No plain words were said; but here and there heads nodded together and whispered, and while some eyed Wogan suspiciously, a few women whose hearts were tuned to a sympathy with the Princess in her imprisonment, or touched with the notion of a romantic attachment, smiled upon him their encouragement.

The Countess of Berg for once was unobservant, however.
Wogan made his escape from the company as soon as he could, and going up to his apartments read the letter.

The moon was at its full, and what with the clear, frosty air, and the snow stretched over the world like a white counterpane, he was able to read the letter by the window without the light of a candle.

It was written in the Chevalier's own cipher and hand; it asked anxiously for news and gave some.

Wogan had had occasion before to learn that cipher by heart.