M. de
Montcalm, and you shall rue this day beyond any you have ever lived.
I will appeal to your mother--"

"O, la, la, la, my charming little Mme. Je-Ne-Sais-Quoi, you can
complain to M. de Montcalm when you see him. As for my mother, I
hardly imagine you will dare to tell her anything which will not
excuse my action. But come, madame, we are not getting on with
our conversation at all. Believe me, I am not a bad fellow at
bottom. Tell me who it is you are really going to meet in Louisbourg,
and we shall see if it be not possible to further your plans."

"Let me go, M. de Sarennes, let me go!" I implored.

"Now, madame, let us talk sensibly. Consider how awkward it may be
if I have to pursue these inquiries before others. In any event,
I can guess fairly well. Let us see: Madame is an Englishwoman;
is well born, wealthy, and, if she will not resent my saying so,
is of a certain age. Good! Monsieur is an Englishman; well born,
poor, and also of a suitable age. Good! Monsieur is unfortunate in
his present position; is practically in exile. Madame comes overseas
alone, save for a chance waiting-woman she picks up. Why? Surely
not for the delights of travel. Monsieur's name is Le Chevalier
Maxwell de Kirkconnel. Madame's name is--Ma foi! I haven't the
slightest idea what it is. There! madame, have I not drawn the
outline of the comedy cleverly enough, for a mere coureur de bois,
a mere Canadian?"

"Let me go, monsieur, let me go!"

"Tell me first, are you not Madame de Maxwell?"

"Yes, yes," I cried, in desperation, eager to seize any chance of
escape.

"Then, madame, believe me, you were very foolish not to say so at
once. I guessed it the very first night I saw you. Now I know the
Chevalier intimately; in fact, I am under obligation to him for
much good advice; but I will confess he has never seen fit to impart
to me the fact of his marriage, which will be a surprise to many."

"O, monsieur, I beg of you that you will never mention it," I cried,
in an agony of shame and self-reproach.

"Never, madame; believe me, it was too disappointing a piece of
news in my own case, for me to have any desire to place others in
the like unhappy position. But allow me first to apologise for
frightening you; pardon me that I cannot look upon it as an insult;
and now that I have made the amende honorable, I will go back and
answer your first question. I shall start for Quebec in two days;
I shall be back in a week, and then l