faithfully he had lived up to
his bargain! He had given her every tittle of the freedom she had
craved. In all things he had sought her wishes, asking nothing for
himself. It was she who gave the order for starting every morning, for
stopping at night. She chose this inn or that, as pleased her fancy.
She talked when she wished to talk, and remained silent when she
preferred. If, instead of coming to Nice and Etois, she had expressed
a desire to turn in some other direction, she knew he would merely have
nodded.

It was all one to him. East, west, north, or south--what was the odds?
Married or single--what was the odds?

So she also should have felt. With this big man by her side to guard
her and do her will, she should have been able to abandon herself
utterly to the delights of each passing hour--to the magic of the fairy
kingdom he had made for her. It was all she had asked for, and that
much it was her right to accept, if he chose to give it. She was
cheating no one. Monte himself would have been the first to admit
that. Therefore she should have been quite at peace with herself.

The fact remained, however, that each day since they had left Paris she
had found herself more and more at the mercy of strange moods;
sometimes an unusual and inexplicable exhilaration, such as that moment
last night when Monte had turned and seized her arm; sometimes an
unnatural depression, like that which now oppressed her. These had
been only intervals, to be sure. The hours between had been all she
had looked forward to--warm, basking hours of lazy content.

To-night she had been longer than ever before in recovering her
balance. She had expected to undress, go to bed, and so to sleep.
Perhaps it was the sight of Monte pacing up and down there alone that
prolonged her mood. Yet, not to see him, all that was necessary was to
close her eyes or to turn the other way. It should have been easy to
do this. Only it was not. She followed him back and forth. In some
ways, a bride could not have acted more absurdly.

At the thought she withdrew from the window in startled confusion.
Standing in the middle of the room, she stared about as if challenged
as to her right there by some unseen visitor. This would never do.
She was too much alone. She must go to Monte. He would set her right,
because he understood. She would take his arm, his strong, steady arm,
and walk a little way with him and laugh with him. That was