"It's hard to tell you—but I must." And then, "Have you ever heard of the Duc de Vautrin?" he asked.
"Yes," she uttered in bewildered tone, "the name is familiar to me. But what——?"
"Mr. Quinlevin—has mentioned him?"
"Yes, I think so. A man he met many years ago in Ireland. But why do you ask?"
"Because his life and yours are bound up in each other——"
"Mine?"
He paused painfully.
"Moira, perhaps I'm breaking all the ties in your life that you had thought most sacred, but I've got to tell you what I know."
"I don't understand—you frighten me——"
"God knows I've given you pain enough already. I'm a bird of ill-omen. But I'm going to go on, if you'll let me."