We regret to announce that owing to indisposition Mademoiselle Idiale will not be able to appear this evening. The part of Delilah will be taken by Mademoiselle Blanche Temoigne, late of the Royal Opera House, St. Petersburg.
Ten minutes later, Laverick rang the bell of her flat in Dover Street. A strange man-servant answered him.
“I came to inquire after Mademoiselle Idiale,” Laverick said.
The man held out a tray on which was already a small heap of cards. Laverick, however, retained his.
“I should be glad if you would take mine in to her,” he said. “I think it is just likely that she may see me for a moment.”
The servant’s attitude was one of civil but unconcealed hostility. He would have closed the door had not Laverick already passed over the threshold.
“Madame is not well enough to receive visitors, sir,” the man declared. “She shall have your card as soon as possible.”
“I should like her to have it now,” Laverick persisted, drawing a five-pound note from his pocket.
The man looked at the note longingly.
“It would be only waste of time, sir,” he declared. “Mademoiselle is confined to her bedroom and my orders are absolute.”