For a moment or two the pair looked at one another. Clara bent forward and whispered something in Boldini's ear. He nodded, and a gleam of hope passed across his face as he rose, holding a handkerchief to his mouth.
"We are ready to go with you," said Clara, turning towards Aldean.
"Very good. Come on."
[CHAPTER II.]
"ONE PORTION OF THE CONSPIRACY."
Certain features of the present position appealed to Lord Aldean. It was his first experience of the kind, and perhaps what gratified him most was the consciousness of the power which so suddenly had become vested in him. The knowledge that in this human rubber he held all the trumps in no wise lessened his enjoyment of the situation. There still remained to play them, and he felt pretty confident that in the end he and his partner would not have many tricks to deplore. For the moment his antagonists were absolutely in his hands--the man frightened to death of his skin; the woman believing that for the time being, at least, discretion was surely the better part of valour.
He hurried them off to the Hotel Magenta, there to be dealt with by the woman they had deceived and plundered.
As he fully expected, Olive was greatly agitated. He supposed it was womanlike for her to show most anger at the sight of her whilom maid. Her husband, after all, had at no time been anything to her--for him she had nothing more than the contempt she had always felt. She ignored him completely.
"How dare you come into my presence?" she said to the woman. "How can you have the face to look at me, after the shameful way in which you have behaved?"
"Blame your friend for that," answered Clara, doggedly. "I would not have come at all had I known you were here."