"It's too noble a name," he said. "Still--if you like it, I shall. Maybe it will make me good. Jove! it would take something strong to do that! But who knows? From now on I'm your 'Knight.' You needn't wrestle with 'Nelson' except when we're with strangers. "And--look here!" he broke off. "I've another favour to ask. Better get them all over at once--the big ones that are hard to grant. You reminded me last night that we wouldn't be legally married if I didn't use my own name. That may be true. I can't very well make inquiries. But just in case, I'm giving my real name and shall sign it in a register. That's why our marriage must be quietly performed in a quiet place. It shall be in church, because I know you wouldn't feel married if it wasn't, but it must be in a church where nobody we're likely to meet ever goes; and the parson must be one we won't stand a chance of knocking up against later. "Managed the way I shall manage it, there'll be no difficulty. Mr. and Mrs. Blank will walk out of the vestry after they've signed their names, and--_lose themselves_. No reason why they should ever be associated with Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Smith. Do you much mind all these complications?" "Not if they're necessary to save you from danger," the girl answered. "By Jove, you're a trump! But I haven't come to the _big_ favour yet. Now for it! When I write my real name in the register, I don't want you to look. Is that the one thing too much?" Annesley tried not to flinch under his eyes. Yet--he had put her to a severe test. Last night, when he said that it would be better for her not to know his name, she had quietly agreed. But there was the widest difference between then and now. At that time they had been strangers flung together by a wave of fate which, it seemed, might tear them apart at any instant. In a few hours all was changed. They belonged to each other. This man's name would be her name, yet he wished her to be ignorant of it! If the girl had not thought of him truly as her knight, if she had not been determined to trust him, the "big favour" would indeed have been too big. Despite her trust, and the romantic, new-born love in her heart, she was unable to answer for a moment. Her breath was snatched away; but as she struggled to regain it and to speak, a bleak picture of the future without him rose before her eyes. She couldn't give him up, and go on living, after the glimpse he had shown her of what life might be! "No, it's not too much," she said, slowly. "It's only part of the trust I've promised to--my knight." He gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you--and my lucky star for the prize you are!" he exclaimed. Some men would have offered their thanks to God, or to "Heaven." Annesley noticed that he praised his "star."