Page:The Tsar's Window.djvu/123

 I looked at him blankly.

"In the first place, Grace would not listen to the idea; but even if she went, it would not be possible for me to do so. You speak as if it were a mere nothing; let me assure you that it would cost a large amount of money, and I have none to spare. I am not an heiress like Judith; my income is very small, and a journey to Spain would be quite beyond me."

"I thought all Americans were wealthy."

"I dare say you did. That is a popular fallacy abroad. I believe I never met a foreigner who was not imbued with it."

"You still persist in calling me a foreigner?" he asked, with a half smile.

"You are one, you know, though of the least objectionable nation."

I got up, and we began to stroll towards the entrance, where the sledge was to come for me at a quarter to two.

"It wants five-and-twenty minutes to the hour," said Mr. Thurber. "You will have to wait."

"Never mind."

I sat down and watched a gayly dressed attendant, who was walking leisurely about.

"I wonder," said I thoughtfully, "whether there will be any servants in the house with whom I can communicate when I get home. If the butler is there, I can give my order in English, otherwise I must tell my maid in French, she will tell the footman in German, and he will tell the moujik or the cook in Russian. I