“If you think you know that, why should you, unless you are her lover?”
“Because she's a woman.”
Her hands seized his, coaxing him from the doorway into the darkened passage. “For the love of God, go!” she implored. “I give you back your parole.”
Drawing her to him, he held her fast. “Don't struggle. He might hear you. You decoyed me. You trapped me. Why this change? What makes you so concerned for my safety?”
“I didn't know,” she panted, “the kind of man you are.”
“What kind?”
Her heart beat wildly. She lay against him unstirring, her face averted. The moment he released her, she burst forth into new pleading.
“For my sake. I beg of you.”
Into the grimness of his smiling there stole a gleam of tenderness. “And leave you? I guess not. What's the signal?”
“The piano.”