"There, I can do no more," she said. "God grant it may have the result I hope. Hide your very fastest," she continued; "lose not a moment by the way. You must reach Napoleon, ere he has had time to move in this nefarious scheme. And remember that the heart of the Empress goes with you to the Emperor."
"And dare I hope," he answered, "that the heart of Josephine goes with me too?"
She threw him a captivating glance, and smiled archly. Frivolous, and with no deep-seated feeling, as she was, the letter had revived her spirits, and she had persuaded herself that all would now be well.
"Foolish boy," she answered merrily. "Come and see me the moment you have achieved your errand, and you will find that Josephine is not ungrateful."
And with this he was compelled to be content.
Near the cascade, already mentioned, the man and the woman, who had overheard part of the conversation between the Empress Josephine and St. Just, were seated on a rustic bench. Their attitude, proclaimed that they were lovers, for the man's arm was round her waist, and her head was resting lovingly against his shoulder.
"Peace, Hermionie, peace, I say," the man said sharply. "I will hear no more. I repeat, it is for the good of the State. It must be done. Besides, the Emperor desires it; that suffices me!"
She turned from him petulantly like some spoilt child.
"It is cruel, it is unjust," she said, "and I hate cruelty and injustice, and will do all I can to oppose them. I repeat, I will tell the Empress what we have overheard, what was not intended for our ears. And Colonel Tremeau, I command you to keep secret what you have learned to-night." Then, in a softer tone, "Nay, I am wrong to use that tone. Dear Charles, if you love me, keep it secret."
Few men could have resisted her pleading tone, and still fewer gazed into her lovely face, without yielding to its entreaty; but this man was selfish and self-seeking to the core.