I would gladly have stood there forever, triumphant in the
dark, with Miss Falconer's soft, warm fingers trembling a little, but
lying in contented, almost cosy, fashion under mine. Had there ever been
such a girl, at once so sweet and so daring? To think how she had waited
for me all through that battle below!
A little breathless murmur came to me through the darkness.
"Oh, Mr. Bayne! You were so wonderful! How am I ever going to thank
you?" was what it said.
"You needn't. Let me thank you for letting me in on it!" I exulted
happily. "I give you my word, I haven't enjoyed anything so much in
years. It was all a hallucination, of course; but it was jolly while it
lasted. I was only worried every instant for fear the hall and the men
would vanish, like an Arabian Nights' palace or the Great Horn Spoon or
Aladdin's jinn!"
Very gently she withdrew her fingers, and my mood toppled ludicrously.
Why had I been rejoicing? We were in the deuce of a mess! So far I had
simply won a half hour's respite to be followed by the deluge; for if
Blenheim had been ruthless before, what were his probable intentions
now?
"We have lost our candle in the fracas," I muttered lamely.
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