“You have a stranger here?” they asked; and, “Where is he? You cannot refuse to give him up.”
“My heart told me so,” cried Bet. “I knew it was he you were seeking,” and with that she fainted elegantly into the arms of the nearest gentleman, who was dressed in plum-colour, and seemed to be struggling with some emotion which made him look as if he were laughing.
“Ask the child—children and fools speak the truth,” said the fat, blue-eyed gentleman.
Elfrida found herself suddenly lifted on to the table, from which she could see over the heads of the gentlemen who stood all round her. She could see Bet reclining on the sofa, and the open door with servants crowding in it, all eyes and ears.
“Now,” said a dozen voices, “the truth, little miss.”
“What do you want to know?” she asked; and, in a much lower tone, “I shan’t tell you anything unless you send the servants away.”
The door was closed and the truth was asked for again.
“If you’ll only tell me what you want to know,” she said again.
“Does any stranger lie here to-night?”
“No,” said Elfrida. She knew that the beautiful gentleman in the secret chamber was not lying down, but sitting to his supper.