“You will not expose yourself?” she asked quickly.
“No; there is no danger,” I assured her.
“I shall pray for you,” she added calmly. “And I fear there is one thing I must ask of you.”
“Ask it,” I said.
“Before I left my room at the château,” she continued, “I chose the heaviest shoes I had——”
There was no need that she should say more. I bent and touched one of the little feet just peeping from beneath the cloak. However heavy the shoes had been, they were certainly far too light for the rough service which had been exacted of them. They were almost in tatters, and I could guess how the sharp stones which had torn the leather had bruised the tender flesh within. Yet she had followed me without a sigh, without a murmur! Impulsively I bent and kissed the instep of the little shoe, then rose unsteadily to my feet.
“I will get you another pair,” I said; “and if I am to have any peace of mind, you must not again permit me to forget your welfare, as I have been doing. With the best intentions in the world, I am only a selfish and obtuse fellow, with a brain not bright enough to think of more than one thing at a time.”
“I saw how your thoughts were occupied,” she protested. “I knew that our safety depended upon you, and I did not wish to disturb you.”
“To disturb me?” I echoed. “Ah, for once, mademoiselle, you were not really kind; for by keeping silent you have done more than that—you have made me suffer. But there!—I am wasting time, and I can guess your hunger by my own. I will go. You are not afraid?”
“No,” she murmured; “and yet I hope that you will not be long.”