Rosanne came and stood looking up at Lisle, her brown eyes eagerly watching his blue ones as he answered her. “It’s a bad time,” he said slowly. “It can’t last much longer. Yes, it is a revolution and there is danger for some people, but we are safe enough. There is no reason why we should fear.” Lisle was glad that Rosanne had spoken. It made them seem more like comrades and he found that it was a relief to talk over the situation. He saw that she was missing his mother and he felt vaguely that he must try to divert her. He, too, missed his mother, but of course he would not admit it even to himself. The comtesse had shown a softer side than any he had ever seen before during the past months that they had been alone. The three had sat for long hours by the fire and she had told of the gay, careless times when she had been a girl, when there had been nothing but gay balls and gilded sedan chairs, laughter and satins to make up her days. Now all her friends were gone, many being imprisoned in the Abbaye or other prisons of Paris, some having escaped to England, some to different parts of France, all because they and their ancestors had oppressed the people. Rosanne was right when she said that Lisle’s mother had not wanted to leave them even for a few days. Great-aunt Hortense was ill and she had sent her servant with a note begging her great-niece to come to her bedside. She lived only a few squares away. “Don’t worry, mother, we shall do quite well, Rosanne and I. Henri will look after us as to food, and you’ll find us roasting nuts by the fire when you come back. I shall take good care of Rosanne,” Lisle had assured his mother. The comtesse had put both her slender hands on his shoulders as she answered him. “And of yourself, my son, my only son, my beloved,” she had said. Lisle and Rosanne had thought often, since she left, of her emotion. “Teach me the gavotte steps again, Lisle. I shall soon be able to dance quite well.” Rosanne held out her hand as she spoke. “I can hum the melody again like this. Let us see if we can do it all the way through!” Lisle thought it a rather silly thing to do, but he was uneasy about Rosanne’s missing his mother, and he felt that it was his duty to keep her cheerful. He found that he enjoyed the dance, for he directed his companion in the different measures and he liked telling people how to do things. “You bow so beautifully, Lisle. You are just like the cavaliers on Monsieur Watteau’s fans,” Rosanne exclaimed admiringly, as they reached the end of a measure. “You will soon do very well if you will keep your mind on it,” Lisle answered as they hummed the bewitching melody of the last measure and took their positions to begin.