"Nicholas," she said, "come to-night. Bring me my little jewel—and bring—"
"The minister! If I do that, Elisabeth, you will marry me then?"
"Yes!" she whispered softly.
Amid all the din and babble of that motley throng I heard the word, low as it was. I have never heard a voice like Elisabeth's.
An instant later, I knew not quite how, her hand was away from my arm, in that of Aunt Betty, and they were passing toward the main door, leaving me standing with joy and doubt mingled in my mind.
CHAPTER VIII
MR. CALHOUN ACCEPTS
A woman's tongue is her sword, that she never lets rust.
—Madam Necker.
I struggled among three courses. The impulses of my heart, joined to some prescience of trouble, bade me to follow Elisabeth. My duty ordered me to hasten to Mr. Calhoun. My interest demanded that I should tarry, for I was sure that the Baroness von Ritz would make no merely idle request in these circumstances. Hesitating thus, I lost sight of her in the throng. So I concluded I would obey the mandate of duty, and turned toward the great doors. Indeed, I was well toward the steps which led out into the grounds, when all at once two elements of my problem resolved themselves into one. I saw the tall figure of Mr. Calhoun himself coming up the walk toward me.