I shall think it over." "Very well; but weigh the matter carefully.

There is never any retracing a step of this kind." He stood up, his heart heavy.

Saying no more, he moved toward the door.
She gazed after him, and suddenly and silently she stretched out her arms, her eyes and face and lips yearning with love.

Curiously enough, the duke happened to turn.

He was at her side in a moment, holding her firm in his embrace.
"You are all I have, girl!" with a bit of break in his voice.
"My father!" She stroked his cheek.
When he left the room it was with lighter step.
The restoration of the Princess Hildegarde of Ehrenstein had been the sensation of Europe, as had been in the earlier days her remarkable abduction.