"The stakes are high," he went on, pressing his advantage, "and call for a player of more experience than you."
"None the less," said I, meeting his gaze squarely, "I play my hand."
Instantly his manner changed. He looked at me silently for a second, and then with a calmness which intimidated me far more than his passion:
"Are you wise? Are you wise?" he asked slowly. "Think! What will the loser keep?"
"What will the winner gain?"
We stood measuring each other for the space of a minute in the flare of the torch. Then he dropped it on the ground, and stamped out the sparks with his heel. 'Twas too dark for me to see his face, but I heard his voice at my elbow very smooth and soft, and I knew that he was stooping by my side.
"You will find this the very worst day's work," he said, "to which ever you set your hand;" and I heard his footsteps ring hollow down the street. He had certainly won the first trick in the game, for he left me to pay the link-boy.
CHAPTER X.
[DOUBTS, PERPLEXITIES, AND A COMPROMISE.]
Two days later the Countess paid her first visit to my lodging. I had looked forward to the moment with a great longing, deeming that her presence would in a measure consecrate the rooms, and that the memory of what she did and said would linger about them afterwards like a soft and tender light.