Her air of surprise was perfect.
"Russia? I know nothing at all about Russia."
I smiled, walked to her desk where there was a silver tray, and picked up a sugared rose.
"You're clever, Paula, but careless. Know nothing about Russia, yet have acquired a taste for the fine candies of the Moscovites? Remarkable, Paula."
She bit her lips.
"What do you want?"
"Now before we begin, Paula,"--that name seemed to vex her--"let it be understood that there is to be no double dealing here. It would be an easy matter for you to have me legitimately assassinated."
She would do that in this way:
She would tell one of her many admirers that I had insulted her. One morning I would come downstairs to be slapped in the face before a hotel full of people and what could I do? It would be a case of pistols and I would get a bullet.
"Remember," I cautioned her, "if anything happens to me here--and if they in Vienna do not hear from me every six hours, on the seventh you will be arrested. You will be arrested on an Imperial Austrian warrant. Your friends in here, army officers, though they are, will not dare to help you. Servia will not take the chance of angering Austria by refusing to acknowledge the imperial warrant. Remember, Paula, there is now an Austrian army on the Servian border."