第11章
“Hadn’tIbetterfetchadoctor，sir？“heasked。“I’mafraidhe’shurt。“
“Nothe！“Horseransweredcontemptuously。“He’scuthischeekalittle，that’sall。Puthimtobed。SayIshallberoundagainbynineo’clock。“
Horserputonhiscoatandleftthehouse。Themorningsunlightwasfloodingthestreets。AwaydowntownMr。Sabinwasdozinginhishigh-backedchair。
Felix，afteranuneventfulvoyage，landeddulyatLiverpool。TohisamazementthefirstpersonhesawuponthequaywasMr。Sabin，leaninguponhisstickandsmokingacigarette。
“Come，come，Felix！“heexclaimed。“Don’tlookatmeasthoughI
wereaghost。Youhaveverylittleconfidenceinme，afterall，I
see。“
“But-howdidyougethere？“
“TheCampania，ofcourse。Ihadplentyoftime。Itwaseasyenoughforthosefellowstoarrestme，buttheyneverhadachanceofholdingme。“
“Buthowdidyougetawayintime？“
Mr。Sabinsighed。
“Itwasverysimple，“hesaid。“Oneday，whileoneofthosewonderfulspieswassleepingonmydoormatIslippedawayandwentovertoWashington，sawtheEnglishAmbassador，convincedhimofmybonafides，toldhimverynearlythewholetruth。HepromisedifI
wiredhimthatIwasarrestedtotakemycaseupatonce。Yousentthedespatch，andhekepthisword。IbreakfastedonSaturdaymorningattheWaldorf，andthoughagreatdraywasdrivenintomycarriageonthewaytotheboat，Iescaped，asIalwaysdo-andhereIam。“
“Unhurt！“Felixremarkedwithasmile，“asusual！“
Mr。Sabinnodded。
“Thedriverofmycarriagewaskilled，andDusonhadhisarmbroken，“
hesaid。“Isteppedoutofthedebriswithoutascratch。ComeintotheCustomsHousenowandgetyourbaggagethrough。Ihavetakenacoupeonthespecialtrainandorderedlunch。“
BeforelongtheywereonthewaytoLondon。Mr。Sabin，whilstluncheonwasbeingserved，talkedonlyofthelightestmatters。
Butafterwards，whencoffeewasservedandbehadlitacigarette，heleanedovertowardsFelix。
“Felix，“hesaid，“yoursisterisdeartoyou？“
“Sheistheonlycreatureonearth，“Felixsaid，“whomIcarefor。
Sheisverydeartome，indeed。“
“AmIright，“Mr。Sabinasked，“inassumingthattheoldenmitybetweenusisdead，thatthelastfewyearshaswipedawaytheoldsoreness“Yes，“Felixanswered。“Iknowthatshewashappywithyou。Thatisenoughforme。“
“YouandI，“Mr。Sabincontinued，“mustworkouthersalvation。DonotbeafraidthatIamgoingtoaskyouimpossibilities。Iknowthatourwaysmustlieapart。Youcangotoheratonce。Itmaybemany，manymonthsbeforeIcancatchevenaglimpseofher。
Nevermind。Letmefeelthatshehasyouwithinthecircle，andI
without，withourlivesdevotedtoher。“
“Youmayrelyuponthat，“Felixanswered。“WhereversheisIamgoing。Ishallbethere。Iwillwatchoverher。“
Mr。Sabinsighed。
“Themoredifficulttaskismine，“hesaid，“butIhavenofearoffailure。Ishallfindhersurroundedbyspies，bythosewhoarenowmyenemies。Still，theywillfindithardtoshakemeoff。Itmaybethattheytookherfrommeonlyoutofrevenge。Ifthatbesomytaskwillbeeasier。Ifthereareotherdangerswhichsheiscalledupontoface，itisstillpossiblethattheymightacceptmyserviceinstead。“
“Youwouldgiveit？“Felixexclaimed。
“Tothelastdropofbloodinmybody，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“SaveformyloveforherIamadeadmanupontheearth。Ihavenolongerpoliticsorambition。Sothepastcaneasilybeexpunged。
Thosewhomustbeherguidinginfluenceshallbemine。
“Youwillwinherback，“Felixsaid。“Iamsureofit。“
“Iamwillingtopayanypriceonearth，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“IftheycanforgetthepastIcan。Iwantyoutorememberthis。I
wanthertoknowit。Iwantthemtoknowit。Thatisall，Felix。“
