you. I have come to ask you now, in this
moment of despair, will you keep your promise?'

I lifted my face to his. He bent over it trembling. I whispered the
words in his ear. 'Yes, Harold, I will keep it. I have always loved you.
And now I will marry you.'

'I knew you would!' he cried, and pressed me to his bosom.

We sat for some minutes, holding each other's hands, and saying nothing;
we were too full of thought for words. Then suddenly, Harold roused
himself. 'We must make haste, darling,' he cried. 'We are keeping Partab
outside, and every minute is precious, every minute's delay dangerous.
We ought to go down at once. Partab's carriage is waiting at the door
for us.'

'Go down?' I exclaimed, clinging to him. 'How? Why? I don't understand.
What is your programme?'

'Ah, I forgot I hadn't explained to you! Listen here, dearest--quick; I
can waste no words over it. I said just now I had no friends in the
world but you and Georgey. That's not true, for dear old Partab has
stuck to me nobly. When all my English friends fell away, the Rajput
was true to me. He arranged all this; it was his own idea; he foresaw
what was coming. He urged me yesterday, just before the verdict (when he
saw my acquaintances beginning to look askance), to slip quietly out of
court, and make my way by unobtrusive roads to his house in Curzon
Street. There, he darkened my face like his, and converted me to
Hinduism. I don't suppose the disguise will serve me for more than a day
or two; but it will last long enough for us to get safely away to
Scotland.'

'Scotland?' I murmured. 'Then you mean to try a Scotch marriage?'

'It is the only thing possible. We must be married to-day, and in
England, of course, we cannot do it. We would have to be called in
church, or else to procure a license, either of which would involve
disclosure of my identity. Besides, even the license would keep us
waiting about for a day or two. In Scotland, on the other hand, we can
be married at once. Partab's carriage is below, to take you to King's
Cross. He is staunch as steel, dear fellow. Do you consent to go with
me?'

My faculty for promptly making up such mind as I possess stood me once
more in good stead. 'Implicitly,' I answered. 'Dear Harold, this
calamity has its happy side--for without it, much as I love you, I could
never have brought myself to marry you!'

'One moment,' he cried. 'Before you go, recollect, this step is
irrevocable. You will marry