"Does your wife know this woman?" he asked.
Peter shook his head.
"I think not," he replied. "We shall know in a minute."
"Then she has come to see you," Sogrange continued. "What does it mean, I wonder?"
Peter shrugged his shoulders.
There was a knock at the door, and his servant entered, bearing a card.
"This lady would like to see you, sir, on important business," he said.
"You can show her in here," Peter directed.
There was a very short delay. The two men had no time to exchange a word. They heard the rustling of a woman's gown, and immediately afterward the perfume of violets seemed to fill the room.
"The Baroness von Ratten," the butler announced.