"No, no! Then what did you decide?"
"That we must send Le Monarque off at once."
"Le Monarque? . . . at once? . . ."
"Yes! she is quite ready, so you told me this morning. And though we feared that Captain Barre might be too firm an adherent of the Stuart cause to be altogether reliable, still—as we had your own letter—we finally decided that we had better trust him now, rather than wait for Le Levantin. . . . I think we did right, do you not? . . . Lydie. . . . Lydie . . . child, what is it?"
The desperately anxious query had its justification in Lydie's terrible pallor, the wild dilation of her pupils, the dark purple rings which circled her eyes.
As her father spoke she had risen from the divan, and now she seemed unable to stand; she was trembling from head to foot, her hands were held out before her, as in a pathetic appeal for physical support. In a moment his arm was round her, and with gentle force he drew her back to the couch, pressing her head against his shoulder.
"Lydie . . . Lydie, dear . . . I am sure you are ill."
But already she had recovered from this sudden attack of faintness and dizziness, of which, with characteristic impatience for all feminine weaknesses, she was now thoroughly ashamed. Her nervous system had received so many severe shocks in the course of this terrible and memorable day, that it was small wonder that this last awful blow struck her physically as well as mentally.
"No, no, dear father," she said as lightly as she could for she still felt very faint and ill, "I am quite well, I assure you . . . please . . . please . . ." she urged earnestly, "do not worry about me now, but tell me quite clearly—and as briefly as you can—exactly what are your plans at this moment . . . yours and Gaston's, with regard to the expedition against the Stuart prince . . . you spoke of a duel just now . . . and then of Monsieur de Stainville's enthusiasm and courage. . . . I . . . I am a little confused . . . and I would like to understand."
"I will tell you as briefly as I can, my dear," he rejoined, not feeling altogether reassured, and regarding her with loving anxiety. "We decided that, instead of waiting for Le Levantin to be ready for sea, we would send Le Monarque, and instruct Captain Barre in accordance with the plan and the letter which you gave us, and the secret orders framed by His Majesty and myself. Le Monarque having got the Stuart and his friends on board will make straight for the north-west coast of England, and land the Jacobites at the first possible port, where they can be handed over to the English authorities. Once this was settled, Gaston immediately offered to start for Le Havre at dawn with the secret orders. We are not really afraid of Captain Barre's possible disloyalty—and, of course, he is compelled to obey orders or suffer for his insubordination, which he is not likely to contemplate. On the whole I think we may safely say that we run far less risk by sending Le Monarque than by waiting for Le Levantin: and Gaston has full powers to promise Captain Barre a heavy bribe in accordance with the speed which Le Monarque will make. After that His Majesty was pleased to dismiss Monsieur de Stainville and myself, being most specially gratified with Gaston's enthusiastic offer to ride at breakneck speed to Le Havre, as soon as he could get to horse. Outside the boudoir, Gaston explained to me, however, that he could not shirk the duel with Lord Eglinton: his seconds, Monsieur de Belle-Isle and Monsieur de Lugeac, already had his instructions and would wait on milor to-night: to put it off now would be to cover himself with ridicule and to risk social ostracism; the affront put upon his wife could not be allowed to rest until after his own return. But the duel could take place at dawn, and then he could get to horse half an hour later. . . . So you see, my dear, that the duel cannot—because of these weighty reasons—have any serious consequences. As for our expedition, methinks everything now is most satisfactorily arranged, as Gaston swears that he will reach Le Havre ere the shades of the evening fall upon the sea."