----"

"At first," said Priscilla, "we fancied you might be spies, German
spies. Afterwards we found out you weren't. That often happens you know.
Just as you think you're perfectly certain you're right, it turns out
that you're quite wrong."

"Then you really were pursuing us," said Lady Isabel. "I always said you
were, didn't I, Barnabas?"

"Is Lord Torrington here?" said Mr. Pennefather.

"Not exactly here," said Priscilla, "at least not yet But he will be
soon. When we left home this morning he was fully bent on hunting you
down and I rather think the police sergeant must have given him the tip
about where you are."

"The police!" said Mr. Pennefather.

"I don't so much mind if it's only father," said Lady Isabel.

"You may not," said Priscilla. "But I expect Mr. Pennefather will. Lord
Torrington is very fierce. In his rage and fury he sprained Frank's
ankle. He might have broken it. In fact, the railway guard thought he
had. I don't know what he'll do to you when he catches you."

"Does he know we're married," said Mr. Pennefather.

"Is mother with him?" said Lady Isabel.

"She is," said Priscilla. "But it's all right. Aunt Juliet will keep her
in play. You can count on Aunt Juliet until she finds out that you're
married--after that------ But it will be all right. We have come to conduct
you to a place of safety."

"An inviolable sanctuary," said Miss Rutherford. "But we shall all have
colds in the head before we get there if we don't do something to dry
ourselves."

"Barnabas," said Lady Isabel, "do go and change your clothes. He fell
into the sea the other day, and he is so liable to take cold."

"We saw him," said Priscilla. "Go and change your clothes, Mr.
Pennefather. By the time you've done that Jimmy Kinsella will have
arrived and you can be oflf at once with Miss Rutherford. The sooner
we're all out of this the better. Though Lord Torrington doesn't look
like a man who would come out in a thunder storm even to catch his
daughter."

"Your black suit is in the hold-all in my tent," said Lady Isabel.

The Reverend Barnabas Pennefather disappeared into the tent which was
still standing. Priscilla looked around her cheerfully.

"It's clearing up," she said. "There's quite a lot of blue sky to be
seen over Rosnacree. We'll all dry soon."

She gathered the bottom of her skirt tight into her hands and wrung the
water out of it.

"Where are you going to take him to?" she said to Miss Rutherfor