"Well!" he said.
"Oh Frank," she breathed, "I cannot do it! I cannot!"
"Cannot!" he exclaimed. "You must! Why, Stella, of what are you afraid? I shall be with you."
She shook her head slowly.
"It is not that. I am not afraid," and there was a touch of pride in her voice. "Do you think I am afraid of—of Leycester?"
"No!" he retorted. "I should think not! I would trust him, if I were in your place, to the end of the world. I know what he has asked you to do, Stel, and you—we—must do it!"
Stella looked at him.
"And uncle!"
The boy colored, but his eyes met hers steadily.
"Well, it will not hurt him! He will not mind. He likes Lord Leycester, and when we come back and tell him he will be only too grateful that it is all over without any fuss or trouble. You know that, Stel!"