We will pass that, however," said the Baron, pointedly.

"We should be wise enough to guard against any move he may make; it is imperative that we should not be caught napping." "I don't believe he has taken my daughter away by force.

Why should he do so?
She goes to him voluntarily at the end of each visit.

There is no coercion." He met John Tullis's stony gaze without flinching.

"I insist that she has been stolen by these brigands in the hills, to be held for ransom." The stories of the maid, the footmen, the groundmen were all to the effect that the Countess had not returned to her father's home after leaving the fete next door.