Very thoughtfully I strode along beside him. Would I be serving the Countess ill or well by selling the place to Tarnowsy? It was her whim, of course, and it was a foolish one.
"Suppose that he offered you twice what you are to pay me for the place," said I, struck by a sudden thought.
He laughed easily. "You will not, it seems, acquit me of cupidity, Mr. Smart. I should not sell to him under any consideration. That is final. Take it or leave it."
By this time we were in the rooms once occupied by the Countess. He glanced about the apartment carelessly.
"Deserted, I observe," he remarked with a queer smile.
My heart almost stood still. "Eh? What do you mean?"
"If I am not mistaken, these are the rooms once occupied by your valet's wife. Am I right?"
I steadied myself. "She has gone away," I said. "Couldn't stand the climate."
"I see," said he, but he was still smiling. "How does your valet stand it?"
"Nicely," said I, with a conscious blush.