she at once agreed to trust the Colonel, although she had never laid eyes on him before.
"I think," she said, after a slight pause, "that I shall be compelled to accept of your kindness as frankly as you offer it. I will say at once, that as I have come to demand an act of justice from Mr. Romaine, he may not make any effort toward seeing me—and as he may do me that act of justice, I must ask you to trust me for that. But the sooner I see him the better. If, therefore, you would drive me at once to his château—house—I could in a few moments discern his intentions. The boat, I understand, passes here daily before the sun rises—and I could leave to-morrow morning."
The simplicity and directness of Madame de Fonblanque's language prepossessed the Colonel still more in her favor. But at the proposition to go to Shrewsbury he winced a little. However, there was no help for it—he had offered to befriend her, and he stood unflinchingly to his word.
"Then, madam," said the Colonel, bowing, "it shall be my privilege to drive you to Shrewsbury, Mr. Romaine's residence—and from there to my own place, where my sister
