The maid gave a sigh, and then as I lifted my eyes to hers again I saw a look of loathing and disgust on her face.
"I have heard of you as having two names," she said, and I detected scorn in her tones. "You have called yourself Penryn, and I have heard that you are a Trevanion. They are both honourable. But I dare not trust you, because you are unworthy of either. I would thank you if I could for bringing me here, but I cannot, for there is that in your mind which means worse to me than being the wife of a Killigrew."
"I am dismissed then?" I cried in a rage—"dismissed like a disgraced servant. Well, let it be so."
"Yes," she cried, "I know you now, and I would rather trust to the mercies of the Killigrews than to one who, under the guise of friendship, would use the one who sought his help in order to carry out some base purpose of his own."
With these words, she left the little room, and went into the chapel where I had spent most of the morning with Uncle Anthony. The maid had maddened me now. I felt no sympathy with her. Hitherto my mind and heart had been divided. Sometimes I had altogether made up my mind to place her under the protection of John Polperro, and never had I fully decided to take her to Peter Trevisa's. Indeed, I believe that had she wept and prayed like some maidens would have done, aye, had she appealed to my honour as a gentleman, I should at all hazards have been led by her will. But now all was different. She had defied me, insulted me. She had refused to have aught further to do with me. She preferred being taken back to Endellion, to being left under my escort.
"Very well, my proud lady," I thought, "but you have not done with me yet. You shall go to Peter Trevisa's, and neither the Killigrews, John Polperro, nor Uncle Anthony shall prevent me from taking you."
And this I determined because I was mad, and because, in spite of the fact that her accusation was partly just, her words rankled in my heart.
But I knew that I must be wary. I knew that Uncle Anthony was watching me closely, so I feigned to take my dismissal kindly.