“None,” the messenger replied, “and I dare not linger. I have waited too long already.”
He turned as he spoke and walked rapidly away, his figure soon disappearing in the darkness. M. de Lambert, following me into the house, went directly to a table in the hall where Pierrot had left the tapers burning. The packet was a small one, tied with a gold cord. In a moment M. de Lambert had it open, disclosing a band of gold with a single large emerald on the clasp, a bracelet that I had myself seen on the arm of Mademoiselle Zotof; wrapped about it was a strip of paper which her lover unfolded eagerly. I confess that I was nearly as curious as he, and watched his face as he read it.
“She has been closely guarded,” he said after a moment, “but she can be at the bridge to-morrow at dusk.”
“At the bridge at dusk,” I repeated; “this is a strange appointment, monsieur. If she has been closely guarded, it is marvellous that she can evade them at such an hour and that she should select such a spot Are you sure that it is her writing?”
He was half indignant at my criticism.
“It is not only her writing, monsieur,” he replied, “but this is her bracelet.”
“I recognize the token,” I said, “but older blood is cautious, and I like neither the place nor the hour of the appointment. However, you can take both Pierrot and Touchet with you, which will be a greater protection for mademoiselle.”
“That cannot be,” he answered quickly, “since she especially requests me to come unattended, for some reason of her own.”
For the moment I was silent. Not only did mademoiselle’s request surprise me, but it seemed unnatural and without justification. She knew that her lover was encompassed by a net of intrigue, and it was more like a woman to surround him with precaution than to desire him to risk his person unprotected in a lonely spot at nightfall, and I could not suppose that she intended to bring a sufficient guard, for in the very act of evading the authority of her guardian she could scarcely command a numerous escort. The whole business seemed to me suspicious, but I saw that he was carried away by the one thought of seeing mademoiselle once more.
“At least, monsieur,” I said, “you will permit me to accompany you as a friend, if I stand at a distance and do not offend against mademoiselle’s rules.”