The girl seemed already to have recovered from her emotion; and she replied, with a calmness that revealed all her pluck:
"I don't think so."
"Is your father in the house to-day?"
"My father is ill and has been in bed for months. Besides, his room looks out on the other front."
"And the servants?"
"Their quarters and the kitchen are also on the other side. No one ever comes to this part. I walk here myself, but nobody else does."
"It is probable, therefore, that I have not been seen either, especially as the trees hide us?"
"It is most probable."
"Then I can speak to you freely?"
"Certainly, but I don't understand...."