"I will—I will go back!" she said.
"He will beat you like a labourer's wife," warned the jester. "He may do worse."
She was swaying as she stood.
"He will do—as he sees fit," she said.
He stooped a little lower.
"I would make you happy, Lady Una," he whispered. "I would protect you—shelter you—love you!"
She flung out her hands with a wild and desperate gesture. The magnetism of his presence had become horrible to her.
"I am going to him—now," she said.
Behind him she saw, in the brightening moonlight, the opening which she had vainly sought a few minutes before. She sprang for it, darting past him like a frightened bird seeking refuge, and in another moment she was lost in the green labyrinths.