She bent forward across the table where they had had their lessons and said,
“There cannot be anything wrong in your telling me exactly what the situation is.”
“What I say depends on who I say it to and who overhears it,” Captain Darius responded with a faint smile.
“Tell me the truth,” Giona begged him.
“The truth is quite simple,” he said. “Ever since King Ferdinand came to the Throne ten years ago the people have been dissatisfied not only with him as a person but also because of his insistence on making the country as Germanic as possible.”
He smiled before he added,
“The Slavonians are a very simple people. They sing when they are happy, they cry when they are not. They are passionately patriotic and like all members of Balkan States, are very susceptible to beauty.”
He looked
