"I must go nevertheless. Guide me, Mistress Nancy, and that quickly."
I pulled on my boots as I spoke, and buttoned my coat closely around me.
"Yes, yes," she replied, eagerly. "But you will need arms. Wait; I will fetch you sword and pistols."
In a few seconds she had returned. "This is a sword which my father wore," she said, her voice trembling.
My heart leapt wildly. She could not scorn me, if with her own hands she had brought her father's sword.
"I will use it for no unworthy cause, Mistress Nancy," I cried. "I will strike no blow for anything which your father would condemn."
"Come, come," she said. "Adam showed me the way only a few days ago. Come! But you will be careful?"
Again my heart seemed to burn within me. It may seem but little to the reader, indeed the matter was trivial, yet I rejoiced beyond measure to think that she was anxious for my welfare.
I accompanied her along an underground passage, then we climbed some stone steps, and presently I stood by a low doorway. Taking a key from her pocket she unlocked the door, which opened into a dark shrubbery.