“I do not fight with women, mademoiselle, and pardon your deceit.” “But you are hurt; let me bind your arm,” she said solicitously, seeing that it dangled at his side. He drew himself up and looked at her steadily as he replied-- “Thank you, mademoiselle; the wound to my arm is nothing, but you have killed my trust in the word of a beautiful woman,” and he signed to the men in charge of him to take him on. “I am sorry for him,” she said to Pascal. “He brought it on himself, the hot-headed young fool,” was the reply. “How brave you are, monsieur! I saw him rush at you and believed he would have killed you. And you were so cool.” “We had to avoid bloodshed, somehow, and thank God we did so. And now, what will be the next move from the Castle when this party like the rest don’t return? How shrewdly you held him in talk, mademoiselle. You wasted half an hour at least, and now another is gone. It will be dark before the Duke gets here after all.” “I am almost ashamed of my part,” murmured Lucette. “Nay, ’tis all fair in war, and--some other things. But I am getting more afraid of you than ever,” answered Pascal, laughing and turning to meet Gerard, who had been to tell Gabrielle the news, and now came up with her. She congratulated Pascal on the success. “We are strong enough now to hold the place throughout the night,” said Pascal to Gerard. “Strong enough, too, to speak with force behind us. If the Governor comes, I shall declare myself to him.” “He will come after this,” said Pascal drily. “And while the light remains with us we can best use it by settling the plan of defence.” They were engaged in this when, as the dusk was falling, the approach of more troops was announced. The house was soon found to be surrounded and the Governor himself was seen, with de Proballe at his side, giving orders to the troops. After some anxious minutes a demand that the door should be opened was made in a loud voice. No answer was returned, and a second demand followed, accompanied with the threat that it would be forced. Then Pascal showed himself at an upper window. “By what right do you threaten force?” he asked. “I threaten it,” cried the Duke, “as Governor of Morvaix.” “You have no right, my lord Duke. I am holding it by command of the Lord Gerard de Bourbon under the authority of your Suzerain, the Duke de Bourbon, whose officer I am.” “Where is this Lord Gerard?” “I am here,” said Gerard, stepping forward. The Governor laughed contemptuously, and de Proballe joined him. “Come out to me, then, that I may pay my homage,” he sneered. “Why didn’t you announce yourself before, that I might have rendered it when you were a prisoner in the Castle?” “I shall receive your homage in my own time, and when I come for it it will be with sufficient force at my back to exact it.”