But, my fierce little beauty, if you are well up in your Roman history, you will remember that the chaste Mme.

Lucretia did not make use of her dagger until AFTER the assault of Sextus, the bold son of Tarquin the Proud.

That ancient and much-cited example is a good one to follow." And without paying any more attention to the knife than to a bee-sting, he had violently seized Isabelle in his arms before she could raise it to strike.
Just at that moment a loud cracking noise was heard, followed by a tremendous crash, and the casement fell clattering to the floor, with every pane of glass in it shattered; as if a giant had put his knee against it and broken it in; while a mass of branches protruded through the opening into the room.

It was the top of the tree that Chiquita had made such good use of as a way of escape and return.

The trunk, sawed nearly through by de Sigognac and his companions, was guided in its fall so as to make a means of access to Isabelle's window; both bridging the moat, and answering all the purposes of a ladder.
The Duke of Vallombreuse, astonished at this most extraordinary intrusion upon his love-making, released his trembling victim, and drew his sword.