he feared her and dreaded the Duke's
indignation.

'Mademoiselle de Graevenitz,' he said hesitatingly, 'I must obey; believe
me, I do not understand----'

'Nor need you,' answered Wilhelmine haughtily; 'I am ready to follow you.
Your Highness,' and she bent in the usual courtesy; but the poor Duchess
could not see it, for she had hidden her face in her hands, and, with
convulsive sobs, she wept in a painful reaction of weakness after her
outburst of passionate decision.

* * * * *

Wilhelmine found herself standing beyond the moat, with the iron gate
leading to the castle courtyard grimly closed upon her. It was a
perplexing moment; she knew not whither she might seek shelter, and she
wished to avoid scandal as far as possible. The Duke had gone to Urach to
inspect the coverts for the autumn hunting, and he would not return for
several days. Madame de Ruth was in the castle, unconscious of the
stirring events of the morning. Stafforth had accompanied the Duke, and
she knew Madame de Stafforth would not receive her if she made known the
cause of her departure from the castle. She realised, with dismay, that
when she went to the Duchess she had, naturally, not taken money with
her, so that she could not even seek the shelter of an inn. It was an
awkward predicament, and yet so ridiculous to this woman, certain of the
Duke-ruler's homage, that she laughed gently to herself as she walked
slowly away through the castle gardens towards the town. The air was
still and heavy, and the sound of cries and traffic from the market-place
came to her distinctly. To her right lay the Duke's Jaegerhaus and the
kennels, from whence came an occasional bark from some of Eberhard
Ludwig's numerous hounds.

Where should she go? The question was becoming urgent, for the heat of
midday approached and already her head ached dully. She walked on, hardly
noticing that she had passed beyond the garden gate, and it was with a
start that she suddenly realised she had wandered to an unfamiliar part
of the town. She was in a narrow street, where the overhanging higher
stories of the houses approached each other so closely that the sky
between them seemed to be but a distant blue streak. Instinctively she
had turned into this shaded gangway to escape from the burning sun. To
her horror she felt a curious weakness creeping over her, a booming
sounded in her ears, and the veins of her throat seemed to have swelled
as