Then they walked together on the terrace, the dark shadow of Suzanne following, but further behind now.
John's heart was filled with a fierce and consuming rage.

The presence of Auersperg, magnificent, triumphant, powerful, a medieval baron here in the most medieval of all settings, a very monarch indeed, brought him back to earth.

What could he do alone in the face of so much might?
What could Julie herself do, helpless, before so much pressure?
And, after all, from his point of view and from the point of view from his class, Auersperg was making her a great offer, one that nobles in the two empires would hold to be most honorable.

For the first time he felt a tremor of doubt, and then he stilled it as base and unworthy.

The very word "morganatic" was repulsive to him.