"Because, mademoiselle, he seemed to me--I may be wrong, you know--but he seemed to me very, very like--"
"Like whom, Margot? How mysterious you are."
"Like the English officer," Margot said, with an arch nod.
Adele leapt to her feet.
"You must be mad, Margot. There, light a candle."
But without waiting, Adele knelt down close to the fire, and broke open the letter.
A flush, even ruddier than that given by the fire, mounted over her face.
"It is him, Margot. He has come from my father. Now we are to do what I told you about. We are to go off tonight under his charge, to your mother's, my dear old nurse, and there I am to live with you, and be as your cousin, till papa can get me out of the country."
"And is the young officer to live there till the marquis comes?" Margot asked, slyly. "He might pass as another cousin, mademoiselle."
"How foolish you are, Margot, and this is no time for folly. But listen. My father says, 'Rupert will be in the street round the corner, with three horses, at eleven o'clock. You and Margot are to be dressed in the boys' clothes that I bade you prepare. Take in bundles two of Margot's dresses. Do not be afraid to trust yourself with Rupert Holliday. Regard him as a brother; he has all my confidence and trust.'"