“What will you gain by that?” she asked evenly.
“I? Oh, nothing. I do not care one way or the other. But there are some people who want the man—very much.”
Etta drew in a long, deep breath.
“I will go to Osterno with you, if you like,” she said. “Only—only I must have Maggie with me.”
“Yes, if you like,” answered Paul, in some surprise.
The clock struck ten, and Etta’s eyes recovered their brightness. Womanlike, she lived for the present. The responsibility of the future is essentially a man’s affair. The present contained a ball, and it was only in the future that Osterno and Russia had to be faced. Let us also give Etta Alexis her due. She was almost fearless. It is permissible to the bravest to be startled. She was now quite collected. The even, delicate color had returned to her face.
“Maggie is such a splendid companion,” she said lightly. “She is so easy to please. I think she would come if you asked her, Paul.”
“If you want her, I shall ask her, of course; but it may hinder us a little. I thought you might be able to help us—with the women, you know.”
There was a queer little smile on Etta’s face—a smile, one might have thought, of contempt.
“Yes, of course,” she said. “It is so nice to be able to do good with one’s money.”