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sister-in-law.
    “Tell us what sort of man the Prince is,” suggested Sarah; “and is he eager for this marriage?”
    The Prince of Denmark was genial, George told them; he was easygoing, loving a life of peace, and always affable to those who served him.
    “His character is not unlike that of the Princess,” commented Sarah. “They should be a good match.”
    “He would live happily with most people,” said George Churchill.
    “Easily led,” put in Sarah speculatively.
    “But I hear he is a man of valor,” her husband said.
    “That is so,” George told them. “If intrepid action is necessary he is capable of it, and when his brother Christiern was taken prisoner by the Swedes he rescued him.”
    “I have heard of that occasion,” said John. “It was during the war between Denmark and Sweden.” He turned to Sarah. “Prince George, hearing that his brother was in the hands of the enemy, put himself at the head of some cavalry and broke right through the Swedish lines. They were taken so much by surprise that they allowed him through; he had found his brother and was galloping off with him before they made any attempt to stop him—then it was too late. I call that a brilliant action as well as a brave one.”
    “Doubtless it happened before he grew quite so plump,” commented Sarah.
    “Ah, you have noticed that the Prince is getting a little corpulent. The pleasures of the table … the pleasures of the vine.”
    “One would not expect the man to be a saint,” said John, smiling at Sarah.
    “If he were my husband, I should not expect him to be a fool either,” she retorted, “and any man who indulges an appetite is that.”
    It was a point to remember, thought John. No more pleasant little adventures with the ladies, Sarah was telling him. He wanted to retort: As if I should want to, now that I have my incomparable Sarah.
    “It is important that he is accepted here,” went on George confidentially. “He has very little in Denmark—only about five thousand crowns and a few barren islands.”
    “And yet he aspires to the hand of the Princess Anne!” said John.
    “Who could,” Sarah interrupted, “in certain circumstances become Queen of England.”
    “Do not forget that he is a royal Prince. They would, however, wish him to live in England which I believe would very likely endear him to the Princess, for what young girl wants to leave her home, particularly one where, if what I hear is correct, she has been greatly indulged by her family.”
    “So they would live in England,” mused Sarah, her eyes alight with pleasure. She looked at her John—so handsome, and possessed of something more than personal charm. If ever I saw latent genius, I see it there, she thought; and she was triumphant in the realization that some women could choose their husbands, while Princesses must have them chosen for them. Prince George of Denmark was the absolute antithesis of John Churchill, and Sarah knew who was going to make the brighter mark in the world.
    She turned to George suddenly. “You seem to know a great deal about this Prince. He is friendly toward you?”
    “Completely so. He discusses most things with me and so I know his mind on most matters.”
    Sarah nodded. Then she said slowly: “Thus it is with myself and the Princess. I am her greatest friend. When she marries I shall ask to leave the Duchess of York’s household and be taken into that of the Princess Anne. A Churchill with the Princess, and a Churchill with the Prince … friends, confidantes. That does not seem such a bad idea.”
    They understood each other so well. Sarah smiled from her brother-in-law to her husband. She had made up her mind; Anne’s marriage to the Prince of Denmark could be a very good thing for the Churchills and therefore a very good thing.

    “The Prince is charming!” declared Sarah. “I do believe that if I were not so devoted to my John I could fall in love with him myself.”
    “Sarah, you really