unhappy chuckle.
Saint-Germain gave James a sharp look. “If you wish to think of it in that way, it will answer fairly well,” he said after a second or two. “If you live in the world, there are accommodations that must be made.”
“This is bizarre,” James said, convincing himself he was amused while the unsettling apprehension grew in him steadily.
“When you came here,” Saint-Germain continued, taking another line of argument, “when did you travel?”
“What?” James made an abrupt gesture with his hand, as if to push something away. “I didn’t look about for public transportation, so I can’t tell you what time …”
“Day or night will do,” Saint-Germain said.
“Why, it was da …” His face paled. “No. I … passed out during the day. I decided it was safer at night, in any case. There are fewer patrols, and …”
“When did you decide this? Before or after you had walked the better part of one night?” He let James have all the time he wanted to answer the question.
“I walked at night,” James said in a strange tone. “The first night it was … easier. And I was so exhausted that I wasn’t able to move until sundown. That night, with the moon so full, and seeing so well, I figured I might as well take advantage of it …”
“Mister Tree, the moon is not full, nor was it two nights ago. It is in its first quarter.” He was prepared to defend this, but he read James’ troubled face, and did not press his argument. “Those who have changed see very well at night. You may, in fact, want to avoid bright sunlight, for our eyes are sensitive. We also gain strength and stamina. How else do you suppose you covered the distance you did with the sorts of wounds you sustained to slow you down?”
“I … I didn’t think about it,” he answered softly. “It was … natural.”
“For those …”
“…who have changed, don’t tell me!” James burst out, and lurched out of the chair. “If you keep this up, you’ll have me believing it, and then I’ll start looking for a padded cell and the latest thing in straight jackets.” He paced the length of the room once, coming back to stand near Saint-Germain. “You’re a smooth-tongued bastard, I’ll give you that, Saint-Germain. You are Saint-Germain, aren’t you?”
“Of course. I thought you remembered me from that banquet in Paris,” came the unperturbed answer.
“I did. But I thought you’d look …”
“Older?” Saint-Germain suggested. “When has Madelaine looked older than twenty? True, you have not seen her for more than six years, but when she came to America, did she strike you as being older than the day you met her?”
“No,” James admitted.
“And she looks very little older now than she did the day I met her in 1743. You are fortunate that age has been kind to you, Mister Tree. That is one of the few things the change cannot alter.” Abruptly he crossed the room and opened the door. “I trust you will give me an hour of your time later this evening. Roger should be back by then, and then you will have a chance to …”
“Has he gone for food?” James demanded, not wanting to admit he was famished.
“Something like that,” le Comte answered, then stepped into the hall and pulled the door closed behind him.
The Bugatti pulled into the court behind the stables and in a moment, Roger had turned off the foglights and the ignition. He motioned to the woman beside him, saying, “I will get your bag, Madame, and then assist you.”
“Thank you,” the woman answered distantly. She was not French, though she spoke the language well. Her clothes, which were excellent quality, hung on her shapelessly, and the heavy circles under her eyes and the hollows at her throat showed that she had recently suffered more than the usual privations of war. Automatically she put her hand to her forehead, as if to still an ache there.
“Are you all right, Madame?” Roger asked as he opened the passenger door for her. In his left hand he held a single worn leather valise.
“I will be in a short time,” she responded, unable to smile, but knowing that good manners required something of the sort from her.
Roger offered her his arm. “You need not feel compelled, Madame. If, on reflection, the matter we discussed is distasteful to you, tell me at once, and I …” He turned in relief as he saw Saint-Germain approaching through