But the spectacle on the Ausone road below was ominous enough. The northern countryside was in flight; towns and villages were emptying themselves southward; and the exodus had merely begun.
He went back to his room, shaved, bathed, dressed in knickerbockers and Norfolk, and, scribbling a note for Madame de Moidrey, pinned it to his door as he closed it behind him.
On his way through the lower hall, somebody called him softly, and he saw Philippa in the music room, carrying a tray.
"Did you think I was going to let you go out without your breakfast?" she asked, smiling. "I have prepared coffee for us both, you see."
He thanked her, took the tray, and carried it out to the terrace.
There, as the sun rose above the bank of mist and flashed out over miles of dewy country, they had their breakfast together—a new-laid egg, a bowl of café-au-lait, new butter and fresh rolls.
"I don’t quite like to have you go alone on that road, with so much confusion and the air heavy with the cannonade——"
"You funny, absurd, sweet little thing!" he said, still laughing. "Do you expect to spend the remainder of your life in seeing that I don’t get into mischief?"
"If you’ll let me," she said with a faint smile.
"Very well, Philippa; come along!" He held out his hand, laughing; the girl clasped it, a half humorous, half reproachful expression in her grey eyes.
"I don’t mind your laughing, as long as you let me be with you," she said.
"Why, Philippa!" he said gayly. "What possesses you to be afraid that anything is likely to happen to me?"
"I don’t know what it is," she replied seriously. "I seem to be afraid of losing you. Let me be with you—if it does not annoy you."
"You dear child, of course it doesn’t annoy me. Only I don’t want you to become morbid over the very nicest and frankest of friendships."
They were passing the garage now; he dropped her hand, asked her to wait for him a moment, turned into the service drive, went toward the stable. A sleepy groom responded to the bell, unlocked the doors, and fetched the key to the harness room.
"Give that fellow in there his breakfast and turn him loose. Tell him I’ll kill him if I ever again catch him hanging around here."
The groom grinned and touched his cap, and Warner turned on his heel and rejoined Philippa.