“When Lady Monica and her mother leave.”
“You intend to persecute these ladies!”
“Not at all. But when they go to visit the Duchess of Carmona, that will be—the time I shall choose for leaving Biarritz.”
“Who has spoken of such a visit?”
“A person I trust.”
He was silent for a moment, whether in surprise or anger I could not tell. But at last he said, “I'm less well-informed than your friend as to the plans of Lady Vale-Avon and her daughter. They may return to England; they may go to friends in Paris, they may visit my mother. But this doesn't concern strangers like yourself; and my advice to the Marqués de Casa Triana is, whatever happens, keep out of Spain.”
“Do you threaten me?” I asked.
“I don't threaten—I warn.”
“Thanks for your kind intentions. They give me food for thought.”
“All the better. You'll be less likely to forget.”