Indeed, once outside the cove he could take to the land until he
was abreast of the ship. Never doubt he will have done his errand."
She sat down, her glance avoiding his; but the light falling on her face
showed him the traces there of recent tears.
"There will be fighting when Sir John arrives?" she asked him presently.
"Like enough. But what can it avail? We shall be caught--as was said
to-day--in just such a trap as that in which Andrea Doria caught Dragut
at Jerba, saving that whilst the wily Dragut found a way out for his
galleys, here none is possible. Courage, then, for the hour of your
deliverance is surely at hand."
He paused, and then in a softer voice, humbly almost, "It is my prayer,"
he added, "that hereafter in a happy future these last few weeks shall
come to seem no more than an evil dream to you."
To that prayer she offered no response. She sat bemused, her brow
wrinkled.
"I would it might be done without fighting," she said presently, and
sighed wearily.
"You need have no fear," he assured her. "I shall take all precautions
for you. You shall remain here until all is over and the entrance will
be guarded by a few whom I can trust."
"You mistake me," she replied, and looked up at him suddenly. "Do you
suppose my fears are for myself?" She paused again, and then abruptly
asked him, "What will befall you?"
"I thank you for the thought," he replied gravely.
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