Peter Sanghurst may have been before
me, and may have told his own false version of the tale ere I may have
speech with King or Prince. I know not what to do -- to stay beside
Raymond, or to hasten to England ere time be farther flown. Holy Father,
wilt thou not counsel me? I feel that every day lost is a day lived in
vain, ere I be revenged upon Raymond's cruel foes!"

The youth's eyes flashed. He clenched his hands, and his teeth set
themselves fast together. He felt like an eagle caged, behind these
protecting walls. For his brother's sake he was right glad of the
friendly shelter; but for himself he was pining to be free.

And yet how was he to leave that dearly-loved brother, whose eyes
followed him so wistfully from place to place, who brightened up into
momentary life when he entered the room, and took so little heed of what
passed about him, unless roused by Gaston's touch or voice? Raymond had
been very, very near to the gates of death since he had been brought
into the Monastery, and even now, so prostrated was he by the long
attack of intermittent fever which had followed his wonderful escape
from Saut, that those about him scarce knew how the balance would turn.
The fever, which had at first run high and had been hard to subdue, had
now taken another turn, and only recurred at intervals of a few days;
but the patient was so fearfully exhausted by all he had undergone that
he seemed to have no strength to rally. He would lie in a sort of trance
of weakness when the fever was not upon him, scarce seeming to breathe
unless he was roused to wakefulness by some word or caress from Gaston;
whilst on the days when the fever returned, he would lie muttering
indistinctly to himself, sometimes breaking forth into eager rapid
speech difficult to follow, and often trying to rise and go forth upon
some errand, no one knew what, and struggling hard with those who held
him back.

Father Paul had watched over the first stages of the illness with the
utmost care and tenderness, after which his duties called him away, and
he had only returned some three days since. The long hot summer in
Bordeaux had been a very trying one for the patient, whose state
prohibited any attempt at removal to a cooler, fresher air. But as
August was merging into September, and the days were growing shorter and
the heat something less oppressive, it was hoped that there might be a
favourable change in the patient's state; and much was looked for