"I have that misfortune," he answered quietly.
At the form of his answer a tinge of relief woke in her eyes, but they still watched him with incredulity and suspicion.
"He—he has sent you?" she demanded. "You bring other proposals, or threats?"
He smiled gravely.
"We have shared nothing, except a club, he and I," he explained. "I have not set eyes on him for over a year."
She still watched him alertly, debatingly, and still with mistrust.
"How did you come here, and why?" she asked.
"I am a member of the Tent Club," he answered. "I am in garrison at Gibraltar. I could not get leave till yesterday afternoon and I waited in Tangier to accompany Captain Rattier, whose ship is in harbor. Have I sufficiently explained myself?"
She hesitated.
"You have not seen your cousin for over a year? Perhaps you are in correspondence with him?"