit-cake her sister had sent from England, he was very
anxious. He said we both deserved to be ill."