CHAPTER XXVI.
A WOMAN OF TACT.
For answer, Conrad Van Straalen handed the lady the letter which General Berlaymont had written.
A slight flush crept into Doña Isidore’s face as she read the contents. Then she said: “Seigneurs, my friend is pleased to place a high value on my powers of diplomacy. I shall be glad to serve you in so interesting a matter. You are the brother of Mistress Van Straalen?”
The officer bowed.
“And Heer Chenoweth is her lover, I surmise. Here are all the materials for a charming romance. Nothing so amuses me as intrigue, and I pledge myself to do my best for you.”
“We cannot thank you enough, Doña de Cisneros,” began Conrad, but the Spanish lady cut short his expressions of gratitude.
“Wait, I beg of you,” she said, “before you thank me. Perhaps I shall fail, after all. Please call in two days and learn of my success or failure.” “May the good Lord reward your efforts,” said the officer.
After the departure of her visitors, Doña Isidore called her confidential maid.
“Rita, you are well acquainted with the servants in Chancellor Maas’ family. Did you ever hear them say anything about Hilvardine Van Straalen, the daughter of the Burgomaster at Antwerp?”
“Oh, yes, Doña. The Chancellor fancied himself in love with the girl’s pretty face; but Mistress Van Straalen had such a sharp tongue and abused him so soundly that he tired of her directly and gave up all thoughts of wedding the maiden.”
“Is she still a prisoner in the Chancellor's house?”
“Oh, no! She remained there only a short time. At the advice of Monseigneur Ryder she was thrust into the prison of the Inquisition, because she was a heretic. Whether she is still there or has been condemned and executed, I know not.”
“How did you learn all this, Rita? ”
“From one of the servants at the Chancellor’s. She played the eavesdropper and learned the secret.”
“That will do, Rita!” said her mistress.
Doña Isidore sat for some time lost in thought. Then she said decidedly, “If that girl is in prison, she cannot be released without an order from Alva. I must visit his Grace to-morrow morning and obtain an order from him, which will set the maid at liberty. He is a hard person to deal with, but he shall grant my request or my name is not de Cisneros!”
The Duke of Alva was sitting at a table with some charts and writing materials before him. He was in excellent humor, having just crushed an incipient rebellion in Friesland.
An attendant announced that a lady desired to see him.
“Admit her!” said the Duke. An elegant figure swept into the room, dressed in rich yet tasteful garments. As she threw aside her veil the stern features of the Iron Duke relaxed.
“I am highly honored by the presence of Doña de Cisneros,” he said gallantly. “Be seated, my fair countrywoman.”
“I called, your Grace, especially to congratulate you on your signal victory in North Holland, also to join your hosts of admirers in praising the statue which has been reared to commemorate that event.”
It was true that after this victory Alva caused a colossal statue of himself to be erected at Antwerp, with this inscription on the pedestal:
“To Ferdinand Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, Governor of the Netherlands under Philip the Second: for having extinguished sedition, chastised rebellion, restored religion, secured justice, established peace. To the King’s most faithful minister this monument is erected.”
Alva could rightfully take his place beside that imperious representative of royalty, Louis XIV, in his worship of self.
The Duke, thawing before the charms of this beautiful young Spaniard like an icicle in an April gun, was soon showering compliments in the florid language of his native land.
“I shall consider it a pleasure to grant you any favor as a token of my esteem,” he said.
Who can explain the fascination which beauty ever inspires in the human breast? It has wielded a tremendous power for good and evil since the world began. Doña Isidore was conscious of her power, and she exerted herself to bring the Iron Duke into her train of satellites.
“I will take you at your word, your Grace,” said the lady. “I have become interested in the condition of one of the captives in yonder prison, a maiden named Hilvardine Van Straalen. I desire very much her pardon, for I have set my heart on having this girl for my companion.”
A haughty look came into the Duke’s face. He was not used to being sued for favors of this nature. For a moment he hesitated. Then a glance at his lovely petitioner decided him. “You have asked a singular request, fair lady. Presumably the girl is a heretic.”
“I think it more than likely, your Grace, but I will see to it that she is speedily converted. She will be so grateful to me for her release that I doubt not she will readily do me the small favor of turning Catholic.”
“It is establishing a bad precedent. Were this matter to become known, I should directly be overwhelmed with petitions of a similar nature.”
“I assure your Grace that I will act with the greatest discretion. The matter can be done quietly, and no one need be the wiser. She can be removed from prison in the night, and I will see that she is many leagues from here the next day. Really, Duke, I shall take it to heart if you do not grant my request.”
“How did you learn the girl’s history, Doña?” asked Alva, suspiciously.
“My maid was gossiping about the affair. It seemed a pity that one so young and who had suffered so much should languish in prison. I assure your Grace that it was human kindness, pure and simple, that brought me hither, and I trusted in your goodness and sense of justice to grant my request.”
There has never been a tyrant who did not like to be called good and just. These words appealed to the Duke of Alva. Judicious flattery was the one lever which could raise this piece of granite from its foundations.
He drew his writing materials toward him and wrote a few lines on a piece of paper.
“There, Doña de Cisneros, the girl is yours. You are an eloquent pleader. I do not think that I have done a wise thing, but I simply cannot refuse you.”
“You are very gracious and very kind,” said the lady, giving her hand to Alva, which he gallantly kissed. “I trust that all your schemes for overthrowing the Dutch may prosper. For my part, I am sick of this amphibious country, with its dikes, its canals, and its flatness. I long for beautiful, sunny, mountainous Spain!”
“You fairly make me homesick, Doña,” said the Duke. “I hope to subjugate the country soon, that I may return to my native land.”