Yet if you
insist upon an answer to that question you make of me an enemy; if
you breathe that name to Jeanne, you turn her away from you
forever."
Without another word he left the tent.
For many minutes Philip sat motionless where Pierre had left him.
The earth seemed suddenly to have dropped from under his feet,
leaving him in an illimitable chaos of mind. Gregson had deserted
him, with almost no word of explanation, and he would have staked
his life upon Gregson's loyalty. Under other circumstances his
unaccountable action would have been a serious blow. But now it
was overshadowed by the mysterious change that had come over
Jeanne. A few hours before she had been happy, laughing and
singing as they drew nearer to Fort o' God; each hour had added to
the brightness of her eyes, the gladness in her voice. The change
had come with Pierre. and at the bottom of it all was Lord
Fitzhugh Lee. Pierre had warned him not to mention Lord Fitzhugh's
name to Jeanne, and yet only a short time before he had spoken the
name boldly before Jeanne, and she had betrayed no sign of
recognition or of fear. More than that, she had assured him that
she had never heard the name before, that it was not known at Fort
o' God.
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