Page:Idalia, by 'Ouida'.djvu/261

Rh ere they were uttered, and would have them remain unspoken, she leant slightly towards him.

"Go home by yourself—with none of them, if they invite you. I don't mean," she added, with a laugh, "because they will knock you down to steal your winnings! They are not so low as that—yet."

The whisper was low and very rapid; surprise was the dominant feeling that it awoke in him, joined with something of a vivid wondering delight—she thought of his welfare! "Your wish is my law," he answered her. "Do with my life what you will—it is yours." "No. Not mine. It is a noble trust; never give it rashly."

There was a step beside them.

"A beautiful night, indeed/' said Victor Vane.

"A picture of Gherardo, and a poem of Hafiz! Certainly we never know what stars are till we come to the East."

"Never," said Idalia, turning to him; "and now yon may return to Stamboul by their light. After their poetry come their practical uses. I shall dismiss you all now; I am tired. Good night!" Lightly as the words were spoken, eagerly as they longed to dispute the dismissal, unscrupulous,