"It is nothing serious," he said, in the same cold, constrained tone he had used hitherto. "I beg of you not to interrupt your journey on my account." He bowed and stepped aside to let the sledge pass.
"Will you not mount again?" asked Wanda, seeing that he threw the bridle over his arm, as though preparing to walk.
"No. Norman has sprained his foot, and limps very much. It will be painful enough for him to get on at all, he could not possibly carry a rider."
"But Wilicza is two good leagues from here," objected Wanda. "You cannot go all that way on foot, and at a slow pace."
"There will be nothing else for me," replied Waldemar, quietly. "I must at any rate get my horse on to the nearest village, where I can have it sent for."
"But it will be dark before you reach the Castle."
"That does not matter; I know the way."
The young Countess glanced at the Wilicza road which, at a little distance from the spot where they had met, disappeared into the forest. She knew that it ran through the heart of the woods, emerging only in the immediate vicinity of the Castle.
"Would it not be better to make use of my sledge?" said she in a low voice, without looking up. "My coachman can take charge of your horse, and lead him to the nearest village."
Waldemar looked at her in amazement. The proposal seemed to surprise him strangely.