I obeyed her at once. We were quite out of sight now, in the quietest corner of the ship.
"Mr. Greatson," she said, "you will think that I am a very strange girl. I am going to be married in a few months to a man I do not care for one little bit, and it seems to me that that will be the end of my life. I want you to marry Isobel, and I hope you will both be very happy--and--will you please kiss me once? I am Isobel's cousin, you know."
I leaned forward and touched her lips. Then I grasped her hands warmly.
"You are very, very kind," I said gratefully, "and you can't think how much happier you have made me feel. If only--you were not a Princess!"
She flitted away into the darkness with a little broken laugh. She passed me half an hour later in the Customs' house with a languid impassive stare which even her mother could not have excelled.
"What have you been doing to yourself?" he exclaimed. "Is the fresh air so wonderful a tonic, or have you been asleep and dreaming of Paradise?"
"The sea air was well enough," I answered, "but I have been having a most interesting conversation."
Then I told him of my conversation with Isobel's cousin, excepting the last episode. His gratification was scarcely equal to mine. He was a little thoughtful for some time afterwards. I am sure he felt that I had been indiscreet.
"The Princess Adelaide," I said, "will not betray us. I am sure of that. She will tell her mother nothing."
"These Waldenburgs," he answered gravely, "are a crafty race. It is in their blood. They cannot help it."
"Isobel is a Waldenburg," I reminded him.
"She is her mother's daughter," he said. "There is always one alien temperament in a family."
"We shall soon know," he said, "whether this young lady is honest or not. A man will meet us at Paris with an exact record of the doings of the Archduchess and her party. We shall know then where Isobel is. If the address is the same as that given you by the Princess Adelaide, I will believe in her."
"But not till then?" I remarked, smiling.
Before we left Calais, Feurgéres sent more telegrams, and for an hour afterwards he sat opposite to me with wide-open eyes, seeing nothing, as was very evident, save the images created by his own thoughts. As we reached Amiens, however, he spoke to me.