It is not mere idle curiosity, my child, but something far, far above
such idle folly." "Wait for me a minute, Aunt Janet," she said, as she rose up; "I shall
not be long." Then she left the room. In a very few minutes she was back. Her appearance might have frightened
some people, for she was clad only in a shroud. Her feet were bare, and
she walked across the room with the gait of an empress, and stood before
me with her eyes modestly cast down. But when presently she looked up
and caught my eyes, a smile rippled over her face. She threw herself
once more before me on her knees, and embraced me as she said:

"I was afraid I might frighten you, dear." I knew I could truthfully
reassure her as to that, so I proceeded to do so:

"Do not worry yourself, my dear. I am not by nature timid. I come of a
fighting stock which has sent out heroes, and I belong to a family
wherein is the gift of Second Sight. Why should we fear? We know! Moreover, I saw you in that dress before. Teuta, I saw you and Rupert
married!" This time she herself it was that seemed disconcerted. "Saw us married! How on earth did you manage to be there?" "I was not there. My Seeing was long before! Tell me, dear, what day,
or rather what night, was it that you first saw Rupert?" She answered
sadly:

"I do not know. Alas! I lost count of the days as I lay in the tomb in
that dreary Crypt." "Was your--your clothing wet that night?" I asked. "Yes. I had to leave the Crypt, for a great flood was out, and the
church was flooded. I had to seek help--warmth--for I feared I might
die. Oh, I was not, as I have told you, afraid of death. But I had
undertaken a terrible task to which I had pledged myself. It was for my
father's sake, and the sake of the Land, and I felt that it was a part of
my duty to live. And so I lived on, when death would have been relief. It was to tell you all about this that I came to your room to-day. But
how did you see me--us--married?" "Ah, my child!" I answered, "that was before the marriage took place. The morn after the night that you came in the wet, when, having been
troubled in uncanny dreaming, I came to see if Rupert was a'richt, I lost
remembrance o' my dreaming, for the floor was all wet, and that took off
my attention. But later, the morn after Rupert used his fire in his room
for the first time, I told him what I had dreamt; for, lassie, my dear, I
saw ye as bride at that weddin' in fine lace o'er yer shrood, and
orange-flowers and ithers in yer black hair; an' I saw the stars in yer
bonny een--the een I love. But oh, my dear, when I saw the shrood, and
kent what it might mean, I expeckit to see the worms crawl round yer
feet. But do ye ask yer man to tell ye what I tell't him that morn. 'Twill interest ye to know how the hairt o' men can learn by dreams. Has
he ever tellt ye aught o' this?" "No, dear," she said simply. "I think that perhaps he was afraid that
one or other of us, if not both, might be upset by it if he did. You
see, he did not tell you anything at all of our meeting, though I am sure
that he will be glad when he knows that we both know all about it, and
have told each other everything." That was very sweet of her, and very thoughtful in all ways, so I said
that which I thought would please her best--that is, the truth:

"Ah, lassie, that is what a wife should be--what a wife should do. Rupert is blessed and happy to have his heart in your keeping." I knew from the added warmth of her kiss what I had said had pleased her. _Letter from Ernest Roger Halbard Melton_, _Humcroft_, _Salop_, _to
Rupert Sent Leger_, _Vissarion_, _Land of the Blue Mountains_. _July_ 29, 1907. MY DEAR COUSIN RUPERT,

    We have heard such glowing accounts of Vissarion that I am coming out
    to see you. As you are yourself now a landowner, you will understand
    that my coming is not altogether a pleasure. Indeed, it is a duty
    first. When my father dies I shall be head of the family--the family
    of which Uncle Roger, to whom we were related, was a member. It is
    therefore meet and fitting that I should know something of our family
    branches and of their Seats. I am not giving you time for much
    warning, so am coming on immediately--in fact, I shall arrive almost
    as soon as this letter. But I want to catch you in the middle of
    your tricks. I hear that the Blue Mountaineer girls are peaches, so
    don't send them _all_ away when you hear I'm coming! Do send a yacht up to Fiume to meet me. I hear you have all sorts of
    craft at Vissarion. The MacSkelpie, I hear, said you received her as
    a Queen; so I hope you will do the decent by one of your own flesh
    and blood, and the future Head of the House at that. I shan't bring
    much of a retinue with me. _I_ wasn't made a billionaire by old
    Roger, so can only take my modest "man Friday"--whose name is
    Jenkinson, and a Cockney at that. So don't have too much gold lace
    and diamond-hilted scimitars about, like a good chap, or else he'll
    want the very worst--his wyges ryzed. That old image Rooke that came
    over for Miss McS., and whom by chance I saw at the attorney man's,
    might pilot me down from Fiume. The old
    gentleman-by-Act-of-Parliament Mr. Bingham Trent (I suppose he has
    hyphened it by this time) told me that Miss McS. said he "did her
    proud" when she went over under his charge. I shall be at Fiume on
    the evening of Wednesday, and shall stay at the Europa, which is, I
    am told, the least indecent hotel in the place. So you know where to
    find me, or any of your attendant demons can know, in case I am to
    suffer "substituted service." Your affectionate Cousin,
                                              ERNEST ROGER HALBARD MELTON. _Letter from Admiral Rooke to the Gospodar Rupert_. _August_ 1, 1907. SIR,

    In obedience to your explicit direction that I should meet Mr. Ernest
    R. H. Melton at Fiume, and report to you exactly what occurred,
    "without keeping anything back,"--as you will remember you said, I
    beg to report. I brought the steam-yacht _Trent_ to Fiume, arriving there on the
    morning of Thursday. At 11.30 p.m. I went to meet the train from
    St. Peter, due 11.40. It was something late, arriving just as the
    clock was beginning to strike midnight. Mr. Melton was on board, and
    with him his valet Jenkinson. I am bound to say that he did not seem
    very pleased with his journey, and expressed much disappointment at
    not seeing Your Honour awaiting him. I explained, as you directed,
    that you had to attend with the Voivode Vissarion and the Vladika the
    National Council, which met at Plazac, or that otherwise you would
    have done yourself the pleasure of coming to meet him. I had, of
    course, reserved rooms (the Prince of Wales's suite), for him at the
    Re d'Ungheria, and had waiting the carriage which the proprietor had
    provided for the Prince of Wales when he stayed there.