"All right, my dear," he exclaimed with his loud forced laugh. "I only wanted to rest Buggy's legs a bit."
And the anointed of the Lord resumed their shuffling progress upward at the heels of the swift, light feet of Thusis.
As for me I went out to the court where their luggage lay piled. The wagon which had brought them was gone, but Raoul stood there, his hat on one side, hands on hips, chewing a wheat-straw and gazing blandly at the pile of royal luggage.
"These," said I carelessly, "belong upstairs. Thusis will tell you where to carry them, Raoul."
"Bien, Monsieur!"
We both looked gravely at the luggage, then my glance rested on his pleasant, reckless face in which I seemed to notice a gaiety more marked than usual.
For one moment, as he caught my eye, I thought he was going to wink at me, but, even as his eyelid quivered, he seemed to recollect himself. And, with an absolutely indescribable expression, he seized upon the luggage, and, both arms full, strode toward the back stairs. And, far in the passageway, I heard him singing under his breath:
"Crack-brain-cripple-arm,
You have done a heap of harm——"
until Josephine Vannis came to the pantry door, her superb arms all over flour, and said in French: "Hush, Raoul, or I slay thee with my rolling-pin, thou imbecile, curly, hot-head!"
"My Josephine adored," he retorted, "thou slayest me hourly with thy Olympian beauty——"