But the fear did not leave her face: she was not reassured.
“Come back, Osbert,” she exclaimed, “You will find no one there now.”
He stayed a little, making a cursory examination of the place, and then rejoined her.
“Nothing to be seen,” he announced cheerfully, “Not a sign of man or beast.”
“I am certain there was some one there,” she insisted. “Ah, those hateful eyes!”
He put his arm round her protectingly. “Dearest, you must not alarm yourself so. It was not another of your wild boars, was it?”
“No, no. It was a man.”
“Need you be afraid of him? It was not the only man in the world, or in the forest,” he added with a confident smile. Then his face darkened a little as he said, “Was it the Count?”
“Count Zarka?” She spoke with an effort, “I could not tell. No. How could it have been he? Osbert, you are sure you saw no one?”
“Quite sure,” he answered. He could see that it needed all her self-command to restrain the betrayal of her fear. “Let us go back to our seat,” he said, “and watch for the mysterious eyes to re-appear, I promise you their owner shall not escape me a second time.”