At Erquelinnes we had descended and had our early café complet, and now as we rushed onward to the capital she had suddenly made up her mind to go through to London.
"When we arrive in Paris I must leave you to keep my appointments," she said. "We will meet again at the Gare du Nord—at the Calais train, eh?"
"Most certainly," was the reply.
"Ah!" she sighed, looking straight into my face with those dark eyes that were so luminous. "You do not know—you can never guess what a great service you have rendered me by allowing me to travel here with you. My peril is the gravest that—well, that ever threatened a woman—yet now, by your aid, I shall be able to save myself. Otherwise, to-morrow my body would have been exposed in the Morgue—the corpse of a woman unknown."
"These words of yours interest me."
"Ah, m'sieur! You do not know. And I cannot tell you. It is a secret—ah! if I only dare speak you would help me, I know," and I saw in her face a look full of apprehension and distress.
As she raised her hand to push the dark hair from her brow, as though it oppressed her, my eyes caught sight of something glistening upon her wrist, half concealed by the lace on her sleeve. It was a magnificent diamond bangle.
Surely such an ornament would not be worn by a mere governess! I looked again into her handsome face, and wondered if she were deceiving me.
"If it be in my power to assist you, mademoiselle, I will do so with the greatest pleasure. But, of course, I cannot without knowing the circumstances."
"And I regret that my lips are closed concerning them," she sighed, looking straight before her despairingly.