The Lady of the Shroud

Chapter 9

RUPERT'S JOURNAL--Continued (Longe Intervallo).

                                     &nbs p;                February 10, 1908.

It is so long since I even thought of this journal that I hardly know

where to begin.  I always heard that a married man is a pretty busy man;

but since I became one, though it is a new life to me, and of a happiness

undreamt of, I know what that life is.  But I had no idea that this

King business was anything like what it is.  Why, it never leaves me a

moment at all to myself--or, what is worse, to Teuta.  If people who

condemn Kings had only a single month of my life in that capacity, they

would form an opinion different from that which they hold.  It might be

useful to have a Professor of Kingship in the Anarchists'

College--whenever it is founded!

Everything has gone on well with us, I am glad to say.  Teuta is in

splendid health, though she has--but only very lately--practically given

up going on her own aeroplane.  It was, I know, a great sacrifice to

make, just as she had become an expert at it.  They say here that she is

one of the best drivers in the Blue Mountains--and that is in the world,

for we have made that form of movement our own.  Ever since we found the

pitch-blende pockets in the Great Tunnel, and discovered the simple

process of extracting the radium from it, we have gone on by leaps and

bounds.  When first Teuta told me she would "aero" no more for a while, I

thought she was wise, and backed her up in it: for driving an aeroplane

is trying work and hard on the nerves.  I only learned then the reason

for her caution--the usual one of a young wife.  That was three months

ago, and only this morning she told me she would not go sailing in the

air, even with me, till she could do so "without risk"--she did not mean

risk to herself.  Aunt Janet knew what she meant, and counselled her

strongly to stick to her resolution.  So for the next few months I am to

do my air-sailing alone.

The public works which we began immediately after the Coronation are

going strong.  We began at the very beginning on an elaborate system.

The first thing was to adequately fortify the Blue Mouth.  Whilst the

fortifications were being constructed we kept all the warships in the

gulf.  But when the point of safety was reached, we made the ships do

sentry-go along the coast, whilst we trained men for service at sea.  It

is our plan to take by degrees all the young men and teach them this

wise, so that at the end the whole population shall be trained for sea as

well as for land.  And as we are teaching them the airship service, too,