“Thank you! Thank you!”
Marya in her joy kissed him.
The crisis passed, the Colonel turned to the ladies with a courtly bow.
“I am sorry to have to be so rude in your presence, madam,” he said, addressing Virginia’s mother. “We are soldiers. I must obey the orders of my superiors. I have no choice. We are sorry to put you to the trouble—but we are tired and hungry and we must dine. I will appreciate a good dinner and I shall see to it that your home is safe from intrusion on this unhappy evening.”
His heels clicked again and he resumed his seat.
“We will serve you dinner at once,” Virginia quickly replied before her mother could answer. “We are sorry that it will be so poor. We have had no market for the past two days—”
“Some good wine will go far to make up for what else you may lack,” a Lieutenant interrupted.
“By all means, some wine—“ the Colonel added.
The three men were bidden to enter the dining-room with a bow from Peter, the black butler.
“We dine alone?” the Colonel asked in surprise.