“Neither have I,” said Aline, “at least not to live on. I have two gold pieces with me.”
“Well, you are richer than I am,” he said playfully. “It will help us somewhat, while I find something to set us going. I left a note, too, with Wilfred for Walter Margrove, in case he should come within the next few days, asking him to send Wilfred to Canonbie with a little money at once for our present needs.”
“Wilfred,” said Aline, “is that Will Ackroyd?”
“Yes,” said Ian, “I have a story to tell you about how I met him, but we must leave it for the present. I am very perplexed about this matter of making a livelihood.” He paused a moment and then continued;—
“I might find work as a carpenter, or perhaps there will be more call for a smith in these turbulent times. But I cannot think what to do with you. Even if I found some people with whom you could live and worked to keep you, there would be all kinds of questions as to where you came from and all about you?”
“Then why not let me work with you as carpenter’s boy, like Will does for Matthew Musgrave?”
“What! and spoil your beautiful hands. By the way, though,” he added, “what have you been doing to get them in such a shocking condition? I have noticed it all along but my mind has been so full of schemes and plans for our escape, that I have not been able to talk about it.”
Aline told him the story and continued;—“Anyway, carpentry could not be as bad as that.”
Ian was shocked and looked at her thankfully. “I trust we have broken the evil spell,” he said. “But, princess, you are a lady and such very hard work is beyond that to which you have been used.”
“Yes, I hope I am a lady and just because I am a lady it does not matter what I am used to do. I can turn my hand to anything; I do not mind. It is only common people who are afraid of demeaning themselves. I have often noticed”—and then she suddenly stopped:—was not Ian himself one of these “common people,” and was it not unmannerly anyway for a real lady to talk like that?