As waS said, perhaps a month passed; then Myles's visits came toan abrupt termination, and with it ended, in a certain sense, of his life.
One Saturday afternoon he climbed the garden wall, and skirtingbehind a long row of rosebushes that screened him from theCountess's terrace, came to a little summer-house where the twoyoung ladies had appointed to meet him that day.
A pleasant half-hour or so was passed, and then it was time forMyles to go. He lingered for a while before he took his finalleave, leaning against the door-post, and laughingly telling howhe and some of his brother squires had made a figure of strawdressed in men's clothes, and had played a trick with it onenight upon a watchman against whom they bore a grudge.
The young ladies were listening with laughing faces, whensuddenly, as Myles looked, he saw the smile vanish from LadyAlice's eyes and a wide terror take its place. She gave ahalf-articulate cry, and rose abruptly from the bench upon whichshe was sitting.
Myles turned sharply, and then his very heart seemed to standstill within him; for there, standing in the broad sunlightwithout, and glaring in upon the party with baleful eyes, was theEarl of Mackworth himself.
How long was the breathless silence that followed, Myles couldnever tell. He knew that the Lady Anne had also risen, and thatshe and her cousin were standing as still as statues. Presentlythe Earl pointed to the house with his staff, and Myles notedstupidly how it trembled in his hand.
"Ye wenches," said he at last, in a hard, harsh voice--"yewenches, what meaneth this? Would ye deceive me so, and holdparlance thus secretly with this fellow? I will settle with himanon. Meantime get ye straightway to the house and to your rooms,and there abide until I give ye leave to come forth again. Go, Isay!"
"Father," said Lady Anne, in a breathless voice --she was aswhite as death, and moistened her lips with her tongue before shespoke--"father, thou wilt not do harm to this young man. Sparehim, I do beseech thee, for truly it was I who bade him comehither. I know that he would not have come but at our bidding."The Earl stamped his foot upon the gravel. "Did ye not hear me?"said he, still pointing towards the house with his tremblingstaff. "I bade ye go to your rooms. I will settle with thisfellow, I say, as I deem fitting.""Father," began Lady Anne again; but the Earl made such a savagegesture that poor Lady Alice uttered a faint shriek, and LadyAnne stopped abruptly, trembling. Then she turned and passed outthe farther door of the summerhouse, poor little Lady Alicefollowing, holding her tight by the skirts, and trembling andshuddering as though with a fit of the ague.
The Earl stood looking grimly after them from under his shaggyeyebrows, until they passed away behind the yew-trees, appearedagain upon the terrace behind, entered the open doors of thewomen's house, and were gone. Myles heard their footsteps growingfainter and fainter, but he never raised his eyes. Upon theground at his feet were four pebbles, and he noticed how theyalmost made a square, and would do so if he pushed one of themwith his toe, and then it seemed strange to him that he shouldthink of such a little foolish thing at that dreadful time.
He knew that the Earl was looking gloomily at him, and that hisface must be very pale. Suddenly Lord Mackworth spoke. "What hastthou to say?" said he, harshly.
Then Myles raised his eyes, and the Earl smiled grimly as helooked his victim over. "I have naught to say," said the lad,huskily.
"Didst thou not hear what my daughter spake but now?" said theEarl. "She said that thou came not of thy own free-will; whatsayst thou to that, sirrah--is it true?"Myles hesitated for a moment or two; his throat was tight anddry. "Nay," said he at last, "she belieth herself. It was I whofirst came into the garden. I fell by chance from the treeyonder--I was seeking a ball--then I asked those two if I mightnot come hither again, and so have done some several times inall. But as for her--nay; it was not at her bidding that I came,but through mine own asking."The Earl gave a little grunt in his throat. "And how often hastthou been here?" said he, presently.
Myles thought a moment or two. "This maketh the seventh time,"said he.
