'Good-bye,' said Margaret, holding out one hand and passing the other through Madame De Rosa's arm to lead her away.
'Good-bye,' Logotheti answered. 'Of course,' he continued, 'you must please remember that if I can be of any use in making investments for you, you have only to send me your commands. I am at your service for anything connected with the money market.'
'Thank you,' said Margaret, ambiguously, as to the tone in which the words were spoken, but with a quick glance of approval.
He had meant his speech for Madame De Rosa, who had probably been told that Margaret came to see him on a matter of business. But it was quite unnecessary. The little Neapolitan woman could judge of the state of a love affair at any moment with a certainty as unerring as that of a great cook who can tell by a mere glance what stage of development the finest sauce has reached. She supported Logotheti's fiction, however, without a smile.
'Ah, my dear,' she said, 'always consult him, if he will help you! Bonanni owes half her fortune to his judgment, and I could certainly not live as I do if he had not given me his advice and kind assistance.'
'You exaggerate, dear lady,' said Logotheti, opening the door for them, and following them into the hall.
'Not in the least,' laughed Madame De Rosa, 'though I am sure that Cordova is quite able to take care of herself and is much too proud to owe you anything.'
She often called Margaret by her stage name, as artists do among themselves, but it jarred disagreeably on Logotheti's ear.
'You are right in that,' he said, rather coldly, as a footman appeared and opened the outer door. 'Miss Donne'—he emphasised the name a little—'will probably not need any help from me. But if she should, I am her very humble servant.'
'Thank you,' Margaret said, in the same ambiguous tone as before.