Yet now he was ordinary enough in his clothes torn by the violence of the chase and stained by the blood of the animals whom he had slain, his strength and his wits alike beyond his control through the wine he had drunk.
His hair, which was light brown and very thick, hung in a quantity of loosely entwined curls, through those on his shoulders was tied a long black ribbon; the front locks hung down either side his cheeks and across his forehead into his strange eyes.
His grandmother looked at him with less curiosity and less friendliness than did Count Piper.
“It is as well that I did not bid your sisters dine with us to-day,” she said, as she saw the King fill his glass with a strong shaking hand.
He drank his wine and then stared at her; in silence he set the beaker down, and then laughed in a way that curled his mouth unpleasantly.
It was remarkable how his personality even now, when he was not master of himself, seemed to fill the room, making the other two people and the whole surrounding but a background to his fierce young figure.
Dish after dish was removed; only the Queen ate, as if she disdained to be disturbed.
“Your Majesty enjoyed the chase?” asked Count Piper suddenly; he wiped his mouth with his napkin, using a precise movement.
“I killed three bears,” said Karl; he laughed again, showing his strong, perfect teeth.
“You spend your time well,” said the old Queen bitterly. “And now you will sleep all the afternoon, and drink all the evening. And to-morrow the chase again.”
His grandmother looked at him with a coldness that approached aversion.
“Your father’s death was a great misfortune,” she said--“for Sweden.”
“Sweden does very well,” returned Karl indifferently.
“That,” put in Count Piper gently, “is a question that your Majesty must better acquaint yourself with.”
Karl lifted his head which had sunk forward on his broad chest; his face was flushed and his eyes bloodshot; he spoke thickly.
“No councils of state--no councils of state, and dull speeches and silly disputes,” he said.
“And no interviews with your wretched sister and her ruined husband, who are here to crave your succor,” added the Queen sarcastically.
“Does my sister complain of me?” muttered Karl haughtily.