o with all this? It's nothing to you."

She waited for me to speak.

"Exactly, Madame," I said, "and therefore I don't see why I should
concern myself in all this one way or another."

"No," she assented with a weary air, "except that you might ask yourself
what is the good of tormenting a man of noble feelings, however absurd.
His Southern blood makes him very violent sometimes. I fear--" And then
for the first time during this conversation, for the first time since I
left Dona Rita the day before, for the first time I laughed.

"Do you mean to hint, Madame, that Southern gentlemen are dead shots? I
am aware of that--from novels."

I spoke looking her straight in the face and I made that exquisite,
aristocratic old woman positively blink by my directness. There was a
faint flush on her delicate old cheeks but she didn't move a muscle of
her face. I made her a most respectful bow and went out of the studio.

CHAPTER IV

Through the great arched window of the hall I saw the hotel brougham
waiting at the door. On passing the door of the front room (it was
originally meant for a drawing-room but a bed for Blunt was put in there)
I banged with my fist on the panel and shouted: "I am obliged to go out.
Your mother's carriage is at the door." I didn't think he was asleep.
My view now was that he was aware beforehand of the subject of the
conversation, and if so I did not wish to appear as if I had slunk away
from him after the interview. But I didn't stop--I didn't want to see
him--and before he could answer I was already half way up the stairs
running noiselessly up the thick carpet which also covered the floor of
the landing. Therefore opening the door of my sitting-room quickly I
caught by surprise the person who was in there watching the street half
concealed by the window curtain. It was a woman. A totally unexpected
woman. A perfect stranger. She came away quickly to meet me. Her face
was veiled and she was dressed in a dark walking costume and a very
simple form of hat. She murmured: "I had an idea that Monsieur was in
the house," raising a gloved hand to lift her veil. It was Rose and she
gave me a shock. I had never seen her before but with her little black
silk apron and a white cap with ribbons on her head. This outdoor dress
was like a disguise. I asked anxiously:

"What has happened to Madame?"

"Nothing. I have a letter," she murmured, and I saw it appear between
the fingers