"One, then."
"I am going to Montreal to-night, for one."
She gave me a swift glance, which I could not understand.
"So?" she said. "Why so soon?"
"Orders," said I briefly. "But perhaps I may not obey orders for once. There is another reason."
"And that one?"
"I am to be married at six."
I turned to enjoy her consternation. Indeed, there was an alternate white and red passed across her face! But at once she was in hand.
"And you allowed me to become your devoted slave," she said, "even to the extent of calling upon a man in a red nightcap; and then, even upon a morning like this, when the birds sing so sweetly and the little flowers show pink and white—now you cast down my most sacred feelings!"
The mockery in her tone was perfect. I scarce had paused to note it. I was absorbed in one thought—of Elisabeth. Where one fire burns high and clear upon the altar of the heart, there is small room for any other.