"I have forgotten something I wanted to buy," said Emilia, in a low tone, "but I can wait till you have attended to that gentleman."
She took care that her voice should not reach his ears, and as the woman stepped toward him she turned her back, with the air of a person who was not in the least interested in his business. The first words she spoke caused Emilia's heart to beat violently; but she still kept her face from him.
"Yes, sir, M. Felix lives very near here, in the next street."
"Thank you," said Dr. Peterssen. "It was very careless of me to lose the letter he sent me containing his address. Would you mind writing it down on paper for me?"
"Not at all, sir."
The woman wrote the address, and Dr. Peterssen, thanking her, left the shop. Then she asked Emilia what she wished; it was common enough for people to come and ask the address of persons living in the neighborhood, and she attached no importance to it. Emilia made another small purchase, and again took her departure.
Instead of leaving Soho, as was her original intention, to buy the suit of man's clothing necessary for the carrying out of her scheme, she walked slowly through Gerard Street. Dr. Peterssen was on the opposite side of the road to that on which M. Felix's house was situated, and he was gazing up at the windows with an expression of triumph on his face. There had been a note of triumph also in his voice when he had thanked the shopkeeper for the information she gave him, and Emilia judged from those signs that he, as well as herself, had been hunting for M. Felix. For what reason, and why, had M. Felix hidden himself from a man he knew so well? Here again Emilia did not stop to reason. In the selfishness of the task upon which she was engaged she jumped at conclusions, and the conclusion she formed now was that Dr. Peterssen's search for M. Felix was in some way connected with herself and the husband she had lost.
No detective could have acted more warily than she. With extreme caution she watched Dr. Peterssen's movements. He stood for a few moments looking up at the windows, then he crossed the road, and noted the number of the house, and then, with an exulting smile, he slowly walked away. Emilia was now more than ever resolved to carry out her scheme on this night.
She had observed that there were large clothing establishments in Tottenham Court Road, and at one of these she purchased a suit of clothes for a small-made man. Hastening to the room she had taken she tried them on and found them too large. She went back to the shop and exchanged the suit for a smaller one, which fitted her fairly well. Then leaving the clothes behind her, she joined Constance, and remained with her till eight o'clock.
"Must you go out to night, mamma?" asked the girl.