The Duke was at that moment fetching it for me from the hall table, where I had left it. "I do not know what we shall do to-day," I said, "I believe I am going to play croquet." "Oh no, you are not. It is much too hot, and you must see the woods. They are historical, and--Here, take this parasol and let us start." This last hurriedly, as the Duke was seen returning with mine. I cannot say why I allowed myself to be dragged off like this. My natural impulse has always been to do the opposite thing when ordered by any one but grandmamma. But here I found myself walking meekly beside my kinsman down a yew-bordered path, holding a mauve silk parasol over my head which did not belong to me. We did not speak until we got quite to the end, where there is a quaint fountain, the centre of four _allées_ of clipped yews. My heart still continued to beat in a quick, tiresome manner. "You look changed, Comtesse," Sir Antony said. "Your little face is pale. Do you remember the night we danced together? It was round and rosy then. Is it a hundred years ago?" There is a something in his voice which is alluring. The mocking sound goes out of it now and then, and when it does one feels as if one must listen. Oh, but listen with both one's ears! "Yes, it is a hundred years ago," I said. "I was so sorry to hear of your grandmother's death," he continued. "I wanted to tell you how I felt for you, but I was away in Norway, and have only just returned. Did you think I was unkind?" "No, I never thought at all. Grandmamma was glad to die. I knew she could not live, but it came suddenly at the end." "What a splendid personality! How I wish I had seen more of her! I generally manage to seize the occasion, but fate kept you and her beyond my reach. Why did we not all meet this time last year?" "Oh, do not talk of that!" I cried. I felt I could not bear to hear any more. "I am trying to forget, and to find life full of compensations. Grandmamma and the Marquis promised me that I should." He looked at me, stopped in the path, and bent down to a level with my face. His eyes seemed as if they could see right through my mind then, as on another occasion in our lives. "Dear little white Comtesse!" he said. Almost the same words. An emotion that is new to me happened. It was as if my heart beat in my throat. "We are dawdling by this fountain," I said. "Where are the woods?" After that we were gay. He told me of many things. I seemed to see a clear picture of the world as he talked--a light and pleasant world, where no one was so foolish as to care for anything seriously. One felt a donkey, to worry or grieve when the sun shone and the birds sang! How I enjoyed myself! "Has Babykins chirped at you yet?" he asked, presently. "She is very dangerous when she chirps." "I do not like her," I said.