"Her gaiety springs from a light and innocent heart," replied Stanhope;
"and only renders her more piquant and interesting;--but, speaking of
disguises,--how long, may I ask, has she played the pretty page, and for
what purpose was the character assumed?"

"It was at the suggestion of Mad. de la Tour, I believe, and Luciè's
love of frolic induced her readily to adopt it. You know the fort was
seriously threatened before our return; and Mad. de la Tour, who had few
around her in whom she could confide, found her little page extremely
useful, in executing divers commissions, which, in her feminine attire,
could not have been achieved with equal propriety."

"I do not think a fondness for disguise is natural to her," said
Stanhope; "though she seems to have supported her borrowed character
with considerable address."

"Yes, she completely deceived me at first; and this evening, I again
lost the use of my senses, and mistook her for the sauciest knave of a
priest, that ever muttered an ave-marie."

"Long as it is, since I have seen her," said Stanhope, "I think I could
have sworn to that face and voice, under any disguise."

"You obtained a full view of her features, at once," said De Valette;
"when I first met her, they were carefully shaded by a tartan bonnet,
and she entirely altered the tones of her voice; and this evening,
again, she would scarcely have been recognized in the imperfect light,
had she not suffered her vexation to betray her. But the night wanes,
and it is time for us to separate; I must go abroad, and see that all
things are quiet and in order, after this unusual revelling."