"Or one moment more.
You knew me, my lad--are there any others like to do so?"
"I had seen you, sir, at Bristol, and that is why I would not have
you shew yourself in Elmwood. But my sister has never seen you, and
the only neighbours who ever come in are the woodward and his wife.
He served in my Lord of Essex's army, but he has never seen you.
Moreover, he was to be at the squire's to-day helping to stack his
corn. Ben, do you tell Patience that _he_"--again taking refuge in a
pronoun--"is a gentleman in danger, and she must see to his safety
for an hour or two till I come back for him."
"A gentleman in danger," repeated Ben, anxious to learn his lesson.
"He and I will take care of that," said the grey-coated groom gaily,
as he turned the horse's head, and waved his hat in courtly fashion
to the lady so that Steadfast saw that his hair was cropped into
black stubble.
"Ah!" said the lady with a sigh, for the loss of a Cavalier's locks
was a dreadful thing. "You know him then."
"I have seen him at Bristol," said Steadfast, with considerably less
embarrassment, though still in the clownish way he could not shake
off.
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