One of Barneveld's sons had already paid for such an attempt with his life; the other had escaped only in order to intrigue again, to plot again, and again to fail. And this poor girl had by a fortuitous mishap overheard the discussion of the guilty secret. Stoutenburg had come back and meant to kill the Stadtholder: Nicolaes Beresteyn was his accomplice and had callously sacrificed his innocent sister to the success of his friend's schemes. If out of this network of intrigues a sensible philosopher did not succeed in consolidating his independence with the aid of a substantial fortune, then he was neither so keen nor so daring as his friends and he himself supposed! And Gilda wondered what went on in his mind for those twinkling eyes of his never betrayed any deeper thought: but she noticed with great mortification that the insults which she had heaped upon him so freely had not shamed him at all, for the good-humoured smile was not effaced from his lips, rather did the shapely hand wander up to the moustache in order to give it--she thought--a more provoking curl. "I still await your answer," she said haughtily, seeing that his prolonged silence savoured of impertinence. "I humbly crave your pardon, mejuffrouw," he said pleasantly, "I was absorbed in wonderment." "You marvelled, sir, how easily I saw behind your schemes, and saw the hand which drove you in harness?" "Your pardon, mejuffrouw. I was pondering on your own words. You deigned to say just now that I--a man should be fighting for my country." "And you are worthy, sir, to be called a man." "Quite so," he said whimsically. "But even if I did lay claim to the title, mejuffrouw, how could I fight for my country when my country doth not happen to be at war just now." "Your country? What pray might your country be? Not that this concerns me in the least," she added hastily. "Of course not," he rejoined blandly. "What is your country, sir?" "England." "I do not like the English." "Nor do I, mejuffrouw. But I was unfortunately not consulted as to my choice of a fatherland: nor doth it change the fact that King James of England is at peace just now with all the world." "So you preferred to earn a dishonest living by abducting innocent women, to further the intrigues of your paymaster." "It is a harsh exposition," he said blandly, "of an otherwise obvious fact." "And you are not ashamed." "Not more than is necessary for my comfort."