‘I don’t know,’ replied the girl, ‘but I have said it, and you’ll see if it don’t come to pass.’
‘D—d nonsense,’ cried Blodget, laughing, and then he drew his companion on his knee, and kissed her repeatedly and eagerly.
Carlotta was silent, but she reclined her dark cheek against her seducer’s, and quietly and adroitly drew from her pocket a little phial containing some liquid. Concealing the phial in her hand, she then threw her arm over Blodget’s shoulder, and noiselessly drawing the tiny cork, poured the contents of the phial into his glass.
‘Another glass of champagne, my glow-worm,’ said Blodget, ‘and the soft delights of love, the thrilling joys of warm and impassioned nature are ours.’
Carlotta removed her arm from his shoulder as he turned slightly to reach his wine, and while she kept her eyes upon the glasses to observe that he gave her the one that she had drank from before, she returned the empty phial to her pocket.
‘I suppose nothing unpleasant came of our dalliance?’ said Blodget, in a half interrogative tone, as he handed the girl her glass.
‘Why do you suppose so? Ought you not rather to suppose just the reverse? Was not something unpleasant naturally to be expected?’
‘Well, perhaps I might have supposed so,’ returned Blodget, deprecatingly, and a little disconcerted by the girl’s reply.
There was a moment’s pause, and both sat with their glasses in their hands, Blodget’s eyes fixed upon the floor, the girl surveying the countenance of her seducer, as if she were trying to read his thoughts.
‘Well, what was it?’ Blodget at length inquired.