"And succeeded," she answered.
"You must be placed in safety without delay, Jeanne. These scoundrels will follow you hot-footed to Paris."
"Monsieur de Lafayette has advised me to return to Beauvais."
"Excellent advice, but impossible. A little while ago his name might have been a safeguard, but his day is over. He clings too persistently to a rock which the rising tide is covering. I have another plan. Tell me, is this man Barrington to be trusted?"
"Trusted!"
She spoke so quickly and certainly that Lucien started. He was inclined to resent such a tone used in the defense of another man.
"There is a wealth of eloquence in the word as you utter it, Jeanne."
"It is only his courage which has made this meeting possible," she said quietly.
"Many a man who is not to be trusted is full of courage," Lucien returned. "One gets skeptical in these days, and I have your safety to think of. You must let me form my own judgment of this man when I see him."
"I hear them coming now."