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“‘Then there are higher in the land?’ he asked eagerly, but started suddenly, and, looking round, went on without waiting for an answer, ‘You are in sorrow, Child of the Heart, and have come from one who was sick to the death; to your business, and perchance we will speak of these matters afterwards.’

“‘First, lord,’ I said, ‘I have brought an offering,’ and I set down the basket at his feet.

“‘Gifts are good between brethren,’ he replied; ‘moreover, in this barren place food is welcome. Come hither, daughter, and take what this stranger brings.’

“As he spoke a lady came forward through the archway, dressed like her father, in a white robe of fine fabric, but somewhat worn. I looked at her, and it is truth, lord, that for the second time I went near to falling, for so great was the loveliness of this girl that my heart turned to water within me. Never before had I seen, or even dreamed of, such beauty in a woman.”

“To your tale, Molas, to your tale. What has the fashion of a woman’s beauty to do with the business of the Heart?” I broke in, angrily.