"Me? To Jeremy?"
"Yes. We cannot get away from here, but still—I have my prisoner up above. I want you to be magnanimous—to try to get me terms."
The little oak chest stood against the door. Nance pushed it aside, trembling with the rush of her belief in the loosening of the net about her. When she opened the door she saw De Rothan standing in the gallery. The windows threw moonlit patches upon the floor.
"You see how hopeless it is for me."
He sighed.
"There are too many of them, and they have hemmed me in. I can leave the country to-night if your friends yonder will come to terms."
He spoke dejectedly as though utterly discouraged.
"You will do this for me, go out as my friend?"
"Yes."
"Come, then, let us waste no time."