"Yes," I returned, although I knew that I was wasting time on the wrong track, "and they know that I came here. They will search for me in the right place."
"But with little success," she replied; "Dhalmatia knows how to keep its secrets."
"Nicholas will not rest until he has found me," I said.
"But David will never find his Jonathan. They left you in the roadway. No one saw you enter the castle and no one will see you leave. You mayhap were captured by highwaymen. Bharbazonia is full of them."
"You forget Dajerak. He let me in."
"He is incorruptible. He will say he never saw you."
"But my friends will not rest until they have found me."
"We will invite them to search the castle if they become insistent, but they will not find you."
"This is idle talk," I said, "beside the purpose. I knew when I placed myself in your power that I ran this risk. If it be necessary to pay such a price, I will pay it. But one of these days I will convince you that I mean it when I say that your secret is safe with me."
"You said a while back you pitied me," she suggested, and my heart jumped that she had not forgotten. "Perhaps you will tell me why."