“Sir Nicholas Malby himself,” said Burke, and his face was instantly lighted up with a new hope rising in his breast.
“Ay, ’tis Sir Nicholas!” cried I. “By God’s wounds, this is a strange thing!”
There they stood together—the Colonel of Connaught and Eva O’Malley. Like Burke, my heart grew light, as if a great weight had been taken from me, for I knew that Malby must have some proposal to make us which must be to our advantage, otherwise he would never thus have ventured to come.
If he was not exactly alone, he had apparently but few of his soldiers with him; and evidently, therefore, he was determined to show us that whatever it was he was to offer us was offered to men in whom he had implicit faith.
And what had Eva said, what promised, what undertaken for us? How had she managed to bring him? What had this little weak woman, who could yet be so great and strong, done?
And I still glow with a pride in her that is too deep and too high for words when I think of it all. Surely, it was nothing but a miracle, as Burke had said. One thing, at least, was now certain, and that was that Grace O’Malley was alive, or Malby would not have come to us.
The Grey Wolf having dropped her anchor, Eva and Sir Nicholas immediately made signs to Richard Burke and me to go over to them, and we hastened to comply with their wish. As we approached, Sir Nicholas saluted us both very courteously, and we bowed low in return. Eva was the first to speak.
“I went this morning to Sir Nicholas,” said Eva; “I was detained at the water gate, but——”
“You are a brave as well as a beautiful woman,” said he, interrupting her, “and I regret that there was any delay at the gate.”