"No, no," she said, the thought making her whiten too. "Oh no! my Paul,
not that--yet!"

Ah--he could bear anything if it did not mean parting, and he used no
arguments to dissuade her. She was his Queen and must surely know best.
Only he listened eagerly for details of how matters could be arranged
there. Alas! they could never be the same as this glorious time they had
had.

"You must wait two days, sweetheart," she said, "before you follow me.
Stay still in our nest if you will, but do not come on to Lucerne."

"I could not stand it," said Paul. "Oh! darling, don't kill me with aching
for your presence two whole days! It is a lifetime! not to be endured--"

"Impatient one!" she laughed softly. "No--neither could I bear not to see
you, sweetheart, but we must not be foolish. You must stay on in our rooms
and each morning I will meet you somewhere in the launch. Dmitry knows
every inch of the lake, and we can pass most of days thus,
happy at last--"

"But the nights!" said Paul, deep distress in his voice. "What on earth do
you think I can do with the nights?"

"Spend them in sleep, my beloved one," the lady said, while she smiled a
soft fine smile.

But to Paul this idea presented the poorest compensation--and in spite of
his will to the contrary his thoughts flew ahead for an instant to the
inevitable days and nights when--Ah! no, he could not face the picture.