er.

"I have been chosen Burgess for this hundred," I said abruptly. "The
Assembly meets next week. I must be in Jamestown then and for some time
to come."

She took the fan from the negress, and waved it lazily to and fro. "When
do we go?" she asked at last.

"We!" I answered. "I had thought to go alone."

The fan dropped to the floor, and her eyes opened wide. "And leave me
here!" she exclaimed. "Leave me in these woods, at the mercy of Indians,
wolves, and your rabble of servants!"

I smiled. "We are at peace with the Indians; it would be a stout wolf
that could leap this palisade; and the servants know their master too
well to care to offend their mistress. Moreover, I would leave Diccon in
charge."

"Diccon!" she cried. "The old woman in the kitchen hath told me tales of
Diccon! Diccon Bravo! Diccon Gamester! Diccon Cutthroat!"

"Granted," I said. "But Diccon Faithful as well. I can trust him."

"But I do not trust him!" she retorted. "And I wish to go to Jamestown.
This forest wearies me." Her tone was imperious.

"I must think it over," I said coolly. "I may take you, or I may not. I
cannot tell yet."

"But I desire to go, sir!"

"And I may desire you to stay."

"You are a churl!"

I bowed. "I am the man of your choice, madam."

She rose with a stamp of her foot, and, turning her back upon me, took
a flower from the table and commenced to pull from it its petals. I
unsheathed my sword, and, seating myself, began to polish away a speck
of rust upon the blade. Ten minutes later I looked up from the task,
to receive full in my face a red rose tossed from the other side of the
room. The missile was followed by an enchanting burst of laughter.

"We cannot afford to quarrel, can we?" cried Mistress Jocelyn Percy.
"Life is sad enough in this solitude without that. Nothing but trees and
water all day long, and not a soul to speak to! And I am horribly afraid
of the Indians! What if they were to kill me while you were away? You
know you swore before the minister to protect me. You won't leave me to
the mercies of the savages, will you? And I may go to Jamestown, may n't
I? I want to go to church. I want to go to the Governor's house. I want
to buy a many things. I have gold in plenty, and but this one decent
dress. You'll take me with you, won't you?"

"There's not your like in Virginia," I told her. "If you go to town clad
like that and with that bearing, there will be talk enough. And ships
come and