Suddenly, she turned and waved her hand, exactly as she had done that other time; only, this time, it was a beckon to follow, not a farewell. I sprang to saddle and dashed ahead, almost fearing to find her vanished and it only a dream. When I rounded the corner, the Princess and Lady Helen were turning into the drive that led from the road to the Palace; and, once again, Dehra waved me onward.
They awaited me at the gate; and, with the guard standing at attention, we rode into the grounds. I noticed that the Princess acknowledged the salute with her crop as though it were a sword. I had returned it with my hand.
"Your way is the correct one," she said.
"But yours is much the prettier," I answered.
"Maybe that's why I used it," she laughed.
"It is sufficient justification," I assured her.
"His Majesty does not think so—he insists that the Colonel of the Blue Guards should conform to the regulations."
"I salute my superior officer," I said, and used my crop as she had done.
"How delightful to be a Colonel," said Lady Helen. "I would wear the uniform all the time—if it were becoming."
"How could it be otherwise?" I exclaimed.