He took it from her with a smile. "I have good news for you," he said, holding out the bit of silver which he had brought from the stable.
She examined it wonderingly. "What does this mean?" she asked, looking up at him.
"That it is I who am being followed—and not you."
She started and the ornament slipped from her hand.
"You?" she faltered with a quick change of colour.
"This coat-of-arms," he explained, "dropped from the harness of the traveller who left the inn just before our arrival last night."
"Well—" she said, still without understanding; "and do you know the coat?"
Odo smiled. "It is mine," he answered; "and the crown is my cousin's. The traveller must have been a messenger of the Duke's."
She stood leaning against the seat from which she had risen, one hand still grasping it while the other hung inert. Her lips parted but she did not speak. Her pallor troubled Odo and he went up to her and took her hand.
"Do you not understand," he said gently, "that there is no farther cause for alarm? I have no reason to think that the Duke's messenger is in pursuit of me; but should he be so, and should he overtake us, he has no authority over you and no reason for betraying you to your enemies."