"
Whereupon Barlasch made a gesture conveying a desire to think as
kindly of Antoine Sebastian as he could.
"In half an hour," he said, "when it is dark, will you come for a
walk with me along the Langfuhr road--where the unfinished ramparts
are?"
Desiree looked at him and hesitated.
"Oh--good--if you are afraid--" said Barlasch.
"I am not afraid--I will come," she answered quickly.
The snow was hard when they set out, and squeaked under their feet,
as it does with a low thermometer.
"We shall leave no tracks," said Barlasch, as he led the way off the
Langfuhr road towards the river. There was broken ground here,
where earthworks had been begun and never completed. The trees had
been partly cut, and beneath the snow were square mounds showing
where the timber had been piled up. But since the departure of
Rapp, all had been left incomplete.
Barlasch turned towards Desiree and pointed out a rising knoll of
land with fir-trees on it--an outline against the sky where a faint
aurora borealis lit the north. She understood that Louis was
waiting there, and must necessarily see them approaching across the
untrodden snow. For an instant she lingered, and Barlasch turning,
glanced at her sharply over his shoulder. She had come against her
will, and her companion knew it. Her feet were heavy with
misgiving, like the feet of one who treads an uncertain road into a
strange country. She had been afraid of Louis d'Arragon when she
first caught sight of him in the Frauengasse.
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