"I admire your spirit," he said, with a slight smile.
"You need not," she replied. "I have merely a shocking love of excitement. Consider! In spite of all my adventures I was never till now in danger of falling into the hands of the French. It is something quite out of the common way, and therefore enchanting!"
Judith was obliged to smile at her nonsense, but said protestingly: "How can you talk so?"
"The devil! How else should I talk? You know, if the French should come I fancy we shall make a hit with them. There is no denying that we are a handsome pair. Neither of us, I am persuaded, need look lower than a Marshal at the very least."
Such raillery, though it might bring a blush to Judith's cheeks, had the effect of relieving the oppression of her spirits. Nothing more was said of the chances of defeat, and presently Worth went out again to see if any further news had arrived from Quatre-Bras.
He came back a little after eleven, and found that Judith and Barbara were still up. "I called at Creevey's," he said. "Hamilton had been in during the evening on an errand for General Barnes, and of course dropped in on Creevey, to see Miss Ord. The result was still uncertain when he left the field, but Creevey got the impression from him that it was going in our favour. Charles was safe when he left the field: he saw him trying to rally the Belgians, who had had enough, just as he came away. Hamilton reports them as having done well at the start, but they won't stand like our own men. The worst, so far, is that the Duke of Brunswick has fallen. He was killed by a ball passing through his hand to his heart. Hamilton did not mention many of the casualties. The Highlanders have suffered most. Fassiefern and Macara have both fallen; young Hay has gone, too; but I heard of no one else whom we know."
"Hay!" Barbara lifted her hand to shade her eyes for a moment. "That boy! Ah, how wanton, how damnable! But go on! If Hay was present, Maitland's brigade must have come up. Could you get no news of Harry?"
"No; Creevey was positive Hamilton mentioned only Hay, and one other, whose name I forget."
Judith said: "Depend upon it, he would have told Mr Creevey had your brother been killed."
"He might not know. But never mind that! What else could you discover, Lord Worth? Shall we hold our ground?"