Gervase knit his brow and stood thinking. If Dorothy was right, her brother was a traitor and in the habit of supplying the enemy with information. It was clearly his duty to report the matter to the authorities. But on the other hand he had given his word, however rashly and inconsiderately, from which he could not withdraw, and stood pledged to silence. He could not use the woman he loved as a witness against her brother and destroy him by her hands; he shrank in pain at the thought of such a course. Had it not been for the mysterious midnight rambles, the passport might perhaps have been explained. Hamilton had been in the habit of giving passes to persons in the city who had interest at head-quarters, but this was of another sort. If Jasper Carew was the bearer, and that seemed evident, then he must be a traitor in active communication with the enemy.
“It is hard,” Gervase said, “to know what to do, but I think you may let me deal with this. There is no need at present that any other person should know what has come to your knowledge, but meanwhile keep the paper safely, and tell me if your brother leaves the house at night. I will try to save him in his own despite, and for your sake and his own, because he is your brother, will watch him closely. Remember that you only suspect his guilt, and it may be you judge him wrongly,”
“This is more than suspicion,” said Dorothy holding up the passport. “Shall I tell him I have found it?”
“There is no need for that; we cannot undo what has been done, but we can prevent him doing harm in the future. Do not let this grieve or distress you. Your brother sees things in a different light from you and me, and while circumstances have kept him here, his heart is still with the enemy. He makes no secret of it.”
But he could not drive Dorothy from the simple fact. “But to play the spy! To steal out by night, and to lie hidden through the day while brave men were fighting, and a great cause is being lost or won! He is no brother of mine. Say no more or I shall think----”
“Only this, Miss Carew, that as long as I live I shall not forget the confidence you have placed in me, and I shall do what I can to show that I am not wholly unworthy of it. This is no time or place to say more than that. If it were in my power to save you any pain----”
“I am sure,” she said frankly, “you would do me a service; I know you are my friend.”
As he took her hand and led her into the house, she turned to him and said, “You must not ask too great a price for all you have done for me when I come to pay you the debt I owe you.”
“One word will repay it all,” Gervase answered, about to forget the moderation he had promised himself to observe, when she suddenly withdrew her hand and entered the room before him. There was a certain restraint in her manner now that was foreign to her native frankness, and she kept Gervase strictly to his budget of news, and prevented him from again entering on any personal topic. Presently they heard De Laprade´s voice in the hall, and he came in followed by Jasper Carew.
“Ah! ma belle cousin, we tire of one another and come to you to bring us peace. M. Orme, you do not often come to visit--what do you call it, my cousin?--valour in tribulation.”