The lady heard him in astonishment: for this turn of fate she had been wholly unprepared--the idea of his being attached to another had never once presented itself to her imagination; she had never calculated on the possibility that her alliance should be declined by any individual of a family less than sovereign. She possessed, however, pride of character superior to her pride of rank, and strength of mind suited to the loftiness of her ambition. With dignity in her air and countenance, after a pause of reflection, she replied, “Count Albert Altenberg is, I find, equal to the high character I have heard of him: deserving of my esteem and confidence, by that which can alone command esteem and merit confidence--sincerity. His example has recalled me to my nobler self, and he has, in this moment, rescued me from the labyrinth of a diplomatist. Count Albert’s sincerity I--little accustomed to imitation, but proud to _follow_ in what is good and great--shall imitate. Know then, sir, that my heart, like your own, is engaged: and that you may be convinced I do not mock your ear with the semblance of confidence, I shall, at whatever hazard to myself, trust to you my secret. My affections have a high object--are fixed upon him, whose friend and favourite Count Albert Altenberg deservedly is. I should scorn myself--no throne upon earth could raise me in my own opinion, if I could deceive or betray the man who has treated me with such sincerity.” Relieved at once by this explanation, and admiring the manner in which it was made, mingled joy and admiration were manifest in his countenance; and the lady forgave him the joy, in consideration of the tribute he paid to her superiority. Admiration was a tribute he was most willing to yield at this moment, when released from that engagement to love, which it had been impossible for him to fulfil. The Countess recalled his attention to her affairs and to his own. Without his making any inquiry, she told him all that had been done, and all that yet remained to be done, for the accomplishment of her hopes: she had been assured, she said, by one now in the favour and private confidence of the hereditary prince, that his inclination for her was--painfully and with struggles, which, in her eyes, made his royal heart worthy her conquest--suppressed by a sense of honour to his friend. “This conflict would now cease,” Count Albert said. “It should be his immediate care to relieve his Prince from all difficulty on his account.” “By what means?” the Countess asked. “Simply by informing him of the truth--as far as I am concerned. Your secret, madam, is safe--your confidence sacred. Of all that concerns myself--my own attachment, and the resignation of any pretensions that might interfere with his, he shall immediately be acquainted with the whole truth.”