'And will continue to be?'
'Not a doubt of it.'
'Why is there not a doubt of it, signore?'
'You beat us Germans on one field. On the other you have no chance. But you must lose no time. The Croats are on your track. I have ordered out the carriage.'
The mention of the Croats struck her fugitive senses with a panic.
'I must wait for my maid,' she said, attempting to deliberate.
'Ha! you have a maid: of course you have! Where is your maid?'
'She ought to have returned by this time. If not, she is on the road.'
'On the road? Good; we will pick up the maid on the road. We have not a minute to spare. Lady, I am your obsequious servant. Hasten out, I beg of you. I was taught at my school that minutes are not to be wasted. Those Croats have been drinking and what not on the way, or they would have been here before this. You can't rely on Italian innkeepers to conceal you.'
'Signore, are you a man of honour?'