This gave his Majesty a little start. "It depends what you mean by upsetting; perhaps it would upset you much more. But there, we won't talk about that!" For this was danger-point, and having touched it, he hurried cautiously away from it. Then he returned to the original charge: "Whatever put the idea into your head?" "A vision of beauty that I had not believed to be possible." "Is she so very beautiful, then?" "You have seen her, sir, and you have not remembered her. I did not mean that sort of beauty." "Ah, then, you are really in love." "Ludicrously," confessed Max. "My dear boy, I am very sorry for you." "Oh, you need not be, sir; I am quite sure of myself at last; and by refusing to marry anybody else I have only to wait and you will have to yield to my request." "You may have to wait a long time," began the King, and then he stopped; for looking into the future he saw Max in a new light, that same fierce light which had beaten upon himself for the last twenty-five years, preventing him from doing so many things he had wished to do. It would prevent Max too. "But I want your consent now, father," said the young man; and there was something of real affection in his voice. "Why can't you wait till I am dead?" "That would be selfish of me. Do you not want to see me happy first?" But to that the King only shook his head. "It won't do, Max, it won't do. The Archbishop wouldn't like it either," he went on, trying to get back to the political aspect again. "It would be terribly damaging to him. With a connection like that, leadership of his party would become impossible." "Have we to consider the political ambitions of an archbishop?" "You would have to get his consent." "I don't think so. All she bargained for was yours. I told her I would get it; and she did not believe me." "You make me wish that I were altogether out of the way." "Quite unnecessary, I'm sure." "Ah, but if you were in my position then you'd see--then you'd understand. You couldn't do it; you simply couldn't do it." The King was now saying what he really believed, and at the sound of his own voice telling him he realized that all he had to do was to temporize and time would bring its own solution. If Max were King he could no more do this thing than he could fly. Why, then, should he trouble himself? To cover his change of ground he continued the argument, and on every point allowed Max to beat him (he could not probably have prevented it, but that was the way he put it to himself), and finally, when he felt that he could in decency throw up the sponge, he let Max have his way--or the way to it, which was the same thing.