Helga too was looking at me curiously. I smiled to her, but, instead of replying, she looked to the woman in black.
“Well?” she asked. I began to scent mischief.
The woman threw up her veil, and I saw she was well on in years, pale and plain, but had an air of distinction.
“Do you know me, monsieur?”
“No, madame. To the best of my knowledge, I have never had the pleasure of seeing you in my life.”
She shrugged her shoulders and Boreski threw up his hands.
A pale shadow crept over Helga’s face.
“Are you quite sure, monsieur?”
“I am positive, mademoiselle.”
“And so am I,” said the new-comer, with a touch of scorn. “That is no more the Emperor than I am.”