Indeed it would have been strange had it been otherwise, considering the times in which she lived, the many friends whom she had seen sacrificed by the violence of her royal mistress, and the terrible uncertainty that hung over her own fate.
After a time the Queen dismissed some of her attendants to ramble about the grounds,—among them Rafaravavy, who sauntered down one of the side-walks by herself.
She had not gone far when, on reaching a turn of the road where a small thicket of shrubs concealed her from the more public part of the garden, she heard her own name pronounced.
Stopping abruptly, she listened with intense anxiety expressed on her countenance.
“Rafaravavy!” repeated the voice again, “fear not!” Next moment the bushes were turned aside, a man stepped on the path, and Ravonino stood before her! He seized her in his arms, and printed a fervent kiss upon her lips.
“Oh! Samuel,” she said, using her lover’s Christian name, which she naturally preferred, and speaking, of course, in her native tongue, “why did you come here? You know that it is death if you are caught.”
“I would risk more than death, if that were possible, to see you, Rafaravavy. But I come to ask you to fly with me. Our dear Lord’s counsel is that when we are persecuted we should flee to a place of safety.”
“Impossible!” said the girl, in a tone of decision that made her lover’s heart sink. “Besides, I am not persecuted. The Queen is fond of me, and bears much.”
“Fond of you she may well be, my loved one, she cannot help that; but she is fonder of herself, and the moment you go beyond a certain point she will order you out to execution. Has she not done the same sort of thing before? She is capable of doing it again. She will surely do it again. Come, dearest! let us fly now—this moment. I have a lamba here which will conceal most of your dress. Arrangements are made with some of our friends in the Lord to aid us. Bearers are ready. I will guide you to the caverns in the forest where my sister Ra-Ruth is longing to receive you, where many of your old friends are dwelling in security, where we worship God, and pray to Jesus, and sing the sweet old hymns in peace. Come, dear one! will you not come?”
It was evident that the intense earnestness of the lover was exerting powerful influence over the affectionate maiden, for she began to waver.