oud and angrily. When the stranger was gone,
and Count Henry had gone out, Mr. Pierre came and told me what he had
heard in the ante-chamber.

"And then, Sir, I heard that the stranger had come all this way from
England only to take his sister from us. And do you know what made him
come? That duel with the English Lord was at the bottom of it all. It
had appeared in the papers, and had been the talk in London for a day
or two, and many of my master's old adventures and love affairs had
been raked up again; so this brother had had no peace for thinking of
it, and at last he had started off, travelling day and night, meaning
to fetch his sister away at once, and take her with him just as she
stood, without stopping one moment longer.

"'Mon cher,' had my master said; 'let me tell you that you are acting
like a fool, to your own damage. I need not trouble myself to discuss
with you what is likely to prove more injurious to your sister, my
chastising a man who had insulted her, or your coming here to fetch her
away, at a moment's notice, from a home where she is perfectly secure
in the respect of all who know her, to take her to a strange place
where there are numbers of such lords, who are not often likely to be
so kind as to let you shoot them; but, as I said before, that is your
own affair. Mine is, to see that your sister's liberty be respected,
for she is of age; further, that the legal term of warning be observed.
I am not prepared to dismiss my servants at a day's notice, just as
they may think fit.'

"The young man had found a thousand reasons to oppose to this, speaking
in an abrupt business-like way, and suffering himself to be so far
carried away as at last to offer a sum of money for the rupture of the
contract. And then my master had turned his back upon him, and gone
out, leaving the bold man standing, who, after some consideration, had
hurried away, and left the castle for the next town; probably to
consult the burgher-master as to the lengths the law would let him go
in his attempts to force the count to give up his sister.

"With all these things buzzing in my head, I felt crosser than ever
with Mr. Pierre, and had no ears for his stale jokes. I wanted to ask
Gabrielle herself what she wished to do; for, after all, that was the
chief thing to be considered. So I went over to her room, to wait till
she came back. It was all just as it used to be--the gilding on the
mirrors and picture-frames, and on the