"I have betrayed no secret," said Edward, gayly, for he felt relieved. "Lord Montagu has never seen the young lady,--does not even know her name; and there is no cause why I should conceal that a lady has written to me." "A young lady!" said Montagu, thoughtfully. "Now I have it. The Duchess of Rohan was at Turin; she had with her a cousin or a niece,--as pretty a little creature as I ever beheld. Ha, Edward! so you took care on your long journey to guard yourself against the charms of the innkeepers' daughters. Now I understand a good deal. And pray, Ned, how much of the time you consumed is to be attributed to the attractions of this pretty fair one?" "Not a moment, my lord," replied Edward,--"unless it be that when she was stricken with the fever of the Marais I stayed with her a few days, rather than leave a lady confided to my care amongst a people almost savage and in a rude country. I might perhaps have forced my way on more quickly had I been alone; but by that time I had accepted the charge; and I will ask your lordship if I could have refused to see a lady of high rank safely to the Duc de Rohan or the Prince de Soubise, her relations, when the only alternative was for her to be shut up in Rochelle during the horrors of a siege, and when the task was pressed upon me by those who had nursed me tenderly and saved my life by their care. All we contemplated at first was a journey of a few hours; but would your lordship have left her when a series of unfortunate mishaps had cast her, sick and in danger, upon the care of perfect strangers? Could you have left any woman?" "Perhaps not, Master Ned," said Lord Montagu, laughing,--"especially if she were as young and as pretty as the lady I saw. The only question is why you did not tell me all this before. Concealment between friends is a bad thing, Edward, and in this case might breed a suspicion that you had been trifling your time away with the pretty girl who is now sending you love-letters." "I did not even imply that the letter was a love-letter," replied Edward; "and, moreover,----" "I will return to your lordship in an hour or two," said Morini, rising and approaching the door: "at present I have some business." "I was going to say," continued Edward, resuming the subject which he had dropped as Morini spoke, "if your lordship would consider, you would see that I have not yet had time to tell you one-half that has happened to me."