"I know it well," answered Bran modestly in his pretty French.
"Ah! He is enormous, this Bran! He knows all things well," cried the Comtesse. "And can you tell me now, mon petit ange, where can I get such another little boy as you for myself?"
For the first time Bran's noted phrase faltered on his lips. He considered the point for a moment, but swiftly came to the conclusion that no little angel would care to leave his wings under a cloud in heaven, as he had done, to come down and seek the Comtesse for his mother, so he presently announced to a breathless audience:
"Je ne sais pas!"
"Ah, ha!" twittered the Comtesse. "I like better to hear you say so, my little hen, than to hear you answer that you know well."
CHAPTER XVIII
THE WAYS OF A LOVER
THE WAY OF THE SEA
"All the great things of life are simply done,
Creation, Death, and Love the Double Gate."
MASEFIELD.
One morning Harriott came into Val's room and found her writing at the table with the blue veil fallen off, lying on her shoulders.