se. But
whither was it leading her? She was a married woman, with her shackles
heavy upon her. Yet she walked that night with a stranger, as one who
owned her freedom. The silence between them was intimate and wonderful,
the silence which only kindred spirits can ever know. It possessed her
magically, making her past life seem dim and shadowy, and the present
only real.

And yet she knew that she was not free. She trespassed on forbidden
ground. She tasted the forbidden fruit, and found it tragically sweet.

Suddenly and softly he spoke:

"Does the magic begin to work?"

She started and tried to stop. Surely it were wiser to go back while she
had the will! But he drew her forward still. The mist overhead was
faintly silver. The moon was rising.

"We will go to the heart of the tangle," he said. "There is nothing to
fear. The lion himself could not frighten you here."

Again she yielded to him. There was a suspicion of raillery in his voice
that strangely reassured her. The grasp of his hand was very close.

"We are in the maze," she said at last, breaking her silence. "Are you
sure of the way?"

He answered her instantly with complete self-assurance.

"Like the heart of a woman, it's hard, that it is, to find. But I think
I have the key. And if not, by the saints, I'm near enough now to break
through."

The words thrilled her inexplicably. Truly the magic was swift and
potent. A few more steps, and she was aware of a widening of the hedge.
They were emerging into the centre of the maze.

"Ah," said the jester, "I thought I should win through!"

He led her forward into the shadow of a great tree. The mist was passing
very slowly from the sky. By the silvery light that filtered down from
the hidden moon Naomi made out the strong outline of his shoulders as he
stood before her, and the vague darkness of his mask.

She put up her free hand and removed her own. The breeze had died down.
The atmosphere was hushed and airless.

"Do you know the way back?" she asked him, in a voice that sounded
unnatural even to herself.

"Do you want to go back, then?" he queried keenly.

There was something in his tone--a subtle something that she had not
detected before. She began to tremble. For the first time, actual fear
took hold of her.

"You must know the way back!" she exclaimed. "This is folly! They will
be wondering where we are."

"Faith, Lady Una! It is the fool's paradise," he told her coolly. "They
will n