"Alone?"
"Alone, madame."
"So you have kept your promise?" she cried in amazement.
"Yes, Mistress Barbara, strange though it may seem to you, I have. It is a pity you did not trust me, you would have spared yourself the inconvenience of this—masquerade."
The covert sneer in his tone stung her to a sudden anger.
"And why should I trust you?" she cried haughtily. "You are my enemy."
"I was your enemy, madame, but I had believed myself now to have some claim upon your trust and friendship."
"I see not upon what you base such a belief," she answered still in anger.
"Why else, madame, think you, did I set your brother free?"
"I have but your word concerning that transaction," she answered scornfully. "You were alone when you encountered Rupert."