expression of your face has very much changed, and you
certainly look as if you could say 'No' very decidedly now."

By this time they had, after a long drive, re-entered the city.

"You must come home with me first, Frank. I must introduce you to the
count and countess, and to Stephanie. Then to-morrow morning you must
come round early. I have heard nothing yet as to how the truth about
that murder came out so rapidly. It seemed to me that the evidence was
conclusive against me, and that even the letter that I wrote telling you
about it, was so improbable that no one but you and Aunt would credit,
in the slightest."

"It did look ugly at first, Julian. When I heard Faulkner's deposition I
could see no way out of it whatever. I could not suppose that a dying
man would lie, and, absolutely sure of your innocence as I was, could
make neither head nor tail of the matter. Is this the mansion? You
certainly have fallen on good quarters."

Leaving their fur coats in the hall they went upstairs. They found the
countess seated in an arm-chair. The count was reading the last gazette
from the army to her, and Stephanie was playing with a doll. The count
and his wife looked surprised as Julian entered with a young English
officer.

"I have the honour, countess," Julian said, "to present to you my
brother, who is aide-de-camp to the English General, Sir Robert Wilson,
whom he accompanied throughout the campaign. Count, you will, I am sure,
rejoice with me, in this unexpected meeting."

"We are glad, indeed, to make the acquaintance of the brother of our
dear friend," the countess said, holding out her hand to Frank.

[Illustration: JULIAN INTRODUCES STEPHANIE TO HIS BROTHER FRANK.]

"I regret, countess, that I am not able to reply to you in French,"
Frank said in Russian. "I had thought that Russian would be absolutely
necessary here, but I find that almost everyone speaks French. Had I
known that, I could have saved myself a good deal of labour, for to us
your language is very difficult to acquire."

"You speak it extremely well, Mr. Wyatt," the count said. "I can
scarcely imagine how you have acquired such familiarity with it in your
own country."

"I learned it from a Russian Pole, a political exile, with whom I worked
for about six hours a day for nearly twelve months, in order that I
might qualify myself to accompany Sir Robert Wilson."

"This is my little friend Stephanie, Frank," Julian said, lifting the
child u