I always enjoy the railway ride from Havre to Paris. We will take that ride to-morrow, little beauty. To-day we will do Havre.”
“But, madame, I was thinking, as I have before hinted to you, of returning to New York by the first homeward bound steamer,” said Lilith, deprecatingly.
The baroness turned suddenly around and stared at her little friend for a moment, and then exclaimed: “You must never think of doing such a thing! Why have you ever thought of it?”
“Because you are going in the course of your travels to the very city and court where you will be sure to meet—Mr. Hereward,” said Lilith, hesitating over the name. “And I should not like to seem to be following him, after all that has passed,” she added.
“Nonsense, my dear! We may make the tour of the continent without going to that city. Or even if we go there, we may see everything worth seeing without meeting that man.”
“But——”
“I will hear no ‘but,’ my dear. You must not leave me. You engaged to stay with me for twelve months, unless our engagement should be annulled by mutual consent. Now, I do not consent to any such thing, my dear; and you, I know, are too honest and honorable to break a contract. There has been quite enough of that sort of thing in our lives, at least in yours, without a new example. But there! we will not discuss this matter further until we get to our hotel. See! the plank has been laid and the people are beginning to go on shore. Ah! Monsieur Le Grange, will you be so good as to send Felix on shore to engage two carriages? I shall then ask you to attend Mrs. Wyvil and myself to the Hotel de l’Europe, where you will please engage rooms for us,” said the baroness, turning to her private secretary, who had just stepped up.
The polite old gentleman bowed and bowed and went away to perform his commission.
“We will go down and put on our wraps, my dear. You need not take the trouble to pack or to remove anything. I will leave Lisette in charge of our rooms to do all that. Felix can see our trunks through the Custom House, and then come on with Lisette and all the other trumpery to the hotel.”
Lilith followed her friend’s advice and soon joined her in the cabin, dressed for landing.