"Now you are mysterious or uncomplimentary. You either care nothing for
a tete-a-tete with her, or you will gladly send her out of my way.
Which is it?"

"You shall decide. Can I have this?"

She looked at him as he touched a rose with a warning glance, for the
flower was both an emblem of love and of silence. Did he mean to hint
that he recalled the past, or to warn her that someone was near? She
leaned from the shadow of the curtain where she sat, and caught a
glimpse of a shadow gliding away.

"Who was it?" she asked, below her breath.

"A Rose," he answered, laughing. Then, as if the danger was over, he
said, "How will you account to the major for the message you sent him?"

"Easily, by fabricating some interesting perplexity in which I want sage
counsel. He will be flattered, and by seeming to take him into my
confidence, I can hoodwink the excellent man to my heart's content, for
he annoys me by his odd way of mounting guard over me at all times. Now
take me in to dinner, and be your former delightful self."

"That is impossible," he said, yet proved that it was not.




Chapter IV