"But if the violets bloom again?" asked the other.
"Ah!" exclaimed the man, throwing up his hands and drawing a long breath. "Then!"
"How came you here, monsieur?"
"By that window there. There is a ladder without. It reaches most of the way. I am a good climber. The ivy——"
"Go as you came. None shall be the wiser."
"To you always the disposition of my life, mademoiselle," said Marteau simply. "I obey your command. Farewell. It is but a postponement, anyway," he added as he turned away. "I can never escape from Grenoble. They will seize me sooner or later and——"
"Stay!" she cried.
Moved by an unaccountable impulse the girl took a step nearer to him. She loosened her clutch upon her garment and held out her hands to him.
"If it is to be farewell," she said tenderly, "know that I do not love that English Captain, no, and that. I——"
He seized her hand and covered it with kisses.