
Then to the brink of his bed she stole, this immoderate phantom.
In utter black, through sleep and closed eyelids, yet he made her out.
A mask of Parsuan porcelain floated above him in a silver-grilled aureole-light of blondest hair. As he had
known it must be, the face was lovely, and cool as snow. And the eyes - ! Never had Raoulin seen such
eyes. Wide-set, carved a touch slantingly, fringed with pale lashes, and very clear.
And oh, their colour. They were like the jewels he remembered from a bishop's mitre, two matching
emeralds, green as two linden leaves against the sun.
Asleep, miles off, Raoulin attempted to order his body to speak to her. But the words could not be
dredged up from the sea, his lips and tongue refused obedience.
Drowning, he could only gaze on her as she drew aside from him, swimming far away, over the horizon
of night.
One day remained to Raoulin before he must present himself at the university. How he regretted its
brevity. He had meant to use the time in exploration of the wicked City of Paradys, but now a morning
sufficed for this. He visited the markets, and pried amongst the crannied shops, saw the shining coils of
the river straddled by bridges, gazed on the great grey Temple-Church of the Sacrifice, where he must
hear at least one Mass and report the fact to his mother.
By early afternoon he had strayed back south-west of the City, to gloomy House d'Uscaret.
In daylight, the upland streets - the mansion was on one of the many hills that composed Paradys - were
not appetising. Nothing fell so low as the highmost. There were other large houses and imposing towers
in the area, now gone to tenements, tiles off, stones crumbling, strung with torn washing. In the alleys was
disgusting refuse. Every crevice seemed to hold debris or the bones of small deceased animals.
Having gained the house by a side entry, to which the hag had given him a key, Raoulin set himself to
master the building.
He had determined to recover the ghost's corridor, and all through the hot post-noon he sought it, and,
wide-awake, finally found it, too. The corridor seemed redolent yet of her ghostly fragrance. And
shivering slightly, he started along in the direction she had chosen. Soon enough it gave on a further flight
of ascending steps - perhaps the spectre had a lair… But the solitary door above was disappointingly
jammed - or secured - Raoulin could only concede that this kept up the best traditions of romance.
Then came another fall of stairs leadingdown, with, at their head, a slit of window covered by a grille.
Looking out, Raoulin realised himself to be in a tall tower of the house. He saw the pebbled slope of
roofs, and, to his surprise, noticed the distant miniature of the Temple-Church adrift like a promontory in
soft haze.
Taking the downward stair, he next arrived against a low door, which for an amazement opened.
There lay a garden, walled apart from the rest.
It had been made for a woman, he supposed; even through the riot of weeds and ivy, a map of vestal
symmetry was apparent. A garden of more southern climes, modelled, maybe, on the classical courts of
the Roman. Clipped ilex and conifer that had burst from shape, a tank of marble all green with lichen and
with a green velvet scum upon it. The wrecks of arbours were visible, and a charming statue, a young girl
in a graceful tunic, holding up an archaic oil-lamp which once it had been possible to kindle.