Mr。Sabinleanedbackinhisseat。Hehadleftthiscountrylastastrickenanddefeatedman，leftitwiththeechoesofhisruinedschemescrashinginhisears。Hecamebacktoitamanwithonepurposeonly，andthatsuchapurposeasneverbeforehadguidedhim-theloveofawoman。Wasitasignofage，hewondered，thisreturntothehumanities？Hislifehadbeenfullofgreatschemes，hehadwieldedoftenagiganticinfluence，morethanoncehehadmadehistory。Andnowtheloveofthesethingshadgonefromhim。
Theirfascinationwaspowerlesstoquickenbyasinglebeathissteadypulse。Monarchyorrepublic-whatdidhecare？ItwasLucillehewanted，thewomanwhohadshownhimhowsweetevendefeatmightbe，whohadmadethesethreeyearsofhislifesohappythattheyseemedtohavepassedinonedelightfuldream。Weretheydead，annihilated，theseoldambitions，theoldloveofgreatdoings，ordidtheyonlyslumber？Hemovedinhisseatuneasily。
AtEustonthetwomenseparatedwithasilenthandshake。Mr。Sabindrovetooneofthelargestandnewestofthemodernhotelsdeluxe。
HeenteredhisnameasMr。Sabin-theoldexile’shatredofusinghistitleinaforeigncountryhadbecomeaconfirmedhabitwithhim-andmingledfreelywiththecrowdswhothrongedintotherestaurantatnight。Thereweremanyfaceswhichheremembered，therewereafewwhorememberedhim。Heneithercourtednorshunnedobservation。Hesatatdinner-timeataretiredtable，andfoundhimselfwatchingthepeoplewithastirofpleasure。Afterwardshewentroundtoafamousclub，ofwhichhehadoncebeenmadealifemember，buttowardsmidnighthewasweariedofthedulldecorumofhissurroundings，andreturningtothehotel，soughttherestaurantoncemore。Thestreamofpeoplecomingintosupperwasgreatereventhanatdinner-time。Hefoundasmalltable，andorderedsomeoysters。Thesightofthisbevyofpleasure-seekers，allapparentlywithmultitudesoffriends，mighthaveengenderedasenseoflonelinessinamanofdifferentdisposition。ToMr。Sabinhisisolationwasaluxury。Hehadanuninterruptedopportunityofpursuinghisfavouritestudy。
Thereenteredapartytowardsmidnight，tomeetwhomthehead-waiterhimselfcamehurryingfromthefurtherendoftheroom，andwhosearrivalcreatedalittlebuzzofinterest。ThewomanwhoformedthecentralfigureofthelittlegrouphadfortwoyearsknownnorivaleitheratCourtorinSociety。ShewasthemostbeautifulwomaninEngland，beautifultoowithallthesubtlegraceofherroyaldescent。
Therewerewomenuponthestagewhosefacesmighthavebornecomparisonwithhers，buttherewasnotonewhoinaroomwouldnothavesunkintoinsignificancebyherside。Hermovements，hercarriagewereincomparable-theinheritedgiftsofaraceofwomenborninpalaces。
Mr。Sabin，whoneithershunnednorcourtedobservation，watchedherwithagrimsmilewhichwasnotdevoidofbitterness。Suddenlyshesawhim。Withalittlecryofwondershecametowardshimwithoutstretchedhands。
“Itismarvelous，“sheexclaimed。“You？Reallyyou？“
Hebowedlowoverherhands。
“ItisI，dearHelene，“heanswered。“AmomentagoIwasdreaming。
IthoughtthatIwasbackoncemoreatVersailles，andinthepresenceofmyQueen。“
Shelaughedsoftly。
“TheremaybenoVersailles，“shemurmured，“butyouwillbeacourtiertotheendofyourdays。“
“Atleast，“hesaid，“believemethatmycongratulationscomefrommyheart。Yourhappinessiswritteninyourface，andyourhusbandmustbetheproudestmaninEngland。“
Hewasstandingnowbyherside，andheheldouthishandtoMr。
Sabin。
“Ihope，sir，“hesaidpleasantly，“thatyoubearmenoill-will。“
“Itwouldbemadness，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“TobethemostbeautifulpeeressinEnglandisperhapsforHeleneahappierfatethantobethefirstqueenofanewdynasty。“
“Andyou，uncle？“Helenesaid。“Youarebackfromyourexilethen。
HowoftenIhavefeltdisposedtosmilewhenIthoughtofyou，ofallmen，inAmerica。