“I happen to know the person concerned in the transaction, and——”
“You know him?” breathed Barbara. She leaned toward him eagerly, the color coming back to her face in a swift flood. “Then won’t you tell me——”
He shook his head.
“I’m under bonds to preserve my client’s incognito,” he said. “But——”
He looked at her compassionately.
“Are you finding the delay very hard to bear?” he asked. “Is there——” Again he hesitated. “Is there any particular reason why you should wish to know more about the matter?—any reason why you cannot wait my client’s pleasure?”
She was silent.
“It is that I should like you to tell me,” he went on deliberately. “I am instructed, by my client—to find out—to—er—ascertain, in short, if you are in any way dissatisfied with the present status of the affair. If you will be quite frank with me I shall greatly appreciate your confidence, and so will—the person I have the honor to represent. Of this I can speak very positively.”
“Why,” asked Barbara, her words coming with a rush, “do I wait at all? If my time is worth—all the money your client paid for it—why am I not working? That is one thing I want to know.”