She had already risen, as she had got over any tendency to faint, but she had no intention of leaving him to his fate. She had just seen in a pocket of his leather ap.r.o.n those big garden-shears which she had noticed him plying with such marked incompetence, and it occurred to her suddenly that they might be of some real service now. She ran up and, watching her opportunity, succeeded in whipping them out. Then she stepped behind the serpent, and forced the blades together just below the part of its neck that was in her champion"s grasp. There was a highly unpleasant scrunch and jar as they closed, but she pressed with all her strength, until the reptile"s spine was cut through and its body uncoiled itself from the young man and went writhing and rolling blindly through the gra.s.s.

Daphne dropped the shears and got out of its way in sudden panic. "It"s not dead! I"m sure it isn"t!" she cried to the stranger, whom she had somehow ceased to think of as a spy.

"It is harmless enough now, fair lady," he said as he tossed its crested head into the undergrowth, "thanks to your courage."

"I never killed anything before," she said. "I hated doing it, and--it seems such a silly way to kill a snake!"

"It succeeded," he said, wondering how those small slim hands could have had the strength. "I could not have held it much longer. You have saved my life."

"I couldn"t have," she said, "if you hadn"t saved mine first. I know now that you have only been watching and following me about as you have to see that I didn"t get into any danger?"

"So you were aware that I watched you?" he said.

Daphne laughed. "How could I help being?" she replied. "And of course I guessed at once that you weren"t a real gardener."

"What makes you suppose that?" he said.

"Well," she said, laughing again, "I happen to have seen you at work, you know."

"I may have little skill," he said, "nevertheless, I have obtained employment here as a gardener."

"I mustn"t ask you questions," she said, "but I"m quite sure that, before you came here, you were in a very different position from any labourer"s." She had noticed a refinement in his speech and manner, and also the shapeliness of his hands, which the Fairy had been considerate or forgetful enough to leave unaltered.

But Daphne"s words gave him a sudden hope. Had she detected that he was a Prince? If so, he was released from his promise of silence!

"All I may tell you," he said, "is that there were reasons which obliged me to leave my own country and live here where I am unknown. But I think you have guessed more than that already!"

"I will tell you what I think," she said. "I believe you are really a student, and, whatever you had to leave your country for, it was nothing you"ve any cause to be ashamed of. I expect you were accused of plotting against your Government--and I don"t care if you did, because you wouldn"t have if they"d governed properly. Anyway, you escaped, and thought you"d be safe if you could get a post in the Royal Gardens.

There! it is only a guess, of course, and you needn"t tell me whether I"m right or not."

He allowed her to think she was, as it was a far more creditable explanation than any he could have invented for himself.

"It was rather clever of me to guess all that," she said. "But it would have been cleverer of you to choose something you knew a little more about than gardening, wouldn"t it? And we can"t be strangers after this.

That thing there," and she indicated the headless serpent, which had now ceased to writhe, and lay limp in the gra.s.s, with all its brilliant colour faded to dingy grey, "introduced us, but it carelessly forgot to mention our names."

"Perhaps," he said, quite seriously, "it did not know them."

"That _would_ account for it, certainly," agreed Daphne, with equal gravity, though her eyes danced. "Then I"d better explain that I was Princess Ruby"s governess before we came here. Since then I"ve been a sort of lady-in-waiting--and now I"m nothing at all. I"m in disgrace, like you. My name is Daphne Heritage. Now, tell me yours ... Girofle?...

Well, I am going back to the Pavilion now. I don"t feel safe anywhere else.... Yes, you can see me out of this dreadful place--just in _case_ there should be another snake about," she conceded, for her nerves were beginning to feel a reaction, and she was glad of his protection.

So he walked humbly by her side, saying little for fear of saying too much, till they came within sight of the Pavilion and then she dismissed him. "We will say good-bye here," she said; "and you mustn"t keep at a distance any more--it would be too absurd, now--you must come and speak to me, of course. Though I _may_ be sent back to England at a moment"s notice, and then you won"t see me again. But if you don"t, I shall never forget how bravely you risked your life for me."

She gave him her hand; he held its cool silken softness for a moment and would have raised it to his lips but for this new humility of his. Then, with a friendly but almost careless little nod, she was gone, leaving him with the conviction that it was indifferent to her whether they ever met again or not.

He felt that the Fates had not been as propitious as they might. They had permitted him to rescue her--but then he had been rescued by her immediately afterwards--a most humiliating anti-climax! There was one service he could still do her, he thought, and, cutting himself a stout stick, he made a thorough search of the groves, where however, rather to his disappointment, he discovered no serpents of any kind. But, in his anxiety for Daphne, he insisted on seeing the Court G.o.dmother at once and warning her of the dangers to which she was exposing her _protegee_.

The old Fairy was secretly disconcerted, though she did not of course admit that there had been any neglect on her part. "I am not at all surprised, Mirliflor. In fact, I fully expected something of this sort to happen," she said unblushingly. "But I knew very well that there was no danger while you were there to look after her."

"But it may happen again," he urged. "That accursed Xuriel may create another serpent, and the next time I mayn"t be at hand--unless you can get me excused altogether from working in the gardens."

"I shall not do that, Mirliflor," said the inflexible old Fairy. "And what you fear will not happen again. To begin with, that serpent was never created by Xuriel."

"But I heard it say that he had called it into being!"

"And have you ever known a serpent tell the truth? No, no, Mirliflor, Master Xuriel is clever enough in his way, but he couldn"t make a serpent of that size. From what you tell me, it was evidently a Crested Serpent which he had got hold of and trained, and I happen to know it was the last existing.... But I will have a rope of fine silk, woven with a certain spell, laid round the Pavilion, and no snake, magic or otherwise, will be able to cross _that_. It"s quite unnecessary, and will be extremely exhausting to me, still I"ll do it, just to set your mind at ease. And I"ll tell her not to go about alone in future.... But I can"t have you going in there whenever you choose in future. The Head Gardener was complaining to me that you are neglecting your work, and it won"t do to excite his suspicion. You must not attempt to see her till the close of the day, which will leave you ample time for your lovemaking.... No, she is not going to be sent back to England. _I_ shall take care of that. So you can keep a good heart, Mirliflor. I consider you have made an excellent beginning!"

He was far from sure of it himself, but at least Daphne would be better protected henceforth, and even if he could no longer look after her by day, which he fully intended to do when he found an opportunity, he could at least see her every evening. It was some comfort, too, to feel that he could rely on her remaining in Marchenland.

On her next visit to the Pavilion the Court G.o.dmother heard Daphne"s version of the meeting with Girofle. "I take an interest in the young man," she said. "Indeed I got him his place here. He seems to have behaved very creditably--for a mere gardener. Though I dare say you think him beneath your notice."

"After he had saved my life!" said Daphne indignantly. "As if I _could_--whoever he was! But, as you take an interest in him, Court G.o.dmother, you must know as well as I do that he isn"t really a gardener at all."

"Oh, indeed," said the Fairy suspiciously. "And how did you find _that_ out? From _him_?"

"No, I guessed. And then he had to admit it."

"And what did he admit?"

"Well, that he is a student and has had to go into hiding because he was suspected of being mixed up in some plot or other. He didn"t tell me any more than that."

"Ah," said the Fairy, concealing her relief, "he told you more than was prudent as it was. But I suppose he thought he could trust you with his secret."

"And don"t _you_, Court G.o.dmother?" flashed Daphne.

"Oh, I don"t think you would betray him. You mustn"t go and lose your heart to him, though. That would never do!"

Daphne laughed. "Court G.o.dmother!" she said, "you"re not really afraid of my falling in love with him, are you?"

"Well, no, my dear. Fortunately he"s not good-looking enough to make me very uneasy about that. I should be much more afraid that he might fall in love with you."

"Oh, I hope he won"t do _that_, poor fellow," said Daphne with a sudden and uneasy recollection of how he had followed her in secret. "But I"m going home so soon that I mayn"t even see him again."

"You may have to stay here some time longer," said the Fairy, "so it"s quite possible that he will try to see more of you. However, it will be easy for you to tell him plainly that you don"t want to have anything to do with him."

"But I don"t mind his speaking to me," said Daphne. "I told him he might. I should hate hurting him like that. And, after all, Court G.o.dmother, if he _should_ show any signs of--of what you"re afraid of, he will soon see that it"s no use, and be sensible about it."

"I dare say you"re right, my dear, I dare say you"re right," agreed the Court G.o.dmother. "And anyhow, it will be time enough to trouble about that when it happens--which very likely it never will."

But in her heart she was more convinced than ever that Mirliflor had made a very good beginning.

CHAPTER XVI

"A CLOUD THAT"S DRAGONISH"

At the first opportunity Mirliflor had returned to the pavilion groves, where he need no longer worship from a distance. Daphne had received him graciously enough, but somehow he went away with a feeling that he had lost ground. He saw her every day after that, occasionally in the daytime, whenever he could evade the Head Gardener"s eye, and always in the evening. She would talk to him from her window, or sometimes she would consent to come out and stroll with him in the golden dusk along gra.s.s-grown paths bordered with high and ragged walls of yew. And yet he parted from her with a sorer heart every evening. She had been as enchanting as ever, but quite as indifferent. It was useless to tell her how he loved her; whenever he had tried she had made him understand that, if he said any more, he would spoil the friendship between them.