CHAPTER XXIV
“You!”
Her surprised interjection recalled to him for the first time the hour and the strangeness of his visit. Yet he attempted little in the way of excuse.
“I may stay five minutes,” he begged. “You are alone?”
“It is very late,” she murmured.
He pointed out of the great window at the far end of the room.
“Your brother is attending the King. If he should return—well, mine is no idle errand. I can justify my coming, even at this hour.”
Then she noticed that he was not dressed for the evening, that he was pale, and that there was trouble in his eyes. She led him into a smaller room, pushed open a window, and beckoned him to follow her down the worn grey steps into the gardens.