Suddenly he asked:
"Is it Francbois you fear?"
For a moment Sylvia did not answer, turning her head away instead, but saying in a whisper a moment later, "Yes."
"And I have let him live--live, when I might have slain him without effort," while adding the next instant, "How can he harm you? No man can force a woman to listen to his plaint, to accede to it. And I--am I not by your side?"
"Ah, yes," she whispered again, while murmuring next through closed lips some words he did not catch--words that almost appeared to sound as though they were the words "Knight" and "Sentinel."
After which, speaking more clearly, Sylvia went on, "Still I would fain depart. Ah! let us go."
"In spite of my protection! Through fear of Francbois?"
"In fear of Francbois--yes," looking straight into his eyes, while adding inwardly, "Fear of him--for you."
"But Liége, the exit from Liége, is forbidden to all except the French, since all others would avail themselves of the opportunity of divulging the disposition of their forces round the city and in the city also. It is impossible to go."
"Yet you are French--are supposed to be French. You have the means wherewith to be De Belleville, the attaché, or Le Blond, the mousquetaire. You can baffle suspicion with your knowledge of their tongue, with your accent."