“Tell you what it is,” said Johnny; “he hasn’t got a—”
Here Donna Antonia struck in, rather suddenly, I thought.
“Do stop the gentleman talking politics, Mme. Devarges. They’ll spoil our tea-party.”
“Your word is law,” I said; “but I should like to know what Don Antonio hasn’t got.”
“Now do be quiet,” she rejoined; “isn’t it quite enough that he has got—a charming daughter?”
“And a most valuable one,” I replied, with a bow, for I saw that for some reason or other Donna Antonia did not mean to let me pump Johnny Carr, and I wanted to pump him.
“Don’t say another word, Mr. Carr,” she said, with a laugh. “You know you don’t know anything, do you?”
“Good Lord, no!” said Johnny.
Meanwhile Mme. Devarges was giving me a cup of tea. As she handed it to me, she said in a low voice:
“If I were his friend I should take care Johnny didn’t know anything, Mr. Martin.”