Lissac observed that Vaudrey suddenly became very pale.
He drew still nearer, pretending to finish a cup of coffee while standing. Then he heard these words very distinctly:
"A reporter saw you leave her house the other evening!"
Guy moved away very quickly. He felt a sort of sudden bewilderment, as if the few words spoken by the Prefect of Police were the natural result of his conversation with Adrienne, an immediate response thereto.
"It would be astonishing if Marianne—" thought Lissac.
Besides, he would know soon. He would merely question Vaudrey.
As soon as Jouvenet, always polite, grave and impassive, had left "Monsieur le Ministre" in a state of visible nervousness, almost of anxiety, he entered upon his plan.
"You know Mademoiselle Kayser intimately then?" he asked Vaudrey, who, taken aback, looked at him for a moment without replying and endeavored to grasp Lissac's purpose.
"Am I imprudent?" further asked Guy.
"No, but who has told you—?"