“Umph! A courteous gentleman. Will he use it now?”
“If I know him, he will not until he has given up every hope of carrying his purpose with me.”
“Even after your splendid defiance of him to-day?”
She smiled. “He has that quality which so often wins—patience. I believe he suspected from the first what the object of the betrothal was, and just set himself to rivet the chain until I should not dare to break it. While I was away he threatened my mother that if I did not return at once, her arrest would be used to force me back.”
“Well, look at it as we will, he has us tied up in a tangle bad enough to satisfy even him.”
“It is not so bad as if his men had caught me just now. He would have been much nearer his end. So long as I am free, I can fight him; but he knows what his power would be if he had both mother and me in his hands.”
It was in truth a devil of a tangle. With Madame Drakona in prison, Bremenhof had his hand on the lever which controlled everything; and to get her out seemed hopeless.
“This is the Place of St. John,” said Volna, presently. “That is the house, No. 17, across there. I will leave you here. What will you do?”
“I shall go to Ladislas and let him know what has occurred.”
“Poor Ladislas! What do you think he can do? You will find him with his hands full of more serious matters than even my troubles.”