No one seems to miss her. In the drawing-room they are singing. Miss Montgomery's pretty soprano blends softly with the soldier's superb tenor.
The pretty, sentimental song dies away into silence presently.
There is some careless talk and laughter. Again the piano keys thrill under the firm touches of a man, and this time Captain Lockhart sings alone, sings with such passion and fervor as Lady Vera has never heard before, sings with his whole heart trembling on his lips, and she feels within her heart that it is his farewell to her:
"I love thee, I love thee,
Far better than wine;
But the curse is above,
Thou'lt never be mine.
"As the blade wears the scabbard,
The billow the shore,
So sorrow doth fret me
Forevermore.
"Fair beauty, I leave thee
To conquer my heart;
I'll see thee, I'll bless thee,
And then depart.
"Let me take, ere I vanish,
One look of thine eyes—
One smile for remembrance,
For life soon flies.
"And now for the fortune
That hangeth above,
And to bury in battle
My dreams of love."
"Does he know that I am here?" she asks herself. "Perhaps he meant me to hear what he said just now. A beautiful iceberg, that is what he thinks me."
Someone misses Lady Vera, perhaps the significance of the soldier's song recalls her to mind; they go out to seek her, the giddy girls, who cannot guess how she has stolen out to bear her pain alone.