"They are going too far, Armand," she said vehemently. "You are a republican, so am I. . .we have the same thoughts, the same enthusiasm for liberty and equality. . .but even YOU must think that they are going too far. . .""Hush!--" said Armand, instinctively, as he threw a quick, apprehensive glance around him.
"Ah! you see: you don't think yourself that it is safe even to speak of these things--here in England!" She clung to him suddenly with strong, almost motherly, passion: "Don't go, Armand!" she begged;"don't go back! What should I do if. . .if. . .if. . ."Her voice was choked in sobs, her eyes, tender, blue and loving, gazed appealingly at the young man, who in his turn looked steadfastly into hers.
"You would in any case be my own brave sister," he said gently, "who would remember that, when France is in peril, it is not for her sons to turn their backs on her."Even as he spoke, that sweet childlike smile crept back into her face, pathetic in the extreme, for it seemed drowned in tears.
"Oh! Armand!" she said quaintly, "I sometimes wish you had not so many lofty virtues. . . . I assure you little sins are far less dangerous and uncomfortable. But you WILL be prudent?" she added earnestly.