"Shall I not be seen if I follow you through the village in these weird clothes?" she said civilly, as one who hesitates to make a suggestion. "Where is your house?"
"My cot—it is not a house—is just at the end of those trees," I said. "It is the only one close to the park gates. It has virginia creeper over the porch, and a white gate."
"It sounds charming."
"But how on earth are we to get there?" I groaned. "And some one may come along this path at any moment."
The dusk was falling rapidly. Candles were beginning to twinkle in latticed windows. A yellow light from the public-house made an impassable streak across the road. Cheerful voices were coming along the meadow path behind us. What was to be done?
"Go home," she said steadily. "I will find my own way."
"But my servant?"
"Make your mind easy. She will not see me. I shall not ring the bell. Have you a dog?"
"No. My dear little Lindo——"
"It's going to be a black night. I shall be in the porch half an hour after dark